177: Exploring Heat Stress and Heat Stroke, with Dr. William Adams

Fast Talk

In June, Trevor went to Moab for what he thought would be a nice vacation filled with mountain biking with friends. It turned into a stressful, harrowing experience when one friend was evacuated to the hospital by helicopter, and Trevor was left wondering if he’d live.

No, it wasn’t from a crash. It was all about the heat that day. Trevor’s friend had suffered heat stroke. Or was it heat stress? Ultimately, the trip made Trevor wonder what he could have done differently.

Thus, we found experts to help us better understand heat stress, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and similar conditions elicited by heat. In this episode we try to answer several questions:

• What are the true definitions of these conditions?
• What are the causes?
• What are the physiological ramifications?
• What can you look for, in yourself or others, to know if serious issues are on the horizon?
• And what can you do to prevent those early symptoms from turning into a catastrophe?

We’re joined today by Adam Wisseman, a collegiate national championship podium finisher and Trevor’s friend who lived through this ordeal in the heat of Moab. We also hear from Emile Abraham, a former pro and Pan Am Games medalist turned elite coach. Finally we’re joined by Dr. William Adams, the associate director of sports medicine research at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, whose work focuses on investigating the prevention, management, and care of heat-related illness, among other things. He's the perfect expert for our episode today.

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