Exposure to elevated heat can directly result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke and hyperthermia. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 600 annual deaths attributable to elevated heat, while statistical approaches estimate more than 1,300 annual deaths. The role of medical examiners There are two types of heat-related deaths: heat stress deaths, caused directly by heat and recorded on a death certificate; and heat-exacerbated deaths, when heat worsens existing chronic conditions. As of 2019, 16 states had a centralized medical examiner system, 14 had a county-based system with a mixture of coroner and medical examiner office, six had a county- or district-based medical examiner system, and 14 had a county-, district- or parish-based coroner system. Credit: artistmac/flickr Though states and researchers also use statistical models to estimate the numbers of heat-related deaths, the methods are not standardized.

Source: The Guardian January 22, 2024 10:51 UTC