In the past three months, 31-year-old Mr. Zhang's body has often been plagued by some minor ailments, such as colds, hives, etc. After several tosses, Mr. Zhang felt that his immunity had decreased, and his body was always prone to small problems. In order to improve his immunity, he decided to go for a night run and exercise.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Zhang came back from running back from a night run against the cold wind whirring at night, and the next day he caught a cold and fever. When he recovered, his family advised him to rest at home for a few days. But he thinks that he has finally developed the Xi of exercising, and he can't slack off easily. And I no longer have a fever, so I still insist on running and exercising at night.
Something strange happened...
Mr. Zhang always felt that his chest was tight and short, and he was still a little flustered and tired. He didn't take these performances to heart, but felt that his exercise did not achieve the effect of improving immunity, and he needed to increase his intensity. However, the body never gave him this chance again.
Later, Mr. Zhang was sent to the hospital by his family due to severe chest pain, palpitations, and breathlessness, and was diagnosed with viral myocarditis after a doctor's examination. Later, the illness was delayed for too long, and Mr. Zhang's rescue was ineffective and he passed away.
Can a small matter like a cold cause sudden death?
How can a small cold cause viral myocarditis and even cost people their lives?
This is due to the reduced resistance of the body, which can easily allow the virus to enter the respiratory tract and cause colds. The virus also travels around the body, from the bloodstream to the heart, where it lives inside the heart muscle cells to attack it.
At this point, the body's immune system mobilizes the "soldiers" to destroy the virus. However, in the process of destroying the virus, the body's immune system can also accidentally damage the heart muscle cells. Some of the heart muscle cells responsible for electrical signaling and help complete normal heart muscle contractility can lead to decreased heart function when they become infected or die.
Especially in winter and spring, it is the time when many viruses such as influenza virus, coxsackievirus, herpes virus, and mumps virus are very active. These viruses have a particular affinity for the heart muscle. Once our respiratory system has uncomfortable symptoms, the virus can easily "attack" the heart at the same time.
In addition to the high potential for toxic myocarditis, exercising during a cold is not good for recovery.
On the surface, exercise increases sweating and can speed up detoxification. And many people do feel that the uncomfortable symptoms of a cold have been reduced after sweating, but this is just an illusion.
Even with less intense exercise, our body's caloric production increases, which can easily lead to disorders of immune regulation. Not to mention that after exercise, immunosuppression may occur, further reducing the body's resistance.
There are a few things you must know about viral myocarditis
01 Will viral myocarditis be disguised and asymptomatic?
The clinical manifestations of viral myocarditis are varied. In the early stages, there may be no particularly noticeable abnormal symptoms. When the condition continues to worsen, it will be too late for the patient to develop irregular heartbeat, heart failure, cardiac shock, and even sudden death!
After a fever, the heart beats faster. So even though we have a fever and feel good, we have a rapid heartbeat, even more than 120 beats a minute. Myocardial damage should be suspected, or myocarditis should be considered.
If you often feel flustered, or feel your heart pounding, and sometimes stop secretly, and this has never happened before, we should also be vigilant. Because the most common complications of myocarditis are arrhythmia, tachycardia, etc., it is best to do electrocardiogram, cardiac enzymes and other tests to clarify.
If you frequently experience transient dizziness, blackness in front of your eyes, chest tightness and shortness of breath, decreased physical strength, and easy wheezing after lying down, you also need to consider whether your heart function is impaired. This is because one of the most common complications of myocarditis is invasion and damage to the heart's conduction system, which can lead to a slowed heart rate or atrioventricular block. These symptoms occur when our heart is damaged and we are unable to maintain the blood supply to our brain.
02 Who is at high risk of viral myocarditis?
Young people under the age of 40 are at high risk of viral myocarditis. Why is it that young people who should be in better health are more likely to have their heart muscle damaged?
There are two reasons for this. One is caused by the direct invasion of the virus. Many young people rely on their good physical foundation, so they do not pay attention to rest, and their resistance decreases, so that the virus replicates in a large number of myocardial cells, and eventually causes myocardial necrosis. In addition, young people have relatively strong immunity, and when the virus arrives, the body's immune system is prone to overreact, and in the process of destroying the virus or removing the virus, it may also accidentally injure good heart muscle cells.
Finally, let's talk about how long after a cold can I exercise?
Some people feel that they have been getting sick a lot lately, so they want to improve their immunity by exercising. This is naturally good. But don't choose a moment when your body hasn't fully recovered. During the 2-4 weeks of a cold, our heart is overloaded, and the heart rate increases and the myocardial oxygen consumption increases during exercise. Not only will it not have the effect of exercise, but it may become the last straw that crushes the body!
If you have to participate in exercise for special reasons, you can also refer to the "Neck Rule".
If the discomfort of a cold occurs above the neck, such as a runny nose, nasal congestion, or a mild sore throat, then you can go for a run. However, it is necessary to reduce the intensity and shorten the duration.
If the uncomfortable symptoms of a cold occur below the neck, such as chest tightness, nausea, uncontrollable dry cough, weakness in the limbs, and muscle pain, then do not exercise.
Dr.X said
You can't overdo anything, including sports!