National Science and Technology Workers' Day | To deal with the "number one health killer", do this to save your life!

Did you know that the number one killer of the health of mainland Chinese residents is not malignant tumors, but cerebral apoplexy, commonly known as "stroke".

Many people believe that stroke is a health "killer" for middle-aged and elderly people, and that young people are strong and healthy and will not get this "stuff". But Yaowa wants to warn those who have this idea - according to the "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2019", stroke patients in my country have shown a trend of gradually getting younger. The news that a programmer in his 30s died of a stroke and a graduate student in his 20s died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage is not uncommon in various media reports...

So why are strokes happening at younger ages? And how can we prevent them?

Chronic diseases + bad habits increase the risk of stroke

Stroke is mainly caused by ischemia, hypoxia due to blockage of cerebral blood vessels or sudden rupture and bleeding of cerebral blood vessels, including ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.

Chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and atrial fibrillation are the main risk factors for stroke. In addition, modern people have bad lifestyles and work styles, such as working 996, staying up late, smoking and drinking, lack of exercise, obesity... Look around at your colleagues, relatives, and friends. Are they being implicated every minute? Not to mention that all kinds of bad lifestyle habits and chronic diseases add up to a significantly increased risk of stroke.

Staying away from stroke starts with changing your lifestyle

Patients with chronic diseases and people with bad living habits are potential groups for stroke. The best way to stay away from stroke is to better control or eliminate the risk factors for stroke.

The low-risk group is those who have the above-mentioned common bad living and working habits.

Yaowa wants to solemnly warn these friends - controlling your mouth and moving your legs is a way of treatment. While eating a reasonable diet, you must also manage your body mass index (BMI); strictly quit bad habits such as smoking and drinking; change your bad lifestyle; reasonably adjust your work intensity and strengthen physical exercise...

High-risk groups, namely patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

In addition to improving lifestyle habits, we must first pay attention to and do a good job in the prevention and treatment of these chronic diseases, that is, strictly control personal blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipid levels (be sure to listen to professional doctors for details). Patients with atrial fibrillation must follow the doctor's advice and insist on using anticoagulants for prevention and treatment. For people with multiple risk factors, they must also use antiplatelet drugs and statins for prevention and treatment management under the guidance of doctors.

Three “cornerstones” for stroke prevention

Many patients who have had a stroke in the past, after the symptoms disappear after treatment, stop taking medication on their own, thinking that they will be free and happy from now on. Yaowa responsibly tells you that the opposite is true. The risk of another stroke is higher after a stroke, so more attention must be paid to prevent the recurrence of stroke.

It is recommended to use the three major categories of cornerstone therapeutic drugs for stroke prevention that are recognized by the medical community at home and abroad - antihypertensive drugs, lipid-lowering drugs, and antiplatelet drugs.

Antihypertensive drugs are mainly common mainstream antihypertensive drugs, such as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (captopril, benazepril, etc.), angiotensin receptor antagonists (losartan, valsartan, irbesartan, etc.), beta-blockers (metoprolol, bisoprolol, etc.), calcium channel antagonists (amlodipine, nifedipine, etc.) and diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, etc.). Blood pressure needs to be monitored regularly and controlled below 140/90 mmHg.

The first choice of lipid-lowering drugs is statins, such as atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, pravastatin, pitavastatin, fluvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin, etc., which strive to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to less than 50% of the baseline level.

The most common antiplatelet drugs are aspirin, clopidogrel, etc.

For patients who have had a stroke in the past, these three types of drugs can effectively help you prevent another stroke.

Pay attention! Unless there are special circumstances, do not reduce the dosage or stop taking the medicine on your own.

You must have enough knowledge and fear of stroke, don't have a fluke mentality, and you must maintain a healthy lifestyle - strengthen exercise, quit smoking and drinking, eat a reasonable diet, stay calm, manage your chronic diseases, and follow the doctor's advice and don't stop taking medicine easily. Only in this way can you stay away from the risks and harms of stroke.

Author: Mao Changqing, Chief Pharmacist, Jinshan Branch, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital

Yu Nianxi, Chief Pharmacist of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital

Review expert: Shen Weihua, deputy director and pharmacist of Jinshan Branch of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital

Wei Guoyi, Chief Pharmacist, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University