San Antonio police on Thursday responded to reports of a woman found unresponsive on a sidewalk north of downtown. She likely died from the heat, police reportedly told KENS5 at the time.
The woman, believed to be 46, was found on the 120 block of East Fredericksburg Road. The call came in as a cardiac arrest and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The cause of death is unknown at this time, as the Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct a death investigation,” said SAPD Officer Ricardo Guzman on Friday. “No signs of trauma were observed on the victim.”
KENS5 reported that police said at the scene that they believed the woman died of natural causes resulting from a heat-related illness on Thursday, when temperatures reached 106 degrees during an excessive heat warning.
Bexar County does not track heat-related deaths, but the city’s Metropolitan Health District publishes weekly heat-related illnesses reported to an online dashboard.
Metro Health said it doesn’t track heat-related deaths because it is not a reportable condition.
“Metro Health investigates deaths that are reported due to heat-related illnesses and works with the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office and data obtained from death certificates,” spokeswoman for Metro Health Krystal Alvarez said in a statement.
So far this month, 88 people experienced heat-related illnesses.
Chief Operating Officer Gay Lynn Schwenk told the San Antonio Report that SAMMinistries knows heat-related deaths are increasing overall.
“It’s really important … looking at how those deaths are documented and the education we’re able to provide about staying safe from the heat,” she said. “We know that temperatures are rising and staying hotter for longer periods of time, and we know there are hundreds of people living directly on the streets that we need to provide shelter and resources to.”
Bexar County officials have said it’s difficult to know when a heat-related illness kills someone because underlying health issues make people more vulnerable to heat.
And if they die, their death could be documented as an overdose or due to another untreated illness.
“Sometimes folks very likely are dying from the effects of the heat and the extent to what that exacerbated their illness but it may be attributed solely to that,” Schwenk said.
As temperatures will continue rising, she said there’s more importance in addressing underlying health issues.
Steven Moore, associate professor in the department of emergency medicine for UT Health San Antonio and ER physician for University Health, said medications and underlying health problems naturally dehydrate vulnerable people.
“Elderly people, because of some of the medications they’re on, they’re not able to have an adequate response to the heat, like sweating and heart rate,” he said.
People experiencing homelessness are among the top groups going to the ER for heat-related illnesses, along with construction workers and vulnerable populations such as seniors.
An active online petition asks San Antonio City Council and Bexar County Commissioners to track heat-related deaths.
Schwenk said tracking the data can give public health officials and nonprofits that work with housed populations more insight on how they can respond.
For now, organizations and health officials are pushing prevention. It’s all prevention, they said.
Recognize the signs: Heat-related illnesses happen fast after symptom onsets, Moore said. If you see someone feeling nauseous, vomiting, experiencing dizziness or cramping, try to help them cool down. If someone is experiencing confusion or seizures, neurological damage can start within 30 minutes, so call 9-1-1.
Click here to see cooling centers across San Antonio. Find a splash pad or pool to cool off at these sites.