Man in thirties nearly dies of heart attack following drop in temperature 天冷氣溫低 三旬男心肌梗塞險死

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. artery n.動脈

2. block v. 阻塞

3. cardiogenic shock phr. 心因性休克

4. cold sweat phr. 盜汗

A 37-year-old man recently went to the Changhua Christian Hospital after experiencing sudden chest pain. During a cardiac catheterization, which revealed that his right coronary artery was completely blocked, the man suddenly suffered heart failure due to cardiogenic shock. The doctor immediately performed a surgery to unblock the arteries that supply blood to the heart and, with the help of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) equipment, saved the man’s life. The patient had not had a health check-up for some time, and was unaware he had diabetes and high blood sugar.日前一名年三十七歲的男子因突發胸痛前往彰化基督教醫院就醫，透過心導管檢查發現右冠狀動脈完全阻塞。檢查過程中，男子突然心臟衰竭及心因性休克，醫師使用葉克膜搶救並迅速打通血管，救回一命。原來該名自認健康的病患，早有糖尿病及高血脂，只是一直未檢查而不自知。

Changhua Christian Hospital cardiology physician Chien Szu-chi points out that myocardial infarctions, commonly known as heart attacks, usually occur to people of age 50 and above with high risks of cardiovascular diseases. However, he adds, with increased consumption nowadays of refined foods and exposure to additional environmental risk factors, people are developing high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high blood fats, as well as having heart attacks, at increasingly younger ages. 彰化基督教醫院心臟血管內科醫師簡思齊指出，心肌梗塞好發於五十歲以上有心血管風險者，但隨著國人飲食習慣精緻化及環境中的危險因子增加，導致高血壓、高血糖和高血脂的「三高」發生年齡及心肌梗塞發生年齡都下降。

Cold snaps and extremely hot weather can also increase the chances of heart attack. When a heart attack occurs, the patient should be sent to hospital immediately, as acute myocardial infarction can lead to death within an hour. 心肌梗塞也好發於寒流來襲或高溫天熱時，一旦急性心肌梗塞發作，應盡速送醫。急性心肌梗塞使患者可能在發病後一個小時內猝死。

Typical symptoms of heart attack include sustained chest pain, cold sweats and difficulty breathing, Chien says. 簡思齊說，持續性胸痛、盜汗和呼吸困難是最典型的發病癥狀。

People with a family history of heart attacks are advised to undergo regular yearly health checks. 如果家族中有心肌梗塞病史者，建議每年接受檢查。

( Liberty Times, translated by Tu Yu-an)

High Blood Pressure 高血壓

The risks of resistant high blood pressure 頑固性高血壓　日吃三次藥仍中風

 

Neurosurgeon Liao Pen-li points out a 6 cm blood clot that caused hemorrhaging in the left side of a male stroke victim’s brain.
神經外科醫師廖本立指這名中風男子左腦出血的血塊直徑六公分。

Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者蔡淑媛

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. cold snap n. ph 寒流 

例: This is just a cold snap. It should not last very long.

(這只是個寒流，不會持續太久。)

2. soar v 飆高 

例: Prices of vegetables often soar following a typhoon.

(蔬菜價格在颱風後常會飆高。)

3. plummet v. 驟降;墜地 

例: Both engines failed, and the airplane plummeted to the ground.

(飛機因為兩個引擎都失效了而墜地。)

Sufferers of high blood pressure often ask, “I am already on three kinds of medication. Why is it that I still had a stroke due to high blood pressure?” Doctors point out that people with resistant high blood pressure are 20 percent more likely to get a stroke than those with regular high blood pressure, and if they do not control their blood pressure or pay attention to changes in the air temperature, they are vulnerable to having a stroke.

There was a 66-year-old man, not yet retired, who had high blood pressure. Although he took three different types of medication every day to keep his blood pressure under control, he didn’t visit the clinic on a regular basis, and neither did he keep an eye on changes in his blood pressure. The result was that when a cold snap came, one cold night, he lost the strength in his arm and leg on the left side of his body and he found he had trouble walking. After he was sent to the hospital, he was diagnosed as having had a stroke brought on by soaring blood pressure. He gradually recovered after being treated in hospital.

Doctors say that 60 percent of people in Taiwan over 65 years old have high blood pressure, and some of these people take three or more kinds of hypotensive medication, but are still unable to control their blood pressure properly, or have to take as many as four types of hypotensive drug before they can control their blood pressure to within the target range. This is when they are said to have resistant high blood pressure.

When the temperature plummets it is important to keep warm in order to minimize the risk of a stroke.

(Liberty Times, translated by Paul Cooper)

我已經吃三種降血壓藥了，為什麼還會因為高血壓而腦中風？」常有高血壓患者有這個疑問。醫師指出，頑固性高血壓老年患者原本就比一般患者多了二成的腦中風機率，如果沒有好好控制血壓及注意氣溫變化，一不小心就可能中風。

有一名六十六歲仍未退休的高血壓患者，平日服用三種降血壓藥，以控制血壓，但並未定期回診和注意血壓變化。結果一波寒流來襲，他在寒冷深夜出現左手、左腳無力、步態不穩等症狀，送醫急救後，確診為血壓飆高引起的腦中風，住院治療後才慢慢恢復。

醫師說，國人六十五歲以上的高血壓盛行率超過六成，其中有部分患者使用了三種以上的降血壓藥仍無法正常控制血壓，或是要使用多達四種降血壓藥才能把血壓控制在目標範圍內，這種患者就是頑固性高血壓患者。

在氣溫驟降時，要特別注意保暖，才能把發生腦中風的風險降到最低。

(自由時報記者蔡孟尚)