I can't breathe like an ox even when I'm lying down! When his heart was checked, it turned out to be "as swollen as a pomelo." Medical warning: These 5 types of people are the most dangerous
I can’t sleep normally even if I lie down! When he checked, his heart was “as swollen as a pomelo”
The heart is the most important energy-supplying organ of the human body. Once it suffers from heart failure, which is known as “heart cancer,” the human body will be unable to function like a robot that has lost its motor. However, heart function decline or the accompanying pain are often easily confused with chest pain or other organ discomfort, making it difficult for most people to detect it and delay seeking medical treatment. Dr. Zhao Shuping from the Department of Cardiology at Shin Kong Wu Huo Shi Memorial Hospital pointed out that there was a 50-year-old middle-aged man in the clinic who had long-term symptoms of obvious edema and breathlessness.
Dr. Zhao Shuping said that the man’s symptoms continued to worsen, and in the later stages he could not even lie down to sleep. After emergency medical treatment, he arranged for an X-ray examination and discovered that his heart, which should have been the size of his fist, had swollen to the size of a pomelo. The ejection fraction (EF) value of the cardiac ultrasound examination was only 10%. Heart failure can not only cause symptoms such as dizziness and cognitive dysfunction, but may also lead to arrhythmia and hydropericardium in severe cases. It often interacts with chronic kidney disease and diabetes, and the risk cannot be underestimated.
Research estimates that the number of heart failure patients in Taiwan will reach more than 800,000 in 2050, which will seriously affect Taiwan’s social productivity. Dr. Zhao Shuping pointed out that early screening and diagnosis are the key factors affecting the effectiveness of treatment. In recent years, a variety of treatment drugs have been introduced for heart failure, and more drugs that can take care of the heart, sugar, and kidneys have been added to the treatment ranks. If detected early and treated actively, patients still have the opportunity to stabilize symptoms and reverse heart function.
The “silent killer” characteristics of heart failure are difficult to detect! Doctors remind: Pay attention to the “five major types of people”
Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare data points out that the mortality rate of patients with heart failure in Taiwan is higher than that of cancer, a “national disease”, with a five-year mortality rate of up to 50%. It can be said to be one of the most dangerous diseases in Taiwan. Heart failure is primarily caused by impaired systolic or diastolic function of the heart, resulting in the inability to effectively pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Dr. Zhao Shuping explained that common symptoms of heart failure are tiredness, breathlessness, and swelling, especially when patients feel more breathless when lying down. At this time, they should seek medical treatment as soon as possible to avoid delay in treatment.
Dr. Zhao Shuping also emphasized that patients often confuse asthma symptoms with fatigue caused by work, resulting in missing the golden treatment period, and as the heart function continues to fail, the patient will eventually become disabled or die. If people have habits such as smoking and drinking, or fall into the following five high-risk groups, they need to actively pay attention to whether they are at risk of heart failure, including: middle-aged and elderly people, people with a family history of heart disease or heart failure, patients with three high-risk groups, kidney disease Patients with diabetes and diabetes should undergo regular screening to facilitate early detection of heart failure.
“Co-management of heart, sugar and kidneys” has become an international trend. Will regular X-rays and echocardiography be “life-saving straws”?
There are no specific symptoms in the early stages of heart failure, and public awareness is low, which is the main reason for missing the golden treatment period. Data point out that 45% of patients with acute heart failure suffer from worsening of renal function, and about 40% of patients with heart failure also suffer from diabetes. This proves that heart failure, diabetes and kidney disease are closely related, and therefore includes the treatment guidelines of the American and European Heart Associations. Zhongjie suggested that when evaluating the treatment of heart failure, attention should be paid to whether there are other comorbidities. It is obvious that “co-management of comorbidities” has become the focus of current heart failure treatment.
In view of this, in recent years, doctors will also provide more comorbidity health education and management guidelines for patients from high-risk groups to reduce the possible impact of heart failure on Taiwanese society. Dr. Zhao Shuping said that the “Health 888 Plan” recently promoted in Taiwan aims to help improve patients’ quality of life through health education, patient support and regular examinations.
Dr. Zhao Shuping pointed out that in the past, he had encountered patients who were in high-risk groups, but because they did not understand the symptoms of heart failure and did not have regular screening habits, their hearts were already very enlarged when they finally sought medical treatment, making treatment more difficult. Therefore, in addition to establishing basic health education awareness for patients, patients from high-risk groups should pay more attention to regular health check-ups, and can also undergo electrocardiogram, chest X-ray and cardiac ultrasound to prevent danger and protect the heart as early as possible.
Can anti-diabetic drugs also treat heart failure? Medical: Conducive to the management of heart, diabetes and renal comorbidities
Most treatments for heart failure give priority to drug therapy. Common drugs include renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, sympathetic nervous system inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors, diuretics, etc. In recent years, co-management of comorbidities has become an assessment criterion. SGLT2 inhibitors, originally used to treat diabetes, have the benefits of protecting the heart and preventing kidney disease, and have now become standard treatments for heart failure patients recommended by domestic and foreign guidelines.
“Such drugs play an important role in the management of heart, diabetes, and kidney comorbidities. Studies have pointed out that after treatment, patients can reduce the risk of hospitalization due to heart failure or cardiovascular events, significantly reduce glycated hemoglobin, and can also effectively reduce the risk of kidney failure. Prolonging the survival time of patients demonstrates the comprehensiveness of current drug development in the management of heart failure patients!”
Finally, Dr. Zhao Shuping reminded that in addition to understanding the basic symptoms of heart failure, the public can also maintain heart health through stable exercise habits and a balanced diet. The most important thing is to combine regular physical examinations and cardiac ultrasound to detect their own heart function. Is it normal? For patients with comorbidities or heart failure, echoing the concept of co-management of comorbidities, if you want to stably control heart failure, you should simultaneously monitor glycated hemoglobin, renal function, urine protein and other values, take medicine regularly, and refrain from smoking and drinking. To facilitate joint management of heart, sugar and kidney risks.
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