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"Oh, my stomach hurts, should I take two less bites?"
Zhang Damin clutched his swollen belly. The 49-year-old postman died on his way to the hospital after he suddenly fainted due to heart failure.
Zhang Damin never takes minor illnesses and pains to heart. Even if he has chest tightness and shortness of breath, he only thinks that it is because "I may have been too busy lately and has not rested well." ”
His old buddies, every time they heard him complain when they played mahjong, it was a burst of good-natured ridicule and explanation, and no one really took it seriously.
However, this time he really fell. On the way to the hospital, Zhang Damin's heart could no longer support his optimism, and his life was drawn to an end in the ambulance.
Dr. Liu Fahan deeply regrets and has a great responsibility for this. In an interview, he mentioned four symptoms of heart failure that are often overlooked, hoping to make more people aware of the seriousness of the problem through Zhang's example.
"Many people think that heart failure is sudden, like in the TV series, and it collapses all at once. But in fact, long before that, the body had already sent a lot of signals. Dr. Liu Fahan explained.
The first symptom he mentions is a constant feeling of fatigue, which is a common sign when the heart is not pumping enough. Zhang Damin has complained many times that he feels extremely tired, but he always blames it on the pressure of work.
The second symptom is edema, especially in the ankle area. Mr. Zhang's wife recalled that his shoes sometimes suddenly felt tight, but Mr. Zhang always smiled and said, "Maybe the shoes have shrunk." ”
The third symptom is dyspnea, especially when lying flat. Dr. Liu Fahan explained that this is because the heart is not functioning and causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs, which can be made worse by lying down.
Zhang Damin also has this symptom, but he always thinks that he has gained weight recently and pressed his chest. The last one is loss of appetite, which is also an indirect sign of heart failure.
Because the blood circulation in the body is not smooth, the blood supply to the digestive system is insufficient, and the patient will not feel hungry, or feel full after a few bites.
Zhang Damin often jokes that he "keeps in shape", but in fact his heart is warning him. Dr Liu stressed that although these symptoms may not seem very serious, they are a common warning for heart patients and are often overlooked.
Indigestion and loss of appetite can actually be early signs of heart failure. People often think that these problems are only related to the gastrointestinal tract, but few realize that these may also be due to the lack of pumping blood from the heart affecting gastrointestinal function.
Shortly after Zhang Damin's death, a patient asked, "Doctor, is it true that you just mentioned that poor appetite may be a sign of heart failure?"
Dr. Liu Fahan replied: "It is true, heart failure can affect the blood circulation of the whole body, including the blood sent to the digestive system. When the heart's pumping function decreases, blood flow to the digestive system also decreases, which affects appetite. ”
"That's why we can't ignore any kind of abnormal symptoms, they can be important information that the body is trying to tell us. ”
Seeing Zhang Damin's example, some people may think, hey, isn't this the cliché. But don't forget, behind every seemingly ordinary symptom, there may be extraordinary warning signs. There is one angle – the impact of emotional health on heart failure.
Emotional instability can lead to an increase in chronic stress, which in turn stimulates the body to produce more stress hormones, such as adrenaline, which are chronically high and can negatively affect heart function and accelerate the progression of heart disease.
Although Zhang Damin seems to be optimistic, in fact, the pressure at work and the responsibilities in the family have made him in a state of unreleased pressure for a long time.
Long-term psychological stress and low mood are among the risk factors for heart disease. Moreover, this effect is cumulative and may not be immediately apparent, but their damage to the heart is progressively deepened over time.
If Zhang Damin had realized this earlier, he might have been able to improve his emotional state through some means, such as psychological counseling, moderate exercise, or developing some relaxing hobbies, so as to add points to his heart health.
Dr. Liu Fahan has also emphasized that patients with heart failure should pay attention to changes in their psychological state in addition to paying attention to physical signals.
In many cases, he has found that patients who manage their emotions well and have a positive attitude towards life have significantly slower disease progression than those who are often depressed.
What do you think about heart failure?