Heat-related illness, deaths loom as temps spike, sending nearly 500 Colorado residents a year to emergency rooms

As hot weather baked Colorado this week and forecasters anticipated hotter days to come, state health authorities warned of heat-related illnesses that increasingly send residents to hospitals.

“Heat waves are becoming more common,” Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials warn in their latest public guidance on risks of heat exhaustion and stroke. “Heat-related illnesses can damage the brain and other vital organs.”

State health authorities recommend that, when temperatures exceed 90 degrees for several days, residents “stay in an air-conditioned area” — difficult for workers whose jobs require outdoor activity and thousands of people living on the streets. Health officials also point to shopping malls, libraries, and other places with AC as options. “Even a few hours in air-conditioning can keep the body cool.”

Drink water often, and avoid sugary drinks and alcohol, which lead to loss of body fluid, they advise.

CDPHE data released this week show that 494 residents of the state went to emergency rooms with heat-related illnesses in 2022 — above the 2011-2022 average of 368. Of those patients, 60 had to be hospitalized (above the 2004-2022 average of 38), the data show. Ten people died in Colorado due to heat (above the 2004-2022 average of 6).

Heat now ranks as the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. As sizzling temperatures and heat waves become more common — linked by scientists to climate change — health authorities anticipate heat-related illness will increase.

While far less frequent than in Phoenix, the nation’s hottest big city, ER visits and hospitalizations linked to heat are on the rise in Colorado and other states. In Phoenix, health authorities last year counted 425 heat-related deaths. People living on the streets have been hardest hit. Extreme heat in general causes more health harm than tornadoes and hurricanes.

Denver’s high temperatures this month have exceeded 90 degrees on six days. National Weather Service meteorologists anticipated intense heat next week.

Temperatures around the state have topped 100 degrees. On Tuesday morning, the temperature in Pueblo hit 100 degrees at 10:49 a.m., weather service officials said. Forecasters said the high in Pueblo will be a near-record 103 degrees on Tuesday. The record for the day is 105 degrees, set last year.

Around Colorado, the rates (per 100,000 residents) of heat-related ER visits varied. Above-average rates of ER admissions were recorded in Otero (49), Fremont (22), Pueblo (17), and Morgan (36), and other counties, the data show. The rates were lower than average in Jefferson (4.78) and Douglas (1.98) counties, data show. Denver had a rate of 6.48 heat-related ER admissions per 100,000 residents, slightly higher than Colorado Springs and surrounding El Paso County (6.10). Logan County had the highest rate of hospitalizations, the data show. Statewide, heat-related hospitalizations of Colorado residents have increased over the past two decades, data show, with the highest numbers recorded in the past two years.

“Heat-related illness rates tend to fluctuate year over year, but they have generally trended upward since we began collecting data. We have seen rates increase for the past two years, and they tend to be higher now than they were 10 years ago,” CDPHE spokesperson Gabi Johnston said.

“As the climate warms and heat waves become more common, we expect heat-related illness will continue to increase,” Johnston said. “But heat-related illness is preventable. We want to ensure people have the information they need to stay safe.”

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