Victims of Heat

The poor and the old (65 plus)

Under a scorching sun, temperatures hung in triple digits this summer for as long as a month in some places, prompting a wave of press stories about 1,000-plus deaths resulting from the heat. The headlines may actually have been too cool. The Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control has now verified 148 such deaths during July in Kansas City alone. About 450 people received emergency care in hospitals, and untold numbers consulted private physicians.

The heat's chief victims were the poor and the old. The median age of those who died in Kansas City was 73 (72% were 65 or over). The death rate in low-income areas was 9.6 per 10,000, vs. .09 in wealthy districts. Apparent reason: the well-off elderly were not only healthier to begin with, but better supplied with fans, air conditioners and other aids to keep body temperatures below the 105DEG F (40.6DEG C) or so that helps trigger heat stroke.

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