As a primary care physician who often treats patients with heat-related illnesses, I know all too well how heatwaves create spikes in hospitalizations and deaths related to “severe nonexertional hyperthermia,” or what most people call “heatstroke.” Heatstroke is when a person’s core body temperature rises too high—often more than 104 degrees F (40 C)—because high environmental temperatures and humidity prevent the body from cooling itself through sweating and breathing. As heatstroke develops, a patient experiences rapid heart rate, ragged breathing, dizziness, nausea, muscle cramps, and confusion. Eventually the patient may lose consciousness entirely. Without medical intervention, heatstroke is often fatal. On average, about 658 Americans die each year from heatstroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Victims of heatstroke can be any age, but most often it strikes the elderly—particularly those over the age of 70—because our bodies’ ability to cool off declines with age. Additionally, many …