EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin — Dehydration can affect much more than your thirst. It also can place extra stress on your heart and cardiovascular system, explains Brodie Marthaler, M.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. “Think of the heart as a pump. For it to work properly, enough blood needs to return to it with every heartbeat,” Dr. Marthaler says. “When you become dehydrated, the amount of fluid circulating in your bloodstream decreases. That means less blood returns…
