How to treat patients with valvular heart disease

1. There is no fixed method for “movement”, the key is to find the right method - What should patients with heart valve disease pay attention to during daily exercise?

Patients with valvular heart disease need to exercise properly to improve their physical fitness and avoid excessive fatigue and strenuous exercise. Patients with valvular heart disease accompanied by heart failure should rest in bed more often.

Pay attention to cold and moisture protection to prevent colds. Do not engage in strenuous exercise or heavy physical labor. When doing indoor activities, do not engage in local muscle activities, such as using dumbbells, pullers, single and double bars, etc. for exercise; you can do some relaxing and enjoyable whole-body activities, such as jogging, ballroom dancing, radio gymnastics and other whole-body exercises.

The exercise time should not be too long, about half an hour is appropriate. When exercising, it is recommended that someone be around to watch over you. If you find yourself feeling chest tightness or your heart suddenly beats very fast during exercise, then you should pay attention to this, as there are some alarms in your body. You must stop immediately and don't force yourself to hold on.

2. “Repair” or “Replace” – How to treat heart valve disease?

At present, the heart valve diseases found in clinical practice have progressed to a certain extent and the valves are seriously damaged. The "door" is broken, should it be repaired? Should it be replaced? If there is mild valvular insufficiency, there is no need to worry too much; if there is moderate to severe valvular insufficiency, it needs to be taken seriously. There are currently two main types of valve surgeries: one is valve repair, that is, using one's own materials and valves, which is relatively less traumatic and can be called "repairing the door"; the other is heart valve replacement, which is to open the chest under extracorporeal circulation, remove the body's own valve, and replace it with a new artificial valve, also called "changing the door."

3. During anticoagulant treatment, in which situations should you seek medical attention promptly?

If you experience bleeding gums, nose bleeding, hemoptysis, hematuria, melena, subcutaneous ecchymosis or scattered bleeding spots, menorrhagia, or sudden dizziness, headache, sudden chest tightness, hemiplegia, or aphasia, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible.

4. What foods will affect the efficacy of warfarin?

Warfarin is a common drug for patients after valve replacement. Many foods and nutritional supplements can affect the anticoagulant effect of warfarin. You should maintain a balanced diet and do not add nutritional supplements blindly. Foods rich in vitamin K can weaken the anticoagulant effect of warfarin. Common foods include broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce leaves, snow peas, pistachios, spinach, onions, egg yolks, pork liver, green tea, soybeans, seaweed, water celery, etc. Garlic, ginger, papaya, grapefruit, fish oil, mango, etc. can enhance the anticoagulant effect of warfarin.

5. Which drugs will affect the efficacy of warfarin?

Drugs that can enhance the anticoagulant effect of warfarin include aspirin, sodium salicylate, indomethacin, phenylbutazone, quinine, erythromycin, methylnitrate, chloramphenicol, some aminoglycoside antibiotics, cephalosporins, cimetidine, acetaminophen, etc.; drugs that can reduce the anticoagulant effect of warfarin include phenytoin sodium, barbiturates, rifampicin, oral contraceptives, vitamin K, spironolactone, corticosteroids, etc. Drugs that cannot be used with warfarin include epinephrine hydrochloride, amikacin, vitamin B12, metaraminolamine, chlorpromazine hydrochloride, vancomycin hydrochloride, etc. Some Chinese medicines such as salvia miltiorrhiza, ginseng, angelica, ginkgo, etc. can also enhance or weaken the anticoagulant effect of warfarin. This information can be made into cards for easy reference.