My brother helped me walk into the hospital... Is this disease "contagious"? Severe cases can be fatal

Brothers Wang Da (pseudonym) and Wang Er (pseudonym) went to the hospital together and had the same operation on the same day. What happened to these brothers? Experts from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine remind that this type of disease tends to occur at a younger age, and it is important to develop good living habits, after all, it can cause disability or even death in severe cases.

I didn't expect that the brothers would get together...

Wang Da and Wang Er are brothers. Wang Da is 60 years old and Wang Er is 54 years old. They are both from Hangzhou, but Wang Da went to other places to do business in his early years and has been living there ever since. He only returns to Hangzhou during the holidays.

Not long ago, during a short holiday, Wang Da returned to Hangzhou and made an appointment with Wang Er to visit the graves of their deceased parents. The two brothers climbed the mountain together and both said that their legs hurt. Wang Da said that his left leg would hurt from time to time, and sometimes the pain would affect his walking. When Wang Er heard this, he also said that his legs would hurt, and both legs hurt, and the right leg was more serious, which also affected his walking. The two brothers sighed in front of their parents' graves, saying that time is not forgiving, and they are old, and they have all suffered from cold legs.

"Uncle, uncle, let's go to the hospital. It doesn't look like 'old cold legs'. Let's check if the arteries in the lower limbs are blocked." Wang Da and Wang Er's nephew is in medical school. Based on what he has learned, he suggested that they go to the hospital. For this reason, the two brothers went to the expert clinic of Zhu Qianqian, deputy chief physician of the Vascular Surgery Department of the First Phase of Zhejiang University First Hospital the next day.

"Brother disease" - living habits are too similar

"Doctor, we have two numbers one after the other, and we are family members accompanying each other. Please take a look at us together." In the expert clinic of Associate Chief Physician Zhu Qiqi, the two brothers described their symptoms and were eager to know what caused them.

After a simple physical examination by palpating the pulse of the lower limbs, Associate Chief Physician Zhu Qiqi initially determined that the lower limb arteries were blocked. After an ultrasound examination, it was determined that Wang Da had a blocked artery in his left thigh, and Wang Er had blocked bilateral iliac arteries. The brothers' arteries were tightly blocked by plaques, and the blood flow in the lower limb blood vessels was poor, leading to ischemia and symptoms of pain and claudication.

"Your arteriosclerosis and occlusion have affected your daily lives, so you can consider surgery." For this reason, the two brothers were admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery on the same day.

"Doctor, is this a genetic disease? Why do both my brother and I have this disease?" Wang Da and Wang Er were puzzled as to why both of them had lower limb arteriosclerosis obliterans.

"This disease is not hereditary, but is closely related to lifestyle habits." Associate Chief Physician Zhu Qixi explained that since the two grew up together, they loved drinking and eating late-night snacks when they were young, and both had a long history of smoking. After middle age, they developed chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Therefore, the aging of their arteries was accelerated, and the function of the arterial endothelial cells gradually deteriorated. The macrophages under the endothelium were more likely to devour the blood lipids in the blood, so the blood lipids went under the intima and continued to deposit, causing plaques. Finally, the plaques became more and more serious, completely blocking the arteries.

"It's still timely. In serious cases, amputation is possible." Zhu Xixi, deputy chief physician, emphasized that when blood vessels are severely blocked, blood cannot deliver nutrients to the lower limb tissues. If the blockage is severe and lasts for a long time, it may cause necrosis of the lower limbs. If infection occurs during muscle tissue necrosis, it may cause sepsis and lead to the patient's death. In addition, arteriosclerosis and occlusion are actually a systemic disease. Patients with lower limb artery sclerosis and occlusion often have coronary artery sclerosis and stenosis, carotid artery and intracranial artery stenosis, so they are prone to acute myocardial infarction and acute cerebral infarction.

Good living habits are important for younger people

"There are more and more people in their 30s and 40s suffering from arteriosclerosis now." Professor Zhang Hongkun, director of vascular surgery, said that this disease tends to occur at a younger age. When we are born, our blood vessels are like brand new rubber water pipes, smooth and elastic inside, without any dirt accumulation. As we age, our blood vessels will gradually age, and the blood vessels of the elderly will definitely be harder than those of the young. These are all natural laws. However, because young people now have too many bad habits, especially smoking, drinking, obesity, and lack of exercise, they will accelerate the aging of blood vessels, resulting in a series of diseases after arteriosclerosis tending to occur at a younger age.

"Vascular sclerosis can be prevented, delayed, and even reversed before symptoms appear." Professor Zhang Hongkun said that we can improve our unhealthy lifestyle or take timely medication to correct it. We should optimize our diet, exercise properly, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption, and have regular physical examinations. If the physical examination shows that our blood vessels have already been sclerotic, we should go to a regular hospital for treatment in a timely manner. If we do not pay attention to it, it can lead to leg infarction, myocardial infarction, and cerebral infarction in severe cases, which can affect the patient's life and work at the mildest, and even endanger his life in severe cases.