Heart Health
Guard your heart during the dog days of summer
Heat, humidity, and haze can be rough on your heart.
 Image: © yacobchuk/Getty Images
Summer's long, sunny days often entice people to spend more time exercising outdoors. While being more physically active is great for your heart, it's important to exercise caution when the temperature and humidity rise.
"You hear stories about football players collapsing when they do strenuous workouts in hot weather, probably because they're not drinking enough fluid," says Dr. Adolph M. Hutter, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. However, hot weather can affect non-athletes as well. "For the average person, just walking on a golf course when it's 100° with high humidity is stressful for the cardiovascular system," he says.
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