“Up to a hypertensive crisis”: doctors told how to protect yourself from magnetic storms and vagaries of weather

“Real summer” will come to Moscow on Tuesday, April 2, said Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center. And on Friday the temperature will plummet again – on the weekend nights are expected to drop to 0 degrees. Not everyone endures such changes in weather – from summer to early spring – painlessly, and then magnetic storms have arrived, which will hit the Earth on April 3, 4 and 5. “MK” found out from doctors which categories of people should take special care on such days and how they can alleviate their condition?

The end of March pleased Muscovites and residents of the European part of the country with truly summer warmth. “On the last day of March, well-warmed air masses from the Mediterranean arrived on the territory of European Russia along with the winds of the southern points, which, together with the bright rays of the spring sun, contributed to an active increase in air temperature,” Mikhail Leus, a leading employee of the Phobos weather center, explained this phenomenon .

So, according to weather forecasters, on April 2 Moscow will experience truly summer weather – plus 9-11 degrees at night, and plus 20-22 degrees during the day. This “warmth” is typical for June! On Monday the temperature will be 10 degrees above normal, and on Tuesday by 12 degrees. This is a real weather anomaly. However, after three days of “summer heat”, the temperature will return to its climatic norm: on Friday night it is predicted from 0 to 1 degree Celsius, and during the day – only plus 6-7 degrees. Little of! Rain and sleet are also possible by the end of the week.

In addition to temperature changes, in the coming days – April 3, 4 and 5 – earthlings will expect a magnetic storm of 3-4 points, which will be the result of another solar flare. Moreover, weather forecasters reported that one of these had already raged on March 23-24. Before March 24, the last time a magnetic storm of such strength was observed on Earth was in April 2023. Because of these storms, the manifestations of problems in the body in certain categories of people can be the most deplorable – up to a hypertensive crisis.

Social networks are filled with alarming posts from Muscovites: “My head is already starting to hurt. A sharp warming, and then a sharp cooling, is not a joy for us,” “It’s very noticeable, my head is cast iron.” Maybe this is written by too suspicious citizens? But no, doctors explained that some groups of people are indeed extremely vulnerable during periods of weather and magnetic surprises.

– First of all, sudden changes in temperature, both in the direction of warming and cooling, as well as magnetic storms affect older people, that is, people 60+, women in menopause (since their thermoregulation processes are disrupted) and patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases, explains cardiologist and arrhythmologist Olga Savonina.

According to the doctor, this can manifest itself in: increased blood pressure, hypertensive crises (sharp increase in pressure), heart pain (chest pain), angina attacks, headaches. In addition, with temperature changes, the viscosity of the blood increases, which slows down the movement of blood; accordingly, because of this, the oxygen content in the red blood cells decreases, and the red blood cells (red blood cells) give less oxygen to all other organs and tissues. Therefore, a person may experience oxygen starvation.

“When the temperature drops sharply, which is what awaits us on Friday, the blood vessels narrow, and the more they narrow, the higher a person’s blood pressure can rise,” the doctor continues.

Magnetic storms affect the human body a little differently: some people may experience a decrease in pressure, while others may experience an increase. And even in hypertensive patients, a sharp decrease in initial high blood pressure can occur, which leads to loss of strength.

On days of magnetic storms, people belonging to these categories (remember, these are elderly and with cardiovascular diseases) may experience a disturbance in their heart rhythm – rapid heartbeat, severe migraine-type headaches, and they may also complain of poor sleep, insomnia.

A few simple recommendations will help alleviate the condition and prevent the negative consequences of “games of temperatures and storms”. First, don’t overload yourself with work these days. Second, you should drink more fluids, namely water. And exclude alcohol and coffee. It is also advisable to limit salt in dishes and salty foods in general, since salt “pulls water”, and this can provoke an increase in blood pressure and a hypertensive crisis. If your blood pressure has increased these days, take appropriate medications. If the pressure, on the contrary, decreases, then general tonics and restoratives (ginseng, lemongrass, tea) will help. If you feel unwell during this period, then it is important to control your blood pressure and measure it more often than you usually do.

“Normal sleep will help you feel better: when there are temperature changes, you need to get enough sleep – at least 8 hours,” advises Savonina. – If you have insomnia, then you should try to go to bed before 23:00 in the evening, since from 23:00 to 1:00 at night, let me remind you, melatonin is produced, and therefore there is a greater chance that you will fall asleep faster and will not wake up in the middle of the night.

However, these recommendations will not be superfluous for healthy people: on “dangerous” days it is better not to exhaust yourself with physical work, spend more time in the fresh air, drink more water and try to go to bed before 23:00. And you will be happy, despite the sun flares and temperature swings.