Prolonged angina, beware of coronary artery blockage
Many people who ignore chest pains die before reaching the hospital. The dangers of cardiovascular disease were discussed by doctors at a scientific conference at noon on July 9.
Associate Professor - Doctor Pham Thanh Vinh, Medical Director of Tam Duc Hospital (HCMC) said that acute myocardial infarction is caused by acute coronary syndrome. Patients often become seriously ill very quickly due to acute myocardial ischemia (reduced blood flow to the heart muscle), in which the main pathogenesis is due to coronary artery thrombosis; atherosclerotic plaque; endothelial vasodilation dysfunction.
"Up to 50% of patients with acute myocardial infarction die before reaching the hospital. The main reason is that patients subjectively do not go to the doctor when they see unusual symptoms in their body," said Mr. Vinh.
According to cardiologists, common symptoms of coronary artery syndrome are that patients often feel pressure, squeezing, or heaviness in the chest. Some people feel discomfort in the upper body, pain or discomfort in both arms, back, neck, jaw, or abdomen. Many cases experience shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and dizziness.
Although the mortality rate is high, according to Dr. Ho Huynh Quang Tri, head of the Department of Resuscitation, Ho Chi Minh City Heart Institute, patients with acute coronary syndrome can have good treatment results with many methods. The most effective of these is the use of anticoagulant drugs.
"Therefore, to avoid death on the way to the emergency room due to acute myocardial infarction, when seeing the above symptoms, patients need to quickly go to a medical facility for examination," Mr. Tri advised.
Affirming that increasingly advanced treatment methods help many patients escape danger, cardiologists still believe that disease prevention is still more necessary.
"Not smoking, regularly controlling blood pressure, diabetes, exercising, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a reasonable body weight... are the most practical ways to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially coronary artery syndrome," Dr. Vinh recommended.
