66-year-old woman dies from hyperthermia amid triple-digit heat streak in North Texas
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — During a days-long streak of triple-digit heat, a 66-year-old woman from North Richland Hills died from hyperthermia Tuesday.
Police said the woman was found around 5:30 p.m. Monday by a neighbor at the Villas On Bear Creek, a senior living apartment complex. She was then taken to a nearby hospital where she died hours later at 12:30 a.m.
Her death comes as area hospitals say the number of people being treated for heat exhaustion and heat stroke is going up.
Dr. Erik Martin with Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Irving said the number "definitely increased this summer."
"Last year, we maybe saw a couple of patients a day," Dr. Martin said. "Now, at least 5 to 8% of our volume has increased with heat-related illness."
With a nurse acting as a patient, Martin demonstrated how they treat these patients. He said the first step would be to apply bags of ice to three specific parts of the body: the neck, armpits and groin, where main arteries carry blood.
Why these areas? Martin explained they're the most heat-sensitive parts of the body, and that if you tell your skin to cool down in these areas, your entire body will follow.
Doctors will also use fans, and in extreme cases of heat stroke, will use a high-tech air conditioner designed for the human body if it gets above 104 degrees.
And it doesn't take much for North Texans who work or exercise in the triple-digit heat to get there.
"It's concerning," Martin said. "I think, unfortunately, Texans are getting used to these rising temperatures, so they are doing things to kind of mitigate the danger from it. But, at the same time, we're seeing more and more cases compared to last year or the year before that."
Some of these treatments, especially the placement of ice packs, can be applied anywhere by anyone and may actually save someone's life.
Still, nothing is better than getting out of the heat as quickly as possible and/or stepping into the shade.