Stroke prevention for the elderly in winter

  Most elderly people have hardened blood vessels, abnormal diastolic function and reduced adaptability. Cold stimulation in winter affects blood vessels, and for elderly people with hypertension, hyperlipidemia or cardiovascular disease, it can block the blood transfusion to the brain and increase the chance of stroke. In winter, the proportion of strokes in patients with cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction is very high, accounting for almost 20% of outpatient emergency cases.  Cold “triggers” can aggravate the disease, such as cold days in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, from the warm room out of the sudden cold is also prone to morbidity. Morning exercise in the cold, driving a bicycle in the cold wind, etc., can easily cause blood pressure to rise, vascular spasm, leading to cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction and acute myocardial infarction. When the body appears numbness in the hands and feet, dizziness or repeated episodes of vertigo, walking unsteadiness, must quickly go to the hospital for medical attention. In case of sudden aphasia, severe headache, nausea, vomiting and coma, family members should take the patient to the hospital as soon as possible. Brain hemorrhage is life-threatening if it exceeds 40%, and brain infarction can be saved within 3-6 hours of its occurrence, reducing the disability rate by more than 40% compared with that after 6 hours.  Stroke prevention is important, especially in winter, with hypertension, coronary heart disease must always pay attention to changes in the condition, to prevent recurrence. Control blood pressure, reduce weight, lower blood lipids, lower blood sugar, eat more food that can soften blood vessels and lower blood lipids, quit smoking, do not abuse alcohol, maintain a comfortable mood, avoid excitement, anger, keep bowel movements smooth, avoid staying up late and excessive fatigue, and carry out suitable cultural and sports activities. Under the guidance of a physician, you can choose to take herbal medicines with blood circulation and prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as Ginkgo biloba drops, blood plug (embolism) pass (containing Panax notoginseng), Chuanxiongzin tablets, recurring salvia tablets (drops) and other types of preparations. It should be reminded here that some people go to small clinics for infusion of fluids to pass blood vessels at the change of seasons every year to prevent stroke. In fact, it should be clear that for acute cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral embolism, acute stage of thrombosis, etc., you should go to the doctor to decide which drugs to choose intravenous drip according to your condition, commonly used drugs contain blood thinning, improve cerebral circulation, increase cerebral blood flow, anti-platelet aggregation, thrombolysis, etc. Infusions must be used under the guidance of a doctor. Except for the acute phase, preventive drug administration should be chosen by oral route as much as possible to ensure the safety of drug administration. Improper choice of infusion therapy may affect cardiac and renal function.