Dangerous disease makes patient's blood cloudy like milk

Sharing with Dan Tri , a representative of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital - Facility 3 said that this unit recently received a male patient (29 years old) who accidentally discovered milky serum during a routine check-up.

Initially, the young man's health records showed no abnormalities. However, during the blood sample processing process, the medical staff discovered abnormalities in the serum.

"The serum after centrifugation is opaque white, no longer clear yellow as usual. This is a sign that the patient has many types of disorders, in this case severe hyperlipidemia, mainly high triglycerides in the plasma," said laboratory technician Nha An.

Abnormally cloudy serum warns of hypertriglyceridemia, which can lead to many serious health consequences if not detected and treated promptly (Photo: Hospital).

Subsequent biochemical test results showed that the triglyceride concentration in the blood reached 2,250 mg/dL, nearly 15 times higher than the normal threshold.

From here, doctors diagnose the patient with severe dyslipidemia even though there are no clinical symptoms. This condition can increase the risk of acute pancreatitis and ischemic stroke if not treated promptly.

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thy, Deputy Head of Facility 3 - University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, commented that the young man's case is typical of a group of young patients but carries worrying metabolic risk factors.

"When triglyceride levels exceed 1,000 mg/dL, the risk of acute pancreatitis is very high. If this index continues to increase above 2,000 mg/dL, not only will the pancreas be affected but it will also increase the risk of vascular diseases such as stroke," analyzed Dr. Kieu Xuan Thy.

Dr. Thy emphasized that hypertriglyceridemia, especially at very high levels as in the above case, is a serious warning sign of lipid metabolism disorder and carries many risks of acute complications.

Importantly, this disease has no clinical symptoms and is easily overlooked. This can lead to serious consequences if not treated promptly, such as acute pancreatitis, ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction and long-term vascular damage.

From this case, Dr. Thy suggests 3 groups of measures to help people control blood fat effectively.

First, maintain a healthy diet; reduce saturated fat and spicy foods. Instead, prioritize fresh foods, high in fiber, sea fish, and whole grains.

Second, people need to change their lifestyle, increase physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week), not skip breakfast, get enough sleep, limit alcohol and stop smoking.

Finally, everyone needs to have their blood lipids tested at least every 12 months, especially for risk groups such as office workers, people with abdominal obesity, sedentary lifestyle, or those with a family history of cardiovascular disease.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/can-benh-nguy-hiem-khien-mau-benh-nhan-duc-nhu-sua-20250515160414744.htm