What should patients with cardiovascular disease do if they are infected with COVID-19? Answers from authoritative experts

It is winter now, the weather is cold, and we are facing the risk of epidemics. How should patients with cardiovascular diseases protect their health? If you are infected with the new coronavirus, what should you pay attention to when treating at home? Experts from the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism provide professional answers to hot issues of public concern.

1. Question: Winter is the peak season for cardiovascular diseases. How can we prevent them?

Answer: Due to the cold weather in winter, cardiovascular system contracts, and the incidence of three emergency diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and especially acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and aortic dissection, will increase.

To prevent cardiovascular diseases, you should: keep warm; eat a healthy diet, avoid high-salt foods and other high-load foods; exercise moderately, and choose the right exercise method according to your physical condition and tolerance; quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption, avoid smoking-induced vasospasm and alcohol-induced damage to the vascular endothelium; and maintain a balanced mentality. Fear, fatigue, excitement, fullness, and cold weather are all factors that induce cardiovascular diseases. Patients with cardiovascular diseases at home should pay attention to monitoring their blood pressure and regularly test their blood lipids.

2. Question: If a patient with cardiovascular disease is infected with the new coronavirus, what should he/she pay attention to during home treatment? If the underlying disease worsens, do he/she need to go to the hospital for treatment?

A: Patients with existing cardiovascular diseases do not need to worry or be anxious if they are infected with the new coronavirus. Patients with coronary heart disease, hypertension or heart failure generally still need to take their medications normally. From the current clinical situation, except for the impact of fever on the treatment of some heart disease patients, the treatment methods for other cardiovascular disease patients infected with Omicron have not changed much. Drugs for the treatment of new coronary pneumonia, such as those for relieving muscle soreness, have not yet been found to have adverse effects with cardiovascular treatment drugs.

Patients need to focus on the induction and aggravation of cardiovascular diseases. During home treatment, they should manage the underlying heart disease, improve sleep quality, and overcome anxiety. At the same time, long-term cardiovascular disease medications should not be discontinued, as discontinuation may induce or aggravate the disease. If there is persistent chest pain, go to the hospital for further diagnosis and treatment.

Source: Xinhua News Agency