While extreme heat can impact everyone’s heart, older people and those with preexisting heart issues are especially at risk. It’s also important to remember that certain blood pressure medicines as well as other medications can increase your risk of dehydration. To avoid issues during a heatwave, Dr. Gonzalez said it’s best to check the weather and try to stay inside at the hottest points of the day.

Each year, about 40 children die from heatstroke because they were either left or became trapped inside a hot car. Vehicles can heat up to dangerous levels in minutes, and kids are especially vulnerable to those extreme temperatures. Dr. Grover stressed that while hot car deaths are tragic, they’re also preventable. It’s important to remember temperatures inside a vehicle can rise nearly 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes. That’s why Dr. Grover said it’s never safe to leave a child inside a car unsupervised for any amount of time. And while it may seem unthinkable, it can be easier than you think to get out of your car without checking the back seat. Dr. Grover recommends keeping an important item like a phone or purse next to your child in the back seat, so you never forget to check.

Many parents are getting creative to help their families stay cool during the heat wave! On Tuesday afternoon, we visited the St. Marys Splash Pad where kids were staying cool by having fun with water! As temperatures rose into the 90s for the third day in a row, the kids turned the water on, dashed and leaped through water jets, and even engaged in friendly aquatic combat. At the splash pad, we talked with one little girl about the fun she is having and other ways she is beating the early season heat.