Heat causes side effects in medicines, says German agency

Diuretics and high blood pressure drugs can cause fainting and even heart attacks due to their vasodilatory effects in warmer temperatures, warns the Robert Koch Institute. Their validity could also be compromised: some drugs can be dangerous in the heat and cause side effects, says a report published this Wednesday (06/09) by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German public agency for the control and disease prevention.

Particularly affected are diuretics and drugs for hypertension. According to the paper, vascular dilation caused by heat can significantly increase the antihypertensive effect of many drugs on the cardiovascular system. Possible consequences range from fainting, to disturbances in blood flow to organs, to heart attack.

“People with heart failure caused by systolic dysfunction and patients with high blood pressure are particularly at risk,” the report reads.

Active substances against cardiac arrhythmias, antidiabetics, opiates (used for chronic and high-intensity pain) absorbed through the skin, analgesics and so-called anticholinergic drugs – including many psychotropic drugs, according to the RKI – can also lead to cognitive disorders or problems with blood pressure due to the heat.

Furthermore, the shelf life of medicines can be affected by high temperatures, which can lead to reduced effectiveness.

The report was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Health Monitoring and is part of a series of RKI publications focusing on the impacts of climate change on human health.

Hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere

Last Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus program announced that the summer of 2023 will be by far the warmest on record in the Northern Hemisphere.

Last month alone, the average temperature was 16.82°C, the highest ever recorded for the month of August and the second highest monthly average ever recorded, behind only July.

According to the European Climate Observation Programme, an average temperature of 16.77°C was recorded in the June-August period. The figure is 0.66°C above normal and significantly higher than the previous record of 16.48°C , recorded in 2019.

md (DPA, ots)

Source: Terra

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