Incident: The 48-year-old president of a multinational company “died of a heart attack after an ineffective resuscitation ……”.
The deputy director of a bureau “suffered a heart attack during work and died at the age of 53 after an invalid resuscitation ……”
A 27-year-old male civilian police officer in Chongqing suddenly collapsed during a physical fitness test, … Diagnosed as sudden cardiac death; Xia Jiahong, cardiac surgery department, Wuhan Union Hospital
On the same day, a taxi driver in Beijing died suddenly while driving.
At the Athens Olympics, a male camera reporter from Beijing TV station died suddenly on the job.
The sudden death of Gao Xiumin, a crowd favorite comedian
It is heartbreaking to see so many young and powerful elites passing away due to “heart attack”. We can’t help but feel the transience and impermanence of life, and then think about why the heart is so important, and what causes sudden death? How to prevent it?
Heart – the engine of the human body
The heart, as the most important support organ of human life, is like the engine of a car and the engine of an airplane, which cannot be missing. Once a problem occurs, it can lead to serious consequences, even sudden death.
All systems of the human body, including respiration, exercise, circulation, nerves, etc., all need the supply of blood to provide nutrients to take away waste and provide oxygen at the same time. To ensure that these functions are normal, all need the heart to play the role of a pump, so that the blood in all organs and tissues of the body to keep flowing and maintain life. A healthy life requires a healthy heart. But the human heart itself is fragile and needs careful care from its owner.
There are various diseases of the heart, both congenital and acquired, organic and functional, acute and chronic. No matter what the problem is, it must be given high priority and must be dealt with promptly as a matter of life and death.
Cardiac arrest – blockage of coronary arteries
Especially fatal are lesions of the coronary arteries of the heart. If life cannot be lived without a healthy heart, then a healthy heart cannot be lived without a clear coronary artery. The human heart is a very perfect masterpiece, which can work healthily for a long time. Moreover, our heart has a certain reserve capacity, and medical doctors have estimated that the heart uses only about 30% of its reserve capacity in normal times. The coronary arteries are the only nutritive arteries of the heart, and the vitality of the heart and the normal maintenance of blood circulation in the body depend on the unimpeded flow of the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries are narrowed, the heart has to bear more pressure to deal with the disease, so the reserve capacity will be gradually used until it is completely depleted until sudden death.
Why is there a high incidence of sudden cardiac death in young and middle-aged people? The reason lies in the establishment of the coronary collateral circulation of the heart. Like the modern urban transportation system we have built, there are actually many side branches between the coronary arteries and their branches, which are potential conduits that do not normally participate in the coronary circulation, and only when the main trunk of the coronary arteries, the main road, is narrowed or blocked, does the blood bypass through these side branches to deliver oxygen to the distal area. This is much like the way we try to get around a traffic jam when we encounter one, and the human cardiovascular has this special ability.
However, it takes time for the collateral circulation to develop and mature. If a person sees a narrowing of the coronary arteries and insufficient blood supply after middle age, and the progression of the disease is more moderate, then he will have enough time to develop the collateral circulation. So cardiovascular disease in the elderly, more in the form of angina pectoris, has a lower risk of sudden death instead.
In young people, once the coronary artery is suddenly blocked, it is simply too late to establish the collateral circulation, which is bound to cause a serious myocardial infarction. What is more dangerous is that many people often do not have any obvious aura before a sudden myocardial infarction, which increases the possibility of sudden death. For young people, cardiovascular disease is more like an invisible killer that comes and goes without a trace.
Sudden cardiac death is one of the most common forms of sudden death, and coronary heart disease is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death. 90% of sudden cardiac deaths occur in patients with coronary heart disease or cardiomyopathy. Most people die “suddenly” without obvious warning, either during normal activities or in quiet sleep. Some patients have a history of angina attacks, and angina is suddenly aggravated, the face is ashen, sweating, blood pressure drops, especially frequent premature ventricular contractions, which is often a precursor to “sudden death”.
Appearing healthy is not the same as having a healthy heart
Clinically, patients who die suddenly appear to be healthy.
It is because they look healthy, or feel good about themselves, that they neglect to take care of their hearts. The key to this is a lack of self-care awareness.
In fact, coronary vascular disease is a process in which the blood vessels become constantly narrowed, and it is very difficult to detect until it reaches a certain level, which is the reason why many patients with sudden coronary heart disease do not have any signs before the onset. It is this hidden danger that poses a great threat to the life and health of young and middle-aged people.
Obesity —- the culprit of coronary artery blockage
Nine out of ten fat people wheeze. In fact, wheezing is the performance of the heart function is reduced.
The danger of obesity to the heart is constantly being studied and confirmed. Research at Oxford University in England suggests the importance of obesity and abdominal obesity. The cardiovascular risk of obese people has been increased. A study of 7079 asymptomatic middle-aged (43-52 years old) men (French police officers) was conducted in Paris, France. The investigators collected baseline data on anterior and posterior abdominal diameters from 1967-1972, and by the end of the study in 1984, 118 cases of sudden death and 192 cases of fatal myocardial infarction were identified. After estimating the role of other risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, total cholesterol, exercise and blood pressure, the investigators evaluated that obesity, especially an increase in anterior and posterior abdominal diameter, was associated with a proportionally higher risk of sudden death.
Regular checkups —- health protection
Enhance the awareness of regular checkups and treatment. After 30 years old, it is best to have an annual checkup to check blood pressure, blood lipids, blood glucose, have an electrocardiogram and see a cardiologist to detect and treat various heart diseases and diseases that can cause heart disease and sudden cardiac death in a timely manner. In particular, people with a family history of heart disease must have frequent checkups and pay attention to treatment.
Preventing heart disease – starting from daily life
In recent years, a large number of epidemiological surveys and clinical practice have proved that coronary heart disease is in fact completely preventable.
Recently, Canada published the results of a study that surveyed nearly 30,000 people in 52 countries around the world. Among them were approximately 15,000 first-episode heart attack patients and 14,000 heart-healthy individuals from the same city matched for age and sex as the heart attack patients. This large-scale survey not only conducted a controlled study of heart disease risk factors, but also investigated for the first time whether these risk factors have the same or different effects in all major ethnicities and major regions of the world.
The findings showed that 90 percent of heart attacks are triggered by these nine risk factors. The concept of these nine risk factors was first introduced in the global medical community, and the risk of heart attack was ranked strictly in that sequence.
1. Smoking. 2. Dyslipidemia. The first two predict the risk of developing heart attack in 2/3 of patients. 3. hypertension. 4. diabetes mellitus. 5. Obesity. 6. Stress. 7. Inadequate daily intake of fruits and vegetables. 8. Lack of daily exercise. 9. Excessive alcohol consumption.
Therefore, lifestyle changes, including quitting smoking, healthy diet and strengthening exercise, can reduce the risk of heart attack by 80%. As long as we seriously change our lifestyle, insist on exercise, reasonable diet, lose weight, quit smoking, choose effective drugs, timely detect and adequately control hypertension, dyslipidemia and abnormal sugar metabolism, it is not a dream that human beings will not have myocardial infarction before the age of 65.