HOW HEAT KILLS
As temperatures and humidity rise outside, what happens inside the human body can become a life or death situation. And a difference of just a few degrees can mean living or dying.
Researchers say the danger point outdoors for illness and death from ongoing heat is lower than experts once thought. At rest, the body’s core temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius. That is only 4 degrees Celsius away from possible death from heatstroke. Several doctors and other experts explained what happens to the human body in such heat.
Ollie Jay is a professor of heat and health at the University of Sydney in Australia. Jay explains that heat kills in three main ways.
Usually the first way is heatstroke. This is a severe increase in body temperature that causes organs to fail. When the inner body gets too hot, the body redirects blood flow toward the skin to cool down. But that sends blood and oxygen away from the stomach and intestines. This can permit poisons normally found in the stomach and intestinal areas to get into the blood. Jay said this leads to organ failure and death.
Number two is the bigger killer in heat – pressure on the heart. This is especially true for people who have cardiovascular disease. The danger starts with blood quickly flowing to the skin to help reduce body heat. That causes blood pressure to drop. The heart reacts by trying to pump more blood to keep you from passing out.
Dr. Neil Gandhi is emergency medicine director at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. He said during heat waves, anyone who comes in with a fever of 37.7 degrees Celsius or higher and no evidence of infection will be checked for heat exhaustion or the more serious heatstroke. Gandhi said he often sees temperatures greater than 40 to 40.5 degrees Celsius during extreme heat events. “Another degree or three and such a patient is at high risk of death,” he added.
The third way heat kills is by lack of water in the body, or dehydration. As people sweat, they lose liquids to a point that can severely hurt kidneys, Professor Jay said. He added that dehydration also reduces blood flow and worsens cardiac problems. Many people may not realize their danger. Dehydration can progress into shock. This causes organs to shut down from a lack of blood, oxygen, and nutrients.
Heatstroke is an emergency. Medical workers try to cool a victim down within 30 minutes. The best treatment is a cold water bath. But those baths are not always available. So, emergency rooms pump patients with cool fluids intravenously, apply cold water to the skin, put ice packs in armpits, and place them on a cold mat with cold water running inside it.
However, sometimes all these treatments do not work. Experts call it a silent killer: You do not see the damage happening.
Much of the United States, Mexico, India, and the Middle East suffer through extreme heat waves. These heat events are worsened by human-caused climate change.
 
Give the English equivalents from the text for the following:
 
 
влажность
угроза, риск
солнечный удар
кишечник
отказ органов
сердечно-сосудистое заболевание
обморок (потеря сознания)
неотложная медицинская помощь (скорая помощь)
изнеможение от перегрева (тепловое истощение)
обезвоживание
потеть
 
почки
проблемы с сердцем
питательные вещества
чрезвычайное происшествие
жертва
отделение скорой помощи
вводить внутривенно
подмышки
аномальная жары
изменение климата, вызванное деятельностью человека