Heat Stroke In Dogs

WHAT IT IS: As you will see, a heat stroke is not the kind of stroke we know about as humans.

- Emmanuel Macapagal

The human stroke has elements that differentiate it from a heat stroke in animals. Rather, a heat stroke, in my opinion, is a loss of the ability to dispel heat, which leads to hyperthermia.

It must be clarified that this does not mean, however, that this disease is not potentially fatal. In most veterinary textbooks, it is defined as temperatures that reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 39-40 degrees Centigrade) or even higher. At this point, it resembles a very high fever which is also classified as a form of hyperthermia, but of the non-pyrogenic nature. That statement only means that the rise in temperature was not induced by anything that remotely resembles an infection, whether it be viral or bacterial in nature.

Furthermore, the “brain thermostat” known to us as the hypothalamic set-point was not altered in any way; therefore, it may not be called a “fever” in the strictest sense of the word. However, the devastating effects of the extreme rise in temperature gives rise to a series of potentially life-threatening consequences like brain swelling or cerebral edema and respiratory shock, as well as multi-systemic organ failure as its immediate sequelae or worst-case scenario of likely events should heat stroke afflict any dog.