Heart disease prevention knowledge brochure

Control controllable risk factors, don’t miss early warning signs, and choose a personalized plan based on your own situation. There is no “perfect health formula” that suits everyone.

Not long ago, I was doing a free clinic in the community and met a 42-year-old Internet company executive. He came over with a frown and asked with a physical examination report. He said that he had high blood lipids for three years and usually had no other discomfort except staying up late. Why did it suddenly indicate that he was suffering from myocardial ischemia? I read his report and found out that his low-density lipoprotein was 4.7mmol/L, he was over 20 pounds in weight, and he drank alcohol at least three times a week. If these risks were piled together, it would be strange if there were no problems.

Many people's understanding of the risk factors for heart disease is still limited to the "three highs". Yes, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids are indeed the number one killers, especially the "bad cholesterol" (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) we often call, just like the grease accumulated in tap water pipes. If there is too much accumulation, it will block the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, which is a fatal myocardial infarction. But many people ignore the invisible risks: for example, not sleeping enough for 6 hours a day all year round, being stuck in anxious and irritable moods for a long time, and family history that people often don’t take seriously. If your parents are diagnosed with coronary heart disease before the age of 55, your risk of the disease is 2 to 3 times higher than that of ordinary people. Last year, we admitted a 19-year-old college student who drank Coke as water every day and ate fried chicken every meal. He weighed nearly 220 pounds. He suddenly had a heart attack while playing and collapsed on the court. When he was brought here, he had already blocked a coronary artery. Heart disease is no longer a disease of the elderly. I have seen many people in their twenties and thirties who have myocardial infarction. Don’t think that you can do it just because you are young. Smoking, including second-hand smoke, does much more damage to the lining of blood vessels than you think. I have a 35-year-old patient who is not obese and has normal blood lipids. Even though he smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, he still suffers from a myocardial infarction. If you can quit smoking early, it will do no harm whatsoever.

When it comes to prevention, many people’s first reaction is to stock up on health products, such as Coenzyme Q10, which has become very popular recently. Doctors in different departments do have different views on this: The mainstream view of cardiology is that as long as healthy people eat normally, the Coenzyme Q10 synthesized in the body is completely sufficient. Eating extra is basically paying IQ tax.； However, if you are taking statin lipid-lowering drugs for a long time, or have clear myocardial damage or heart failure, some doctors in the nutrition department and geriatric department will recommend supplementing 100-200mg every day, which can indeed alleviate certain drug side effects and improve myocardial metabolism. You don’t need to listen to the wind or rain. Ask your attending doctor whether you want to take it.

Last month, a 60-year-old aunt came to me and said that she walked 10,000 steps a day and was a vegetarian all year round. How come she was found to have a 40% blockage in her coronary arteries? When I asked about it, I found out that her so-called vegetarian diet meant frying vegetarian vegetables with a lot of oil every day, and she especially loved eating fried dough sticks. She walked 10,000 steps in a competition with her old sisters. She was out of breath every time she walked, and her blood pressure soared and she struggled to hold on. When it comes to exercise, there is no unified standard answer in the academic community: young people with no underlying diseases, who like running, playing ball, and fitness can do whatever they want, as long as you feel comfortable after exercising. ； However, for elderly people who already have coronary artery stenosis and high blood pressure, most cardiologists will recommend low-intensity exercise such as brisk walking and Tai Chi. Some sports medicine experts believe that as long as they have undergone a cardiopulmonary exercise assessment and confirmed that there is no problem, and do some resistance training with light weight dumbbells, it will be better for the heart function. The core is not to be too strong and don’t compare the amount of exercise with others. Your own body feeling is more accurate than any standard.

Many people think that heart attacks are sudden. In fact, 90% of people have signs before the attack, but they just don't take it seriously. Not long ago, there was a 50-year-old uncle who suffered from toothache for half a month. He visited several dentists but could not find the problem. Finally, he went to the cardiology department for a checkup and found that the coronary artery was 70% blocked. This is typical radiating pain. When the heart is ischemic, the pain will radiate to the shoulders, arms, and even teeth. It can easily be missed as other problems. If you usually can't breathe after climbing the third floor, or your chest suddenly feels as tight as a stone, or you even have pain in your left shoulder, left arm, or tooth that cannot be found, especially if you have high blood pressure or a family history, don't delay and go to the hospital for a checkup. For normal people, a regular electrocardiogram, blood lipids, and blood sugar tests are enough every year. For those with high-risk factors, a coronary CTA can be added every 2-3 years. Early detection of problems is better than anything else.

I have been in the clinic for almost 11 years, and I have seen too many patients with myocardial infarction that could have been avoided. Some of them thought that they would be over it if they were young, and some of them believed in some health-preserving remedies and took supplements indiscriminately, which delayed their condition. In fact, preventing heart disease is really not that complicated. Stay up less late at night, be less angry about trivial things, quit smoking if you can, drink as little alcohol as possible, and check your indicators with regular physical examinations. It is more effective than any expensive health care products. After all, your heart has been with you for decades. Whether you care about it or not, it still remembers it clearly.