Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases should be prevented and treated together

"With the development of the economy and society, especially the aging of the population and changes in the production and living styles of residents, the incidence of major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and cancer in my country has generally shown an upward trend, and the proportion of deaths from chronic diseases in the total deaths of residents has exceeded 80%." Guo Yanhong, Director of the Medical Emergency Department of the National Health Commission, revealed at a press conference on the "Healthy China Action-Implementation Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases (2023-2030)" held by the National Health Commission a few days ago.

The onset of the disease is becoming younger, which is related to changes in lifestyle

"In recent years, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have been prevalent, and the age of onset is still showing a trend of getting younger. The main reason is the impact of changes in the lifestyle of Chinese residents." Hu Shengshou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, pointed out that in terms of diet, in recent years, the fresh fruits, vegetables and milk in the diet of Chinese residents have indeed increased significantly, but the proportion of whole grains and beans has continued to decline, while the proportion of fat intake and energy supply has continued to rise. In short, people eat less and less coarse grains and more and more oils. In terms of exercise, Chinese residents are generally insufficient in exercise. At the same time, the level of work-related physical activity has a clear downward trend, and the proportion of sedentary life has become higher and higher. In addition, young people also face problems of psychological pressure and lack of sleep.

Emphasize joint prevention and treatment to achieve better prevention and treatment effects

Wang Yongjun, president of Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, stressed that cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases require the same prevention and treatment.

Emphasis on joint prevention is because the risk factors and disease basis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are the same. The basis of the disease is atherosclerosis, the risk factors are the "three highs" of high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and high blood sugar, and the three behavioral factors are the same, namely diet, exercise, and smoking. Therefore, joint prevention can better improve the effect of primary prevention and better manage high-risk groups.

Emphasis on co-treatment is because cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are co-morbidities. Among patients with cardiovascular disease, nearly 20% also suffer from cerebrovascular disease, and among patients with cerebrovascular disease, nearly 20% also suffer from cardiovascular disease. Co-morbidity of the heart and brain will increase the difficulty of treatment. Therefore, emphasis on co-treatment can achieve better treatment results for patients.

Early identification and early treatment make the treatment chain smoother

Wang Yongjun believes that cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are chronic diseases with acute onset. In the early stages of an attack, life-saving treatment is closely related to time. In order to make the early treatment chain smoother, the focus needs to be on doing a good job in four aspects.

First, teach the public to recognize the symptoms of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases at an early stage. For example, remember the English letters "BEFAST", which means difficulty in balance, unclear vision, crooked face, difficult arms and incoherent speech. If any of the five symptoms appears, it means that cerebrovascular disease has occurred. At this time, call the emergency number 120 immediately and send the patient to the hospital for treatment.

The second is to grasp the key links of pre-hospital emergency treatment for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and encourage the public to use ambulances as much as possible so that they can be admitted to the hospital as soon as they get on the vehicle.

The third is to carry out capacity building within the hospital, build a stroke center and a chest pain center, make the green channel within the hospital more unobstructed, and shorten the treatment time within the hospital.

Fourth, ensure talent security. Large hospitals should establish training centers at all levels to conduct training on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular intervention, thrombolysis, and thrombectomy to ensure a talent pool.

Breakthrough in key technologies and build a new model for chronic disease prevention and control

Hu Shengshou introduced that from the perspective of treatment, my country has reached the level of developed countries in terms of the success rate and treatment effect of cardiovascular diseases. The efficacy of some key treatment technologies and the research and development of high-precision medical instruments and equipment have made breakthrough progress in the past decade. For example, coronary stents, valves made of new materials, and artificial hearts, most of these have been replaced by domestic products. Among them, the technical parameters and application effects of the third-generation fully magnetically suspended artificial heart with completely independent intellectual property rights in my country have reached the international advanced level. my country's first ultrasound-guided interventional treatment of structural heart disease has been promoted to more than 30 countries and regions around the world. With the expansion and sinking of high-quality medical resources and the continuous improvement of medical quality, my country's high-level medical services are becoming more and more popular at the grassroots level.

From the prevention perspective, my country has shifted the focus of prevention and control downwards and established the "Shougang Model" for group prevention and treatment of hypertension, which has been recognized by the World Health Organization and promoted in developing countries around the world. Three generations have continued to be based in the Daqing community, moving the checkpoints forward and establishing the "Daqing Model" around lifestyle intervention, which has successfully reduced the risk of diabetes and prolonged life expectancy. All of these have laid a solid foundation for the prevention and control of chronic diseases in my country.

"Compared with the international level, we still have room for improvement in risk factor control, such as fully understanding the interaction between environment and genetics, discovering targets for disease intervention, and scientifically promoting health. On the basis of the past grassroots model of collective prevention and treatment, we must make full use of the development of new technologies in the new era, such as 5G and artificial intelligence, to create and promote a new model of chronic disease prevention and control based on the Internet + smart medical care." said Hu Shengshou.