Why Don't Men Live as Long as Women?

My Take:

Extreme heat is the #1 weather-related killer worldwide. That’s right: the heat kills more people than floods, wildfires, tornadoes, or hurricanes.

And right now, much of the US is in the throes of a heat wave, making it all the more important to prioritize staying cool in order to protect yourself from heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Extreme heat can also worsen existing cardiovascular disease like angina or heart failure; it can also exacerbate chronic respiratory conditions like asthma and emphysema (COPD).

The top 2 pieces of advice are to stay cool and stay hydrated. Both can be easier said than done. Just be sure not to underestimate the effect these hot temps can have on your body; it is all too easy to become overheated before you realize it.

Do any outdoor activity very early or very late in the day, and drink much more fluid than you think you need (if you’re under fluid restrictions due to heart failure or kidney disease, check with your physician about how much is safe to increase).

And very importantly, give your body a chance to recover overnight. That may mean turning down indoor temps (cranking up the A/C) more than you usually do at night. Even one or two degrees lower than your usual overnight thermostat set point can make a big difference.

The article from Consumer Reports above provides some more good tips for protecting yourself from the heat, and also decodes the different terminology for heat warnings.

For more on the symptoms of heat exhaustion:

For more on heat stroke:

My Take:

June is Men’s Health Month, and in this issue we take a look at some of the main reasons why men have shorter lifespans than women. On average, in the US, men’s lifespans are 5 years shorter than women’s.

It might not surprise you, given that I’m a cardiologist and this is a heart-health newsletter, that the #1 cause of death for both men and women worldwide is heart disease. But men are more likely to experience cardiovascular disease an average of 10 years before women do.

Men are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors like smoking and vaping; they are also more likely to experience obesity than women are. Men metabolize food differently than women, and are thus more prone to have higher levels of fats in the blood (like triglycerides) after meals. All of this puts stress on the heart and circulatory system, and raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death.

Also, of course, women receive a great deal of heart-protective benefit from estrogen, which is why women experience a steep increase in heart-disease risk around the age of 60, after menopause.

But many—as much as 80%—of the risk that men experience in terms of heart disease can be prevented. That’s good news! Through diet and lifestyle habits (like you see in this newsletter week after week!), much of that risk can be prevented or reversed.

There are other reasons for the longevity gap between men and women—such as certain cancers, like melanoma, being more common in men—so have a look at the article above for a more detailed overview.

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