[Five elderly patients with cerebral infarction seen during a heat wave]

Five elderly patients (> or = 65 y) with cerebral infarction induced by dehydration during a heat wave were described to clarify the relationship between dehydration and stroke in the aged. When the daily maximum temperature exceeded 30 degrees C every day for two weeks, 6 patients with acute stroke came to our hospital. Five of them were patients with cerebral infarction aged 73-89 (the elderly group) and one was a 52-year-old woman with putaminal hemorrhage. As control groups, patients with ischemic stroke during the period 4 weeks before and after, but excluding the heat wave period, which consisted of an elderly control group (n = 7) and a young control group (n = 5), were also studied retrospectively with regard to clinical findings and neuroimaging. The incidence of cerebral infarction in the elderly group was higher in the heat wave period among all three groups. Atherothrombotic, lacunar, and cardioembolic infarctions were seen in 1, 2 and 2 cases, respectively. The onset in the elderly group was characteristic as all occurred before noon and were related to exercise. Physical examination at arrival revealed decreased skin turgor and dry tongue. A high BUN/creatinine ratio (> or = 25) and elevated fibrinogen (> 400 mg/dl) was frequently noted, although high hematocrit (> or = 45) was not seen. According to clinical findings, dehydration was diagnosed and they were infused with fluid, resulting in the improvement of skin turgor and tongue moisture. These findings indicated that dehydration due to excess perspiration due to the heat wave induced cerebral infarction in the elderly. It suggests that water intake on awakening in summer is important to prevent dehydration and ischemic stroke because elderly people are especially susceptible to those conditions in the morning.