Trend of rejuvenation of cardiovascular disease
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death globally, with about 19.8 million deaths in 2022. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Health identifies non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, as accounting for a large proportion of the disease burden and tending to increase due to population aging and lifestyle changes.
At central hospitals, especially cardiovascular centers, the number of patients hospitalized due to myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, aortic dissection or valve disease is still maintained at a high level. Notably, a significant number of patients of working age, even under 40 years old, are diagnosed with the disease when cardiovascular events have occurred.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Dr. Nguyen The Huy - Deputy Head of the Adult Cardiology Department, Cardiovascular Center of E Hospital - said that in fact, treatment is recording many cases of young patients being hospitalized due to symptoms of acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction or coronary artery stenosis.
Most of these cases are related to lifestyle factors such as smoking, unreasonable diet, dyslipidemia, hypertension but are not detected and controlled early.
Many patients who are admitted to the hospital for the first time are almost in a state of myocardial infarction, while before that they were completely healthy, still playing sports and living normally. However, in just a sudden moment, severe chest pain appeared. This shows that the disease develops very silently and requires us to have a health check-up" - Dr. Huy emphasized.
High-intensity sports pose a risk of cardiovascular disease
In cold weather, especially in the autumn-winter period, blood vessels easily contract, participating in high-intensity physical activities, strenuous exercise can crack atherosclerosis plaques, causing acute cardiovascular events, even stopping blood circulation.
When signs such as chest tightness, shortness of breath appear during exercise or sports, people should not be subjective but need to stop activities and go for cardiovascular check-ups early" - Dr. Huy stated clearly.
Doctors recommend that patients who already have cardiovascular diseases, especially after intervention or surgery, should limit strenuous activities, avoid competitive sports, and should choose lighter sports such as walking, swimming, cycling, and adjust intensity to be moderate.
At the same time, patients need to adhere to drug treatment and adjust their diet to suit the underlying disease.
In treatment, coronary intervention is still the main method for severe lesions. Currently, thanks to the development of medicine, many modern techniques and equipment have been applied in Vietnam, contributing to improving treatment effectiveness and reducing the risk of coronary reestenosis. In addition, the use of specialized diagnostic instruments such as intravascular ultrasound helps doctors accurately assess lesions and optimize intervention.
