Awareness from cardiovascular experts: Not only obese, overweight people have a coronary artery disease

13/11/2019 07:38

For a long time, there were many points of view that only obese, overweight people are at risk of coronary artery disease. This type accounting about 30-40 percent of coronary artery patient group. And other view that chest pain, high blood pressure… are symptoms of coronary artery disease is not right because in fact, there are about 40 percent of coronary artery patient don’t have clear symptoms.

 

On October 27^th, 2019, nearly 300 people from Hanoi and nearby provinces visited Viet Duc University Hospital for a Free Health Check and Consultation Program for Coronary Artery Disease leading by cardio-vascular experts.

 

The participants were consulted about early diagnosis of coronary artery for high risk people, treatment plan and were instructed in preventing coronary artery disease due to atherosclerosis.

The coronary artery disease comes earlier, slim people are at risk too.

 

Sharing with reporter at a consultation, Ass. Prof. Nguyen Huu Uoc PhD. – Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Center , Viet Duc University Hospital (VDUH) said, coronary artery disease is common in population. Recently, Vietnamese disease model is gradually changing by increasing non-infection diseases including a cardio-vascular disease in general and a coronary artery disease in particular. Especially, the coronary artery disease comes earlier than before and becomes an alert to community.

 

 “Before, during consultation and screening, among 100 patients there were only 1 patient in the age of 50 years old suffering from cardio-vascular problem including coronary artery. However, recently, among 100 patients there are about 5-6 patients are shown with this disease, with either coronary artery calcification or artery narrows” – Ass. Prof. Nguyen Huu Uoc added more information.

 

 Moreover, he said, in fact for a long time, many patients at age 50-60 usually don’t think that they have a coronary artery disease when they visit VDUH so they didn’t accept the check; but many of them got it without acknowledgement. That’s why, they didn’t discuss with doctors to evaluate and prevent the risk, which might be occurred during operation.

According to Ass. Prof. Nguyen Huu Uoc, for a long time, there were many points of view that only obese, overweight people are at risk of coronary artery disease. This type accounting about 30-40 percent of coronary artery patient. And other view that chest pain, high blood pressure… are symptoms of coronary artery disease is not right because in fact, there are about 40 percent of coronary artery patient don’t have clear symptoms.

 

Risk factors of coronary artery disease

 

Reveals from Ass. Prof. Nguyen Huu Uoc PhD show that, coronary artery disease is dangerous that causes chronic angina pectoris or chronic complications such as heart failure, arrhythmia.

 

The main reason of coronary artery disease is due to the progress of atherosclerosis plaques inside coronary arteries.

 

“Since a small age, inside body, an atheroma – a combination of cholesterol, fat and other substances – begins to stick to the side of blood vessels. It builds up over time, makes arteries harder and narrower called atherosclerosis. In some cases, an unstable atheroma causes cracks or breaks.

An atheroma unstability causes some symptoms such as chess pain, artery luminal narrowing which makes reduction of blood flow through those narrow areas, myocardial hypoxia and nutrition, which lead to chess pain and shortness of breath” – Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Center Nguyen Huu Uoc said.

 

In a more serious cases, an unstable atheroma causes cracks or breaks leads to acute chess pain and shortness of breath or called acute myocardial infarction. Lack of oxygen, myocardium becomes weaker contraction. This condition might cause irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or also heart failure, means that heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.

 

Beside that, other risk factors that cause the coronary artery disease include blood pressure increasing, diabetes, dyslipidemia: high cholesterol and triglyceride, smoking, sedentary activity, stress, depression and anger.

 

Unhealthy diet and leisure activity, late sleep, high alcohol consumer, high age alo cause the coronary artery disease.

How to choose appropriate diet and activity to prevent coronary artery disease

 

According to Ass. Prof. Nguyen Huu Uoc, there are some high fat foods such as animal’s organ, beef and fast foods that people should not eat. Alcohol is also a factor to increase fat storage. Beside that, men who smoke a lot is also a factor causing a dangerous lipidemia.

 

Moreover, a high working stress and a nervous tension lead to abnormal activities, less sports, using smart phone whole time… are important factors causing cardiovascular events.

 

 That’s why, everyone should maintain healthy diet, daily activities to reduce the risk of cholesterol; regularly check health condition, especially when a symptom appears in our body to be immediately diagnosed and treated, prevented from coronary artery disease.

 

Ass. Prof. Nguyen Huu Uoc said, nowadays, thanks for innovations of laboratories and imaging diagnosis, coronary artery disease is diagnosed early. And together with the innovations of electrocardiogram (ECG), exercise ECG, e, coronary artery computed tomography, heart MRI, percutaneous coronary angiography… brought high efficiency in diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease.

 

Depending on type and grade of disease, treatment plan for coronary artery disease will be changed to make it suitable for each patient: using medicine or surgical intervention. Beside that, changing lifestyle is largely contributed in improving symptoms and reducing risk.