Heart disease prevention knowledge brochure

By doing these three things: "daily control of blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar + fine-tuning of lifestyle habits + targeted screening of high-risk groups", 80% of premature heart disease (onset before the age of 55 for men and before the age of 65 for women) can be effectively avoided. There is no need to take expensive health care products, and there is no need to be overly anxious.

I was particularly impressed by Uncle Zhang, who I met at a community free clinic last month. He is a 42-year-old building materials business. It has been three years since he was diagnosed with high blood pressure during a physical examination. He always feels that he is young and does not have any discomfort. He only takes medicine when he thinks about it. He often stays up late and drinks with clients until the early morning. When he stayed up late to watch the World Cup last week, he suddenly felt chest pain and started sweating. When he was sent to the emergency room, he had an acute myocardial infarction. It took two stents to save him. Now he says to everyone he meets that he regrets not taking his blood pressure seriously earlier.

Many people may think that since I don’t smoke or drink, and I’m not ridiculously fat, how could heart disease come to me? In fact, the academic community's understanding of risk factors for heart disease has been updated several times in recent years. Traditional cardiovascular prevention and treatment guidelines have always ranked smoking, alcoholism, and family history at the forefront of risk factors. However, a new study released by the European Society of Cardiology last year showed that people who sit for more than 8 hours a day for more than one year have a 43% higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those who sit for less than 4 hours a day. The risk is almost the same as light smoking. Many cardiologists I know will stand up to get a glass of water and take a few steps after sitting in a clinic for 40 minutes. This is not to be pretentious, but because they have seen cases of venous thrombi in the lower limbs falling off and blocking the coronary arteries after sitting for too long. It is really scary.

When it comes to food, many people's first reaction is to be light and vegetarian. In fact, this is quite controversial. Some nutritional studies believe that a long-term vegan diet can effectively lower low-density lipoprotein levels and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. However, I have encountered many patients who insist on eating a vegan diet in clinical practice. Because long-term lack of B vitamins leads to elevated homocysteine, they are at a higher risk of heart attack than those who eat a normal diet. There is really no need to go to extremes. Several seniors around me who have been cardiovascular doctors for 20 years will also eat braised pork on a daily basis, but the amount should be limited to 1/3 of their fists each time, and they should not be eaten more than twice a week. It is much healthier than completely avoiding the food and eventually overeating.

Another point that people tend not to take seriously is emotions. A while ago, I admitted a 38-year-old female patient. She usually does not have high blood pressure, diabetes, or smokes. She suddenly had a sudden chest pain while helping her children with their homework. She suddenly had chest pain that made her unable to straighten up. She was sent to the hospital to be diagnosed with severe coronary spasm. If she arrived half an hour later, she might have had a myocardial infarction. Nowadays, the school of mind-body medicine particularly emphasizes the cardiovascular damage caused by long-term anxiety, irritability, and emotional depression. It believes that emotional control should be included as a primary prevention component like blood pressure control. However, traditional cardiovascular guidelines have not yet listed this as a mandatory requirement. There is no harm in paying more attention to it. Don't take anger as a trivial matter.

As for the physical examination and screening that everyone is most concerned about, there is no need to do a bunch of projects indiscriminately, wasting money and possibly incurring unnecessary radiation. If you have a family member with a history of premature heart disease in your immediate family, it is best to check your blood lipids and do a carotid artery ultrasound every year after the age of 30. There is no need to wait until the age of 40 to start routine physical examinations. ； If you don’t have any high-risk factors, checking once a year after the age of 40 is enough. Many medical examination institutions now recommend that everyone undergo routine coronary CT screening. In fact, mainstream academic circles do not recommend that low-risk groups do it. After all, there is radiation. If you really have symptoms of chest tightness and chest pain, it is not too late to do it.

In fact, to put it bluntly, heart disease prevention is never a "big project" that needs to be done specially. It is just a matter of eating more snacks. Don't always think that "I am young and can handle it", and don't frighten yourself by searching Baidu when you feel a little uncomfortable. Oh, by the way, a final little life-saving reminder: If you suddenly experience chest pain as if a stone is being pressed against you, can't breathe, or even have pain in your left shoulder, left arm, or tooth, don't force yourself to drive to the hospital, call 120 immediately, and lie still to wait for rescue, which can greatly reduce the risk of sudden death. Everyone's heart needs to be hurt by itself.