"Doctor, you must save me, am I going to die suddenly?"
Uncle Zhang is 61 years old this year, and he has just retired to enjoy life at home, going to bed early and getting up early every day, and not forgetting to take a walk and exercise in the afternoon.
But what happened recently made him very depressed, that is, he always felt a few "tingles" in his chest from time to time, although the time was short, but the feeling was very strong, like being pricked by a needle.
He muttered in his heart, this can't be sudden death, so he hurried to the hospital, and then he had the opening sentence. Is this really a precursor to sudden death? What is the pattern of sudden death? Let's follow Xiao Jiu to find out.
1. A few seconds of stabbing pain in the heart, is it a precursor to sudden death or a heart attack?
Many people have experienced this kind of moment in their lives and suddenly felt a tingling pain in their chest, but they didn't know what was going on.
In this regard, Hui Hui, deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Dalian Central Hospital, said that the occasional tingling pain in the chest is not fixed and lasts only a few seconds, so there is generally no need to worry too much, which is neither a precursor to sudden death nor heart disease. The specific situation will need to go to the hospital for further examination.
What really needs to be vigilant is persistent and severe chest pain, which is mostly a signal from acute diseases, such as acute myocardial infarction, aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism, etc., and it is necessary to call the emergency number for treatment as soon as it is found.
Yin Pengfei, director of the cardiovascular department of Beijing Shijitan Hospital, said that chest pain, chest tightness or discomfort in the precordial area are the most common.
Abnormal aura 1: Feeling short-term angina, difficulty swallowing, some patients will have chest tightness for 3~5 minutes.
Abnormal aura 2: I feel that something is pressing down on my chest, and I have symptoms such as palpitation, fatigue, and dizziness.
Abnormal aura 3: People with normal blood pressure suddenly develop low blood pressure, and have abnormal symptoms such as cold sweat and difficulty breathing, which generally appear after emotional agitation and a full meal, which can be relieved after rest.
The length of time these symptoms appear varies, some people only have a few minutes, others have half an hour, but most of them do not occur for a long time, and as long as symptoms appear, it is necessary to seek medical attention in time.
2. Doctors dissected 5,516 cases of sudden death and found the pattern of sudden death
There are many cases of sudden death on the Internet, and they are young people who seem to have no problems, why did they have sudden deaths?
In 2020, a autopsy involving 5,516 cases of sudden death was published in the Chinese Journal of Emergency Medicine, and five features were found in the sudden death population.
1. More than half of the sudden deaths are "too excited" and "too tired"
Among the causes of sudden death, agitation (26%), exertion (25%), and blood volume changes (8.9%) accounted for the highest proportions, and the rest of the triggers included alcohol consumption and minor injury.
Young people who do not have heart disease have a lot of luck about sudden death, often staying up late for a long time, overwork, etc., and these are the main behaviors that lead to sudden death.
2. The primary cause is sudden cardiac death
Sudden cardiac death was the highest type of sudden death, accounting for 57.8%, of which more than half had coronary heart disease, while sudden pulmonary death accounted for 21.6% and sudden cerebral death accounted for 9.21%.
For patients with coronary heart disease, severe arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, hypertension, etc., the chance of sudden death will increase significantly.
3. Before the occurrence of sudden death, accompanied by the following signs
Before sudden death, there will be a series of signs on the patient's body, about 20.1% of them are sudden onset, 16.71% appear in sleep, and 7.49% have vomiting symptoms, in addition to these symptoms, there may also be symptoms such as dyspnea, dizziness, chest pain, etc.
4. Among patients with sudden death, hypertension is the most common
About 37.95% of the people who died suddenly suffered from hypertension, and about 30.02% suffered from heart disease and 23.79% suffered from diabetes.
5. 30 years old ~ 63 years old, is the highest incidence age
Middle-aged people in this age group are the most frequent stage of sudden cardiac death.
Middle-aged people are mostly in the state of life of the old and the young, and their lives are stressful, and they often work overtime and stay up late, which can easily lead to the "three highs", and the "three highs" are easy to induce coronary heart disease, which may eventually lead to sudden death.
3. There are four lines of defense for sudden death, each of which is critical
Sudden death, while scary, is not unpreventable, and protecting these four lines of defense can help prevent it from happening.
The first line of defense: Preventing the formation of coronary plaques can help prevent sudden death in the first place. Daily attention should be paid to maintaining a good lifestyle, including quitting smoking and limiting alcohol, regular work and rest, and active control of the three highs, these measures can effectively prevent the formation of plaques, even in people who already have plaques, can also delay the process of its development.
The second line of defense: people who have plaques should actively take drugs under the guidance of doctors, and at the same time have regular follow-up visits to control plaques in a stable state and prevent plaque rupture.
The third line of defense: after the plaque rupture inadvertently, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation, keep calm and take a comfortable position to rest on the spot, call an ambulance immediately, and pay attention to emphasize the need for an ambulance with a defibrillator.
The fourth line of defense: patients who have already developed ventricular fibrillation should immediately perform cardiac resuscitation, with 2 artificial respirations for every 30 compressions to re-establish blood circulation for the patient.
There are many causes of chest tingling, and prolonged severe chest pain is more important than a few seconds of stinging, which may lead to sudden death.
Resources:
[1] "Doctors dissected more than 5,000 cases of sudden death and found that one-quarter was "too excited" and one-quarter was "too tired"!". Health Times 2020-05-09
[2] "@心内科医生: A tingling pain in the chest, is there a heart problem?". Life Times 2021-05-19
[3] "The incidence of cardiac arrest in mainland China is rising! 4 lines of defense to prevent sudden death, we must defend!". Health Times 2023-04-22
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