Medical news on January 18: Cerebral vascular malformation is a very dangerous disease
Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a dangerous disease that can cause death or leave serious sequelae.
Young people need to pay attention to cerebral vascular malformations
Doctors warn that symptoms such as frequent headaches, numbness, weakness in the limbs, or difficulty speaking... can be warning signs of the disease, especially in young people.
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| Cerebral vascular malformations often occur in young people, regardless of gender. However, the disease is usually only detected when the blood vessel ruptures, causing sudden, acute brain hemorrhage. |
A 15-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital with severe headache and quickly fell into a coma. The lower level hospital diagnosed the patient with a brain hemorrhage and immediately transferred him to Bach Mai Hospital.
At the Stroke Center, the patient was diagnosed with a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM), complications of ventricular dilatation and persistent high fever. Despite intensive resuscitation, the patient's condition rapidly deteriorated, with deep coma and hypotension, and after 2 days of treatment, the family took the patient home and the patient died.
A 19-year-old patient also presented to Bach Mai Hospital with seizures and deep coma. Diagnosis showed that the patient had a brain hemorrhage due to rupture of an AVM in the parieto-occipital lobe. Despite surgery to drain the hematoma and remove the cerebral arteriovenous malformation, the patient's prognosis for recovery is still limited.
A 29-year-old previously healthy female patient presented to the hospital with sudden onset of headache, numbness in the hands, and vomiting. She was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage due to ruptured AVM and underwent emergency surgery. However, after one month of treatment, the patient still had not regained consciousness, and was completely paralyzed on the left side of her body.
Dr. Le Tuan Anh, Stroke Center, Bach Mai Hospital, explained that cerebral arteriovenous malformation is a developmental abnormality of the vascular system, when arteries connect directly to veins without going through capillaries. This makes the arteries thinner and the veins dilated, causing increased blood flow and easily leading to rupture, brain hemorrhage, increased intracranial pressure, and even death.
Notably, cerebral vascular malformations often occur in young people, regardless of gender. However, the disease is usually only detected when the blood vessel ruptures, causing acute, sudden brain hemorrhage.
Symptoms can be mild or severe depending on the location and size of the malformation. If the brain's blood vessel has not ruptured, the patient may experience headaches, dizziness, numbness in the limbs, or seizures. When it ruptures, symptoms can be severe, including severe headaches, vomiting, hemiplegia, confusion, deep coma, and in the worst cases, death.
The mortality rate when a cerebral vascular malformation ruptures is about 10-15%. About 50% of patients who recover will also have severe sequelae such as paralysis, intellectual impairment, or loss of self-care ability.
Dr. Tuan Anh recommends that young people should not be subjective with symptoms such as headache, dizziness, numbness, hemiplegia, convulsions or sudden loss of consciousness. These signs need to be checked early at the hospital to detect the disease promptly. If there are severe symptoms such as loss of consciousness or convulsions, you need to go to the hospital immediately for emergency treatment.
Don't let small symptoms become big dangers. Early detection and timely treatment can save lives and minimize complications.
Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm disorder that causes the heart to beat irregularly even at rest, reducing the heart's efficiency. This condition can easily lead to the formation of blood clots in the atria.
When these blood clots travel to the brain or other organs, they can block blood vessels, increasing the risk of stroke. Therefore, atrial fibrillation is not only a common cardiovascular disorder but also has the potential for many dangerous complications if not detected and treated promptly.
Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke and other complications.
Atrial fibrillation can be divided into four types: paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, persistent atrial fibrillation, long-standing atrial fibrillation, and permanent atrial fibrillation. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation usually lasts 1-2 hours and resolves within 7 days, while persistent atrial fibrillation can last for months or years. Permanent atrial fibrillation, which cannot be regulated back to a normal heart rhythm, is often considered the most severe condition.
Atrial fibrillation causes the heart to contract very quickly, up to 300-400 times per minute (normally only 70-90 times), which reduces the heart's pumping efficiency, causing blood to pool in the atria and easily forming blood clots. These blood clots can travel through the blood vessels, causing blockages and leading to stroke.
Patients with atrial fibrillation have a 3-5 times higher risk of stroke than normal people. Stroke due to atrial fibrillation occurs when a blood clot from the left atrium or left atrial appendage enters the blood vessels of the brain and causes a blockage.
Patients with atrial fibrillation often have no obvious symptoms, or only feel nervous, dizzy, short of breath. If not detected and treated promptly, stroke complications can occur.
In addition to stroke, atrial fibrillation can also cause complications such as blood vessel blockage, myocardial infarction, and blockage of blood vessels in the spleen, kidneys, or lower limbs. Atrial fibrillation can also lead to heart failure. About 50% of patients with atrial fibrillation develop heart failure and are five times more likely to be hospitalized than those without atrial fibrillation.
Contrary to popular belief, atrial fibrillation does not only occur in the elderly. According to doctors, atrial fibrillation is becoming more common in older people due to unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or using drugs.
Untreated high blood pressure is also a common cause. Statistics show that the rate of atrial fibrillation in people under 40 years old is 0.5%, while the rate in people over 80 years old is 10%, and in people over 65 years old is 5%.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Nguyen Vinh, Director of the Cardiovascular Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, early detection of atrial fibrillation is very important to minimize dangerous complications.
Patients can monitor their heart rate through devices such as smart watches or wear a heart rate monitor (Holter) for 3-7 days to detect brief or paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Your doctor will order an electrocardiogram, blood pressure measurement, MRI, and other tests to determine the condition of your heart and detect problems such as heart failure, ischemia, or cardiomyopathy.
Based on the actual case, doctors recommend that patients should proactively screen for stroke regularly, especially if they have symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, palpitations, or a family history of heart disease. Tests such as electrocardiogram, heart rate measurement, or echocardiogram can help with early detection and effective treatment.
According to experts, although atrial fibrillation is a common disease, many patients do not recognize the signs and often only discover it when there are serious complications such as stroke or heart failure.
Atrial fibrillation is a disease that has many potential dangerous complications such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. To minimize risks, patients need to proactively monitor their cardiovascular health and have regular check-ups. Early treatment and good control of this disease will help patients live healthier and prevent serious complications.
12-year-old girl “revived” thanks to kidney from brain-dead donor in Binh Duong
The National Children's Hospital announced that it has successfully performed a kidney transplant on a 12-year-old girl from a brain-dead donor. This is the first time the hospital has performed a kidney transplant from a brain-dead donor, marking an important step forward in the field of organ transplantation in Vietnam.
The 12-year-old girl was diagnosed with end-stage chronic kidney failure and has been undergoing peritoneal dialysis since 2017. Despite long-term treatment, her health condition remains poor and requires an urgent life-saving solution.
On December 18, 2024, the National Children's Hospital received information from the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center about an organ donation case from a brain-dead patient at Binh Duong General Hospital.
The donor was a 47-year-old patient who had been diagnosed with brain death. Despite the difficult circumstances, the patient's family decided to donate their organs to save the lives of other patients, demonstrating a noble humanitarian spirit.
Immediately after receiving the information, the hospital sent a team of doctors from the Department of Urology to Binh Duong to participate in the organ retrieval. The process of transporting the kidney was carried out under strict and quick preservation conditions to ensure that the organ was not damaged. After receiving the kidney, the doctors performed a kidney transplant surgery for the child patient at the National Children's Hospital within 2 hours.
The surgery was successful, and after 3 days of intensive care, the girl's transplanted kidney function recovered beyond expectations. No longer experiencing kidney failure, the patient was transferred to the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis for further monitoring and treatment. Currently, the patient's health has stabilized and she has been discharged from the hospital.
Although kidney transplants from living donors have become a familiar procedure at the National Children's Hospital, this is the first time the hospital has performed a kidney transplant from a brain-dead donor. This organ transplant is carried out according to strict procedures, similar to kidney transplants from living donors, ensuring the highest safety and effectiveness for the patient.
This successful kidney transplant not only gave the girl a new chance at life, but also contributed to raising awareness of organ donation in the community, and opened up hope for many other kidney failure patients. Organ donation from a brain-dead person is a noble humanitarian act, helping to save the lives of many patients in critical condition.
The successful kidney transplant from a brain-dead donor has demonstrated the remarkable progress of the organ transplant industry in Vietnam, and is also a testament to the cooperation and continuous efforts of medical staff and medical facilities in improving the quality of health care for the people.
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