What are the long-term effects of heatstroke? Study explores

Gainesville, FL — Heatstroke can lead to long-term organ damage and obesity, results of a recent study suggest.

For three months, researchers at the University of Florida observed mice that were exposed to high levels of heat while on a running wheel. The mice were also fed a high-fat Western diet after exposure.

Findings show that the heat weakened the animals’ hearts, led them to eat more and put on weight, and disrupted their metabolism of carbohydrates.

More specifically, the animals’ hearts “metabolically crashed” two weeks after recovery (which is when physicians often stop following human patients), Thomas Clanton, lead study author and professor of applied physiology and kinesiology at UF, said in a press release. 

“The findings show how important it is to prevent and limit heat injury before it occurs … by hydrating and cooling down when symptoms like fatigue set in,” the researchers said. “There is no established treatment for chronic heatstroke injury. But future research could help identify ways to limit the long-term damage in people.”

Clanton and his colleagues plan to follow people who have experienced heatstroke to further understand the factors that cause long-term problems. “We think there’ll be more of this chronic heat injury as we face a warming environment,” Clanton said.

More than 100,000 people suffer a heat-related illness or injury each year in the United States, the release notes.

The study was published in the journal Communications Biology.