Autumn and winter considerations for patients with coronary artery disease

  Coronary heart disease is a common disease among middle-aged and elderly people. It is caused by atherosclerosis or spastic narrowing or thrombosis of coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply nutrients to the heart muscle, resulting in a series of pathological changes such as myocardial ischemia, injury and necrosis, which leads to angina, arrhythmia and myocardial infarction. Every year, during the alternate autumn and winter seasons, i.e., October to November, patients with coronary heart disease are prone to changes in their conditions, such as frequent angina attacks, and the high incidence of myocardial infarction. This is due to the autumn and winter seasons, the temperature changes, the sudden drop in temperature, easy to make the body function out of balance, will make cardiovascular disease patients already narrow blood vessel contraction, blood pressure increases, blood flow slows down, blood viscosity increases, blood volume decreases, causing arterial spasm, triggering angina, acute heart infarction and other diseases. This is what Chinese medicine calls “Tian Ren Gong”, the weather changes will affect people, when people have various diseases, can not adapt to the weather changes will appear imbalance of yin and Yang, dysfunction, thus triggering various diseases or aggravation of existing diseases.  Coronary heart patients should pay attention to the following aspects in the autumn and winter to avoid aggravation of the disease because of the change of seasons: a. Timely add clothes to keep warm, do not get cold. Coronary heart patients are very sensitive to temperature changes, and whenever a cold wave comes, it often leads to aggravation of the disease. Therefore, the patient’s clothing should be warm, and the temperature of the living room should be kept at about 15 to 18℃. Patients should pay attention to keep warm when they go out and not to be attacked by cold air, which is important to prevent angina pectoris and myocardial infarction from occurring due to the contraction of blood vessels by cold and increased oxygen consumption of the heart muscle.  Second, to adhere to medical advice to take medication coronary heart disease is a chronic disease, can not expect a shot a drug can be cured, especially recurring episodes of chest tightness, breathlessness, shortness of breath, panic and other symptoms of patients, more should follow medical advice to take the correct medication, do not stop the medication or use drugs on their own.  Third, reasonable adjustment of living to properly arrange work and life, not only to avoid excessive mental and physical labor, but also to avoid sitting still for a long time, life should be regular, the spirit should be relaxed, and sleep should be sufficient.  Fourth, the diet should be reasonable diet to light, less into the salt, eat too much salt will increase the blood volume, increasing the burden on the heart. To control the intake of animal fat and cholesterol, eat less fatty meat and animal fats, eat less cholesterol-containing animal offal and squid, fish roe and other foods, the daily intake of cholesterol does not exceed 300 mg, equivalent to about 1-2 chicken yolk in the content. Eat more fresh vegetables, fruits and soy products, and supplement lean meat and fish appropriately. Wine, strong tea and coffee should also drink less or do not drink.  Fifth, to maintain a good and stable emotions to try to avoid excessive excitement, do not be overjoyed, watch less intense and tense games and thrilling movies and television, can prevent sympathetic overexcitation and vasospasm, to prevent increased oxygen consumption of the heart muscle.  In addition to patients with frequent angina pectoris, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and severe arrhythmias, general patients can do some physical activities within their reach, such as walking, doing exercises, jogging, etc., which are conducive to enhancing heart function and increasing coronary artery blood flow. To participate in sports activities should be gradual, so that the heart rate is not too fast, the breathing is not excessive shortness of breath, no obvious discomfort.  Seven, to carry first-aid drugs coronary heart patients should carry some first-aid drugs such as nitroglycerin, quick-acting heart pills, etc., in order to be ready for rapid emergency use when the disease attacks.  For patients with a weak constitution, they can take Chinese herbal medicines to improve their immunity and strengthen their resistance to disease, so as to reduce the possibility of recurrence or aggravation of the disease.  Finally, close attention should be paid to the observation of changes in the disease, and regular review at the hospital is required. In general, patients should have an electrocardiogram every 3 months. Once severe chest tightness, chest pain, panic, shortness of breath or even sweating and cold extremities occur, they should go to the hospital in time to avoid delaying treatment. There are also many patients with coronary heart disease in my outpatient clinic. If you have any questions after the consultation, you can communicate with me in time to understand the guidance suggestions through telephone consultation when it is inconvenient to come to the hospital.