Bludorn joins Lungcast to review the increasing effects and signs of heat-related illness amid record-high temperatures.
0:15 Introduction
2:35 Introducing Janelle Bludorn, MS, PA-C
3:27 Common heat-related illnesses
8:43 How to screen for individual health-related risks
15:27 Respiratory consequences of heat
19:49 The interplay of medicines with heat
26:49 National Weather Service HeatRisk tool
32:58 Behavioral interventions for heat-risk patients
36:27 A FEMA system for heat emergencies?
38:10 Outro
Contrary to popular belief, heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths globally—and its rate is only increasing. In the US alone, the total annual heat-related deaths increased by more than 40% from just 2021 – 2023. As climate change continues to exacerbate the population, emergency departments are becoming increasingly inundated with conditions and cases related to our warmer conditions.
What’s being treated at the frontline—from heat stress and strokes, to respiratory exacerbations and severe burns—can be used to inform prevention strategies that curb the health-related effects of climate change. This month’s episode of Lungcast, recorded during another US heat wave in July, aims to capture exactly those lessons.
Janelle Bludorn, MS, PA-C, assistant professor in the department of family medicine and community health at Duke University School of Medicine, joins Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association (ALA), for a review on the health consequences of climate change.
Along with reviewing the most frequent manifestations of heat-related illness to present in the emergency department, Bludorn provides a breakdown of the respiratory effects of extreme heat—as well as how climate change adversely interacts with commonly prescribed medicines. Additionally, she and Rizzo review best practices for identifying high heat-risk patients based on behaviors, demographics and living situations. Before signing off, the pair additionally highlight viable tools for screening patients, as well as consumer-level resources like the National Weather Service’s HeatRisk tool and the Air Quality Index (AQI).
Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive.
Subscribe to Lungcast on Spotify here, or listen to the episode below.
