ATLANTA (AP) - An average of 381 people a year died of the heat in the U.S. between 1979            and 1996, the government reported Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention            said the heat killed 6,864 people during that period. The deaths included children locked in            sweltering cars and elderly people without air conditioning. About half of all the heat-related            deaths were people 65 and older. Heat-related illnesses can be prevented by drinking lots of            water, finding some air conditioning and limiting exercise to the cooler parts of the day, the CDC            said. Earlier this week, 90-plus temperatures in the East caused at least one death, that a            62-year-old man found dead in his Pottstown, Pa., apartment.