Young people screen for myocardial infarction risk with stress echocardiography
Prof. Dr. Vo Thanh Nhan, Director of the Interventional Cardiology Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, gave the above information, adding that within 30 minutes of the heart being deprived of blood supply, the structure of the heart muscle changes and swells, after 3 hours of ischemia the heart muscle cells die. At this time the heart is weak, unable to re-perfuse the organ tissue.
The cause of acute myocardial infarction is atherosclerosis. This plaque ruptures suddenly, activating clotting factors in the plasma, forming a blood clot and blocking the lumen of the vessel, completely blocking blood from reaching the heart. Atherosclerotic plaque forms silently in the body, without warning signs, thereby damaging the blood vessels and heart, gradually leading to atherosclerosis and events such as myocardial infarction. "If not intervened promptly, the risk of death is 40%, of which 20% is due to arrhythmia complications in the first hours," said Professor Nhan, adding that in cases where the patient is saved, due to extensive myocardial necrosis, heart failure complications can occur, affecting life and reducing life expectancy.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), each year, approximately 17.5 million people worldwide die from cardiovascular diseases, of which myocardial infarction is the most urgent condition. If not treated promptly, the risk of death is up to 50%. In Vietnam, approximately 200,000 people die from cardiovascular diseases each year, the majority of which are myocardial infarctions.
According to Professor Nhan, currently improved myocardial infarction emergency equipment allows for quick intervention, but treatment is a challenge because the symptoms occur suddenly and the patient is hospitalized too late. The "golden" time for treatment is 1-2 hours after the appearance of angina symptoms or at least within the first 6 hours, intervention is needed to recanalize the blocked artery branch to increase blood flow to the heart, reduce the level of myocardial necrosis, heart failure, and subsequent arrhythmia.
People at risk of myocardial infarction may have some symptoms such as left chest pain or pain behind the sternum. The pain usually lasts more than 20 minutes, can spread to the neck, chin, shoulder, back, right arm or epigastric region, anxiety, palpitations, shortness of breath, cold sweats, fatigue, nausea, impaired perception... About half of the cases have no warning signs, only occurring when overexerting themselves such as high-intensity sports training, uncontrolled emotions, situations that are too sudden, unexpected or psychologically stressful, according to Professor Nhan.
Time and proper first aid before going to the hospital help increase the chance of survival and reduce sequelae for the patient. If experiencing the above symptoms, the patient needs to stay calm, immediately stop all activities, find the nearest place to sit and lean back or lie in a semi-sitting, semi-lying position, loosen clothes to reduce the feeling of shortness of breath and fatigue. Note that do not exert yourself at this time because it will cause more serious damage to the heart muscle. After that, the patient needs to quickly contact the 115 emergency station or ask a relative to take them immediately to the nearest hospital or a place with full conditions for emergency treatment and intervention for myocardial infarction.
The emergency team from another hospital performed first aid on a case of acute myocardial infarction before transferring to the hospital.
There are currently three basic techniques for treating myocardial infarction: medication, stent placement, and surgery. In medical centers that do not have the conditions to perform stent placement, thrombolytic drugs can be used as a measure to prolong the treatment time. Even if the intervention is successful, the patient must still take medication as prescribed, have a treatment plan, control underlying diseases, have long-term follow-up visits, and change their lifestyle.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bach Yen, Head of the Cardiovascular Department, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi , about 20-30 years ago, cardiovascular deaths were often due to rheumatic heart valve disease (rheumatic heart disease). Now that this group of diseases has decreased, new diseases have appeared due to modern lifestyles related to atherosclerosis. Every day, the Cardiovascular Center, Tam Anh General Hospital System receives about 10 patients with myocardial infarction. Of which, 1/3 are men over 40 years old, overweight, obese, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, diabetes, heavy smokers, staying up late, little exercise, stressful life...
Young people with a modern lifestyle, little exercise, unscientific diet, fast food consumption, smoking, stimulant abuse... are silent risk factors that promote myocardial infarction. People with high blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia... who have not been treated or are not well controlled can increase the risk of the disease. People with familial dyslipidemia, whose father or uncle had a myocardial infarction before the age of 55 or whose mother had a myocardial infarction before the age of 65 need regular cardiovascular health screening.
LA (synthesis)
Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nhoi-mau-co-tim-nguy-hiem-the-nao-410378.html
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