"Call him back immediately for a coronary CT scan!" The doctor's sharp eyes saved him from a fatal accident! The National Day holiday is approaching, read this advice carefully from a cardiologist

September 29 is World Heart Day. The World Heart Federation established World Heart Day in 1999. September 29, 2022 is the 23rd World Heart Day. This year's theme is "One Heart", which aims to encourage the public to pay more attention to, spread and practice the concept of heart health more actively and attentively.

Cardiovascular disease is the most common non-communicable disease in the world, causing nearly 18.6 million deaths each year, accounting for one-third of the global death toll. The "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2021" shows that the incidence and mortality of cardiovascular disease in my country still rank first, with the number of cardiovascular patients reaching 330 million, and 2 out of every 5 deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease. It can be said that the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease is a social problem faced by all mankind.

"Heart disease can be divided into congenital and acquired. For all acquired heart diseases, prevention is the most important. And the key to preventing cardiovascular disease lies in the control of risk factors ." Professor Zhang Xingwei, President of the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Director of the Hangzhou Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, and President of the Gongshu District Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease Prevention and Treatment Association, said that it is necessary to control controllable risk factors, including high blood pressure, high blood lipids, high blood sugar, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, long-term mental stress, etc., and pay attention to uncontrollable factors, namely family history, and conduct heart assessment screening in time according to the situation. Only by discovering problems early can life crises be resolved in time.

At the same time, professional matters should be left to professionals. If you experience chest tightness or discomfort, please seek medical attention immediately. Do not self-diagnose, do not use anti-angina drugs without authorization, and do not waste treatment time unnecessarily.

No heart attack with any symptoms

Let him go to the "gate of hell" for a visit

Among all cardiovascular diseases, acute myocardial infarction is undoubtedly the most "ferocious" one. It has an acute onset and progresses rapidly. If it is not effectively treated within the optimal treatment time (120 minutes golden time), the mortality and disability rates are extremely high.

In most cases, a heart attack will have some symptoms. For example, when an acute myocardial infarction occurs, the patient will have a dull pain in the precordial area of ​​the chest, or a "stuck" pain in the upper abdomen. Some patients also experience radiating pain in the left shoulder and back, and the pain can even extend along the inside of the left arm to the little finger or ring finger; some patients also experience pain in the lower teeth, or pain in the lower jaw, neck, etc.

But sometimes, a heart attack occurs silently.

Last month, 67-year-old Mr. Jin came to the physical examination center of Hangzhou Normal University Affiliated Hospital for a physical examination. Except for a little high blood lipids, his physical examination results looked very optimistic. Only the electrocardiogram showed some abnormalities, which made the doctor hesitant. He then sent the electrocardiogram report to Professor Zhang Xingwei, who was seeing patients at the famous doctor's clinic next door.

As soon as he saw this "poor quality" electrocardiogram report, Professor Zhang Xingwei immediately gave instructions: Call the patient back for a coronary CT scan, admit him to the hospital, and prepare for surgery!

Although Mr. Jin was confused when the doctor called him back, he patiently accepted the coronary CT examination. Sure enough, the examination results showed that his left anterior descending artery was completely occluded . Further coronary angiography confirmed that he had acute myocardial infarction . Then, Professor Zhang Xingwei put on a lead suit, walked into the catheter room, and opened the occluded blood vessels for Mr. Jin.

After the operation, Dr. Jin, who had come back from the "gates of hell", said that he was lucky: "I almost couldn't see you all!"

"This is a very atypical case of acute myocardial infarction . It is extremely rare and precious to discover abnormalities during the physical examination, diagnose the disease and provide timely treatment." Professor Zhang Xingwei also lamented that Mr. Jin did not have any symptoms of discomfort. Thanks to the electrocardiogram doctor's "eagle eyes" who discovered clues, the condition was identified in time and treatment was carried out quickly and successfully.

Preventing heart disease

The key is to control risk factors

"To prevent heart disease, the first thing is to maintain good living habits, and the second is to control the development of risk factors. High blood pressure, high blood lipids, obesity, diabetes, smoking, lack of exercise, and high mental stress are the most common controllable factors for heart disease." Professor Zhang Xingwei said that the more risk factors there are and the more severe the risk factors are, the more likely you are to get heart disease.

Of course, in addition to controllable factors, there is also an uncontrollable factor, which is family history. Therefore, the third point to prevent heart disease is to see a doctor in time and evaluate your heart.

If you do not have bad habits and no family history, it is recommended to have a heart assessment screening after the age of 40; if parents have coronary heart disease, especially if they developed coronary heart disease at a very young age, then the risk of heart disease in their children is also high, and the age for heart assessment should be moved forward 10 years.

How to do a heart assessment? In fact, the assessment of heart function is very simple, mainly three tests: cardiac ultrasound, exercise treadmill test, and cardiac CT. These three tests cover almost more than 95% of heart diseases. If the test results are completely healthy and there are no other risk factors, you can recheck after 5 years. Of course, if you feel unwell, you should see a doctor immediately.

If you feel unwell, seek medical treatment immediately

It is not recommended to take anti-anginal drugs without authorization

Many cardiovascular disease patients carry emergency medicines such as nitroglycerin with them, and take a pill if they feel chest tightness or chest pain. But in fact, Professor Zhang Xingwei does not recommend that people take medicine on their own.

"Anti-angina drugs such as nitroglycerin can easily mask symptoms. When patients take the drugs when they feel unwell, the discomfort is relieved, but it only calms the symptoms and does not solve the real problem. It is like a pile of firewood is on fire, and you cover it with a cotton robe. The flames cannot be seen on the surface, and the fire may even be temporarily extinguished. Once it 'rekindles', the cotton robe can no longer suppress it, and it becomes a big fire." He used a very vivid metaphor,

In addition, nitroglycerin can lower blood pressure, and patients with myocardial infarction already have low blood pressure, so they are prone to fainting after taking it. At this time, they should take aspirin. However, if the cause of chest pain is aortic dissection, taking aspirin will increase the risk of bleeding, which will make the situation worse. In this way, it is easy to make the mistake of self-help.

" If you feel uncomfortable in your heart, there is only one piece of advice: go to the doctor immediately . Don't treat yourself, and don't listen to the random advice of the old man or old lady next door, unless he recommends going to the hospital." Zhang Xingwei emphasized that if it is a long-term dull pain, it is best to call 120 immediately, and don't drive to the doctor by yourself. After being admitted to the hospital, don't waste treatment time on "discussing with family members". "Leave professional matters to professionals, don't let ignorance and fearlessness delay your life."

National Day holiday is coming

Don't do these sad things.

The National Day holiday is coming soon. Although the prevention and control of the new coronavirus epidemic has stopped many people from traveling, as a short holiday, small-scale reunions are essential. However, Professor Zhang Xingwei reminded that although the long holiday is pleasant, we should avoid overindulgence.

First, maintain a healthy lifestyle, do not stay up late, eat three meals on time, eat in moderation and do not overeat.

He pointed out that after a meal, a large amount of blood enters the digestive system, reducing the blood supply to the heart. In addition, blood viscosity increases and the heart rate speeds up after a meal, which can lead to myocardial infarction. "In clinical practice, we often encounter patients with myocardial infarction referred from the gastroenterology department, all of whom are caused by overeating."

A few years ago, a patient ate eight hairy crabs in a row and thought he was "dying", so he went to the gastroenterology department of the hospital. Seeing that the patient's face was livid, the gastroenterologist suspected that he had pancreatitis and immediately took a blood test for him. The results showed that the pancreatic amylase index was indeed a bit high. After being admitted to the ward, an electrocardiogram was checked and it was found that he had a large-area myocardial infarction.

Second, keep a calm mind, be less happy or sad, and less angry.

"It's okay to play cards or mahjong when friends and family get together, but don't do it for a long time, especially when you stay in a room, smoke and use the air conditioner. Once you get excited, it's easy to induce a heart disease." Professor Zhang Xingwei said that there was an old man in his 70s who, after playing mahjong for a few rounds, fell headfirst on the mahjong table when he touched two wealth gods in a row and were about to 'float'. In the end, three mahjong friends called 120 and accompanied him to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Third, people with underlying diseases should do a good job of self-management of blood pressure, blood sugar and other indicators, especially take medication at regular times and in fixed quantities, and do not reduce the dosage at will.

Fourth, once symptoms appear, especially pain in the precordial area (heart area) after activities, or even pain spreading to the left shoulder, throat, jaw, teeth, upper abdomen, etc., or even pain on the inside of the left arm, the inside of the left little finger and ring finger, etc., do not take chances, call 120 immediately to grasp the best time for treatment.

Correspondent Zhu Yunxi

Jin Jing, reporter of Orange Persimmon Interactive