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Departments
> Emergency Preparedness > Heat Wave
> Heat Stroke
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Heat Stroke
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HEATSTROKE
- Dry hot skin, usually red
- Pupils constricted
- Very high body temperature
- Coma or near coma
- Pulse strong and rapid
Signs and Symptoms
- Temperature of 105ºF or higher.
- Hot reddish, dry skin; patients who are progressing from heat exhaustion to heat stroke may still have some perspiration on the skin.
- An initially rapid, strong pulse of 160 or more, continuing rapid but becoming weak as damage progresses.
- Initially constricted pupils, later becoming dilated.
- Mental confusion and anxiety; patients may show unusual irritability, aggression, combative agitation or - in the extreme - psychotic or hysterical behavior.
- Initially deep, rapid breathing becomes shallow and weak as damage progresses.
- Headache, dry mouth, shortness of breath.
- Loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting.
- Increasing dizziness and weakness, decreased blood pressure.
- Convulsions, sudden collapse and possible unconsciousness; all heatstroke patients have compromised levels of consciousness, ranging from disorientation to coma.
- Tremors, seizures.
Patients may lapse into a coma, become delirious and die. About 4,000 Americans die of heatstroke every year. |
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