AVENTURA, Fla. – Hot summer days in South Florida raise the risk of dehydration goes up and that can lead to dangerous increases in blood pressure.
Cardiologist Dr. Leonard Pianko said dehydration causes the body to release more of an anti-diuretic hormone called vasopressin.
“So when this hormone is created from the adrenal gland going to the brain, it is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it causes the blood vessels to narrow and when the blood vessels narrow, blood pressure goes up,” he said.
Pianko said researchers have also found some link between high blood pressure and becoming dehydrated, but the exact reason remains unknown.
Suicide Stats
A new report by the CDC finds youth and young adults are dying from suicide and homicide at the highest rates in decades.
The analysis found that in 2021, suicide and homicide were the second and third leading causes of death for children and young adults ages 10 to 24 in the U.S.
The homicide rate for this age group was also the highest since 1997 while the suicide rate was the highest on record since 1968.
Earlier research saw a steady increase in the number of children visiting emergency rooms for suicidal thoughts and that was before the pandemic.
And another report published this week found that people in the gay community are more likely to have mental health and substance abuse problems.
The report found adults who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are more likely than those who identify as straight to have serious thoughts of suicide and mental health conditions including major depressive episodes.
They’re also more likely to misuse substances like alcohol and drugs.
The data in the report comes from 2021 and 2022.
Next year’s survey will also aim to identify people who are transgender or non-binary.