The heat waves are rising all over the world and causing a lot of damage. While there are issues of dehydration and heat strokes, studies are suggesting that it might also be responsible for declining mental health, the heat among other things is not only affecting the physicality of human beings but is also having adverse mental health.

Emotional distress: The heat can trigger mood swings, making you feel irritable, anxious, depressed, or even aggressive. You may not be able to predict your reaction, you may be good one moment and then any minor inconvenience will make you angry or sad. Heat often triggers that helplessness in people.

Scattered Focus: Concentrating on tasks becomes a struggle when it's hot. Simple things feel overwhelming, and staying focused is a challenge. While you may be in the zone working on completing something, the heat and sweating will disrupt your flow and then you will not be able to focus on anything other than the heat.

Sleepless Nights: High temperatures, especially at night, disrupt your sleep. This lack of rest can leave you feeling tired, and grumpy, and worsen existing mental health issues. All humans require a comfortable temperature to sleep in, if your body is too wound up or heated up, it will not be able to relax and sleep.

Feeling the Pressure: The heat can pile on stress and make you feel overwhelmed. Concerns about the heat itself or its impact on other aspects of your life can contribute to this feeling. You will feel overwhelmed and unable to work on anything else. The heat makes you feel a certain helplessness, as you cannot stop the sun or turn down the heat.

Body Blues: The heat can cause physical symptoms that affect your mental well-being. Headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and nausea can all contribute to anxiety and low mood. When your body is already fatigued, the urge to do anything else disappears. Your body is drained of energy to function at all and will seek rest and sleep.

Behavioural Shifts: The heat can influence your behaviour. You might act impulsively or have difficulty managing anger. It's like the heat turns up your emotional thermostat. When your body and brain are overheating, it is difficult to think straight and you will grasp at straws to release this energy and pressure off of you.

Some other side effects of the heat are.

• Mental Health Flare-Ups: If you already have a mental health condition, hot weather can worsen your symptoms. Existing depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia might feel more intense.
• Heat and Suicide Risk: Studies show a disturbing link between hot weather and increased suicide rates, particularly among men and older adults. Hot weather can be a tipping point for those already struggling.
• Heatwave Hospitalizations: When temperatures soar, people with existing mental health issues may require increased hospitalization. This highlights the need for healthcare systems to be prepared for heat waves.
• Climate Change and Mental Health: Climate change is leading to more frequent heatwaves. Research suggests this could lead to a rise in mental health problems and suicides. Taking action against climate change is crucial for protecting mental well-being.

Most women who've had preeclampsia remember it as something that happened during pregnancy. The blood pressure spiked, doctors kept a close watch, the baby arrived, and everything went back to normal.

Case closed, or so it seems. But there's a quieter part of this story that doesn't get told nearly enough - what preeclampsia might mean for a woman's heart years down the line.

So, What Is Preeclampsia?

It's a condition that can happen after the 20th week of pregnancy, when blood pressure rises sharply and starts putting pressure on organs like the kidneys or liver. During preeclampsia, the lining of blood vessels - the endothelium - becomes inflamed and doesn't relax and dilate the way it normally should.

This is the same vessel dysfunction we see in the early stages of coronary artery disease, just decades ahead of schedule. Doctors usually catch it through routine checks - protein in the urine, sudden swelling, or blood pressure readings that don't sit right.

Once the baby is delivered, blood pressure almost always comes back down. That "return to normal," though, doesn't mean the story is over.

Also read: Vitamin D & Pregnancy: Could Vitamin D Deficiency Increase Risk Of Premature Birth?

A Pregnancy Complication with a Long Impact on Heart

Think of preeclampsia as an early stress test that the heart didn't quite pass. It is associated with increased risk of hypertension in future and also increase the risk of heart failure, stroke and cardiovascular diseases. And this isn’t a risk that shows up only in old age, in some cases, death happens within the first 10 years after pregnancy.

The risk of heart failure also increases by four-fold and the risk of coronary heart disease by two folds in patients with preeclampsia. The risk of ischemic heart disease and hypertension is elevated too. The risk increases further if preeclampsia occurred early in pregnancy, during multiple pregnancies, or alongside other factors like obesity or a family history of heart disease.

It highlights the importance of life law monitoring of cardiovascular rest factors in a woman who has history of preeclampsia.

Also read: PMOS Isn't Just About Periods Or Pregnancy: Why Women Need To Think Beyond Fertility

The Part of Care That Often Gets Skipped

Once the baby is here, attention naturally shifts entirely toward the newborn - and a new mother's own follow-ups tend to fall away quietly, usually right after that standard six-week check. That's the gap, we need to close in postpartum care. Women with a preeclampsia history should regularly monitor their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and actually bring these numbers up during the consultation.

None of this means preeclampsia guarantees heart disease down the road. It just means the risk picture has shifted, and that's worth knowing. Staying active, eating well, keeping weight in check, and staying away from smoking helps reduce the risk.

More obstetricians and cardiologists are starting to treat preeclampsia as something to track for life, not just for nine months. That shift in thinking could end up protecting a lot of hearts long after the pregnancy itself is over.

By Dr Waseem Farooqui, Consultant, Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Care, Medanta Hospitals, Noida

After a brain bleed, controlling blood pressure is crucial—but is it enough to prevent another stroke? Neurologists explain why consistent BP monitoring, regular medicines, lifestyle changes, and follow-ups matter after discharge. They also share warning signs families should never ignore and when sudden BP rises require urgent medical attention.

Is Blood Pressure Control Enough After A Brain Bleed?

Dr Shubha Subramanian - Senior Consultant - Neurology - Kauvery Hospital, Vadapalani, Chennai told Health and Me, "After a brain bleed, controlling BP is extremely important, but this is only for spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage, not in cases of an AV malformation, an aneurysm-related bleed, or a traumatic bleed, where the aetiology is different." He added, "In case of idiopathic spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage, probably because of BP fluctuations or high BP, in that case, for secondary prevention, there will be a reduced number of bleeds if the BP is well controlled. Consistent control is very, very important."

Also Read: CagriSema Beats Lilly’s Mounjaro & Zepbound In New Trial: All About Novo’s Next-Gen Obesity Drug

After a brain bleed, patients should regularly monitor blood pressure and pulse, with diabetics also checking blood sugar at home. Periodic blood tests and ECGs may be advised. Families should watch for confusion, seizures, weakness, changes in speech, or facial drooping. Recognising these warning signs early and maintaining consistent BP control can help prevent another bleed.

The Common Mistakes That Can Raise The Risk

"Common mistakes include missing medications, not monitoring blood pressure regularly, stopping follow-up visits when they are feeling better, smoking and consuming too much alcohol, and returning too soon to strenuous activity," said Dr. Soniya Tambe, Consultant, Neurology, Fortis Hospital, Bannarghetta Road, Bengaluru. She added, "Patients also may ignore symptoms such as severe headache, weakness, speech difficulty, or vision changes. These signs should never be dismissed."

What To Eat And Avoid During Recovery

Recovery after a brain bleed doesn’t stop when a patient leaves the hospital. The steps taken at home are equally important in reducing the risk of another stroke. Along with taking medicines as prescribed and keeping blood pressure under control, patients should focus on making healthy, long-term lifestyle changes rather than following temporary restrictions.

A balanced, low-salt diet can support recovery, while smoking and alcohol should be avoided. Patients should ease back into physical activity gradually and only with their doctor’s advice, especially in the early recovery period. Getting enough sleep, maintaining a healthy weight, and managing stress are also important. Regular follow-ups help monitor blood pressure and other heart-related risk factors.

Warning Signs Families Should Never Ignore

Dr. Praveen Chander, Senior Consultant Neurology, Gleneagles Chennai, told Health and Me, "Families should also recognise sudden weakness or numbness, difficulty speaking, confusion, loss of balance, severe headache, or sudden vision changes as possible warning signs. These symptoms require immediate medical attention rather than waiting for them to settle."

Alcohol use among US adults has declined for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, driven largely by Gen Z and millennials, a new study found.

However, alcohol use remains above pre-pandemic levels, according to the findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

"It’s encouraging to see alcohol use decline for the first time since the start of the pandemic,” said Brian P. Lee, a hepatologist and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California and principal investigator of the study.

“However, use remains above pre-pandemic levels and certain groups continue to have concerning trends," he added.

What Did The Study Find?

Also read: BORG Drinking Trend: Why These Viral Alcohol Jugs Can Be Dangerous

Researchers analyzed National Health Interview Survey data from 114,352 US adults between 2018 and 2024.

Heavy drinking was defined as five or more drinks per day or 15 or more drinks per week for men, and four or more drinks per day or eight or more per week for women, in the 12 months before the survey.

From 2022 to 2024, any alcohol use fell by nearly 2%, while heavy drinking declined by more than 8%.

Researchers said this was the first confirmed reduction in alcohol consumption since the pandemic began, following increases in drinking reported in previous studies.

Gen Z, Millennials Cut Back As Older Adults Drink More

The biggest decline in any alcohol use was among Gen Z adults, whose consumption fell by more than 5%.

Millennials recorded the largest drop in heavy drinking, at 17% between 2022 and 2024.

The study did not examine why younger adults reduced their drinking, though researchers noted that changing social attitudes toward alcohol may be one explanation.

In contrast, alcohol use increased among adults aged 50-64. From 2018 to 2024, any alcohol use in this group rose by nearly 4%, while heavy drinking increased by more than 36%.

According to Lee, the increase is particularly concerning because older adults face higher risks of alcohol-related conditions, including liver disease, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease.

"Heavy drinking among ages 50-64 is up by more than a third since 2018, a concerning trend because this age group faces some of the greatest risks of harm from alcohol, including cirrhosis and alcohol-related cancers,” Lee said.

Men saw a larger decline in any alcohol use than women, 2.4% versus 1.1%. However, heavy alcohol use fell more among women than men, 9% versus 7.7%.

Lee noted that understanding differences in drinking patterns could help develop more effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Read More: Heart Diseases, Mental Disorders And Cancer Among 62 Health Risks Linked To Alcohol Use: Study

Does Drinking Less Reverse Alcohol-Related Harm?

Excessive alcohol consumption is one of the leading preventable causes of illness and death in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alcohol accounts for approximately half of all liver-related deaths, while alcohol-associated cirrhosis has become the leading cause of liver transplants, according to Lee.

The World Health Organization says health risks begin with the first drop of alcohol, meaning no level of consumption is completely safe or risk-free.

Although the decline in alcohol use is a positive development, "we cannot assume alcohol-related harms will decline automatically,” said Lee. “Continued attention to screening, prevention and treatment will be critical, particularly among groups where alcohol use remains elevated.”