Weather changes influence the human body. When the weather is at its extremes, such as the climate gets too hot or too cold, the body compensates. When it is too hot, the body perspires to cool it down; when it is too cold, the body keeps as much heat as possible to keep it warm. In short, the body maintains a certain level of equilibrium to carry on its daily metabolic processes.

El Niño and Hypertension

How can El Niño possibly cause hypertension or stroke? Is there a connection?

Whenever the body tries to compensate for high body temperature due to high ambient temperature in hot summer months, the heart works harder than usual. The heart pumps blood faster to produce the needed effect of cooling off the warming parts of the body due to the heat absorbed through the exposed skin. The heartbeat increases, thus blood pressure increases, too. Blood is being forced through the channels of the circulatory system - the arteries and the veins.

For healthy individuals, the heart's regulatory mechanism of pumping blood faster and harder than usual is not much of an issue. But for people with high blood pressure, especially those with atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries due to fat deposits, this becomes problematic. The arteries may not be flexible enough to accommodate the greater blood pressure due to increased flow rate caused by the increased heart activity. At a very high blood pressure, the walls of the arteries can rupture in weak point areas such as those in the brain, thus possibly cause stroke. The possibility of stroke is higher to people with aneurysm or weakened parts of the artery, vein or the heart.

Hot Summer

Very hot climates in tropical countries during El Niño can lead to increased incidence of high blood pressure and eventually stroke. During summer, more people go to the beach or hike in the mountains thus expose themselves more to the heat of the sun.

In the Philippines where the brunt of El Niño was felt recently, a public warning was issued to be wary of the coming hot summer. A barangay tanod (community guard) suddenly died while making his rounds due to the exhausting heat. Also, more people frequent the hospitals due to high blood pressure among other maladies during hot summer months. The danger of dehydration is increased . The Department of Health advised the public to drink more water to compensate for lost fluids, wear light clothing, among others. 

People, especially those with lighter skin where sun-blocking melanin is lesser, must therefore be mindful that they take the necessary precautions to avoid high blood pressure and stroke. During hot periods, especially during the El Niño months, it pays to bring an umbrella while walking along the street, use sunblocks while enjoying the beach, and drink a lot of clean, refreshing water.