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Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
About me
The Secretary-General and Standing Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Disease Professional Committee of the Rehabilitation Medical Association in Ganzhou City, and a member of the Ganzhou City Working Committee of the Heart Emergency Branch of the China Medical Health International Exchange Promotion Association. He has chaired 4 provincial and municipal-level research projects, participated in more than 20 research projects, and published over 20 papers.
Proficient in diseases
Specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease, hypertension, and structural heart disease. Research interests include hypertension, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, and cardiac rehabilitation.
Voices
Why does cardiogenic sudden death cause pallor throughout the body?
Sudden cardiac death occurs due to heart thrombosis or heart failure caused by various reasons whereby the heart cannot supply blood, leading to death. Most people experience hypotensive shock, insufficient blood and oxygen supply to the body before dying, thus appearing pale, with low blood pressure, and even cyanosis, with cessation of breathing and heartbeat. Some individuals suffer from heart thrombus dislodging into the brain, causing cerebral arterial infarction. Such extensive cerebral infarctions can also lead to the cessation of heartbeat, resulting in insufficient blood and oxygen supply throughout the body, manifesting as pallor and cyanosis.
The causes of syncope in rheumatic heart disease.
The most common manifestation of rheumatic heart disease involves the mitral valve, leading to severe stenosis and insufficiency of the mitral valve, and decreasing the amount of blood returning to the heart. At this time, there is not enough blood returning to the heart, and naturally, the amount of blood pumped out is reduced. If it is extremely severe, it can lead to fainting; this is the first scenario. The second scenario is rheumatic heart disease affecting the aortic valve, which can also result in insufficient blood being pumped out, causing ischemia and hypoxia in the cerebral arteries, leading to fainting. Another situation is related to heart arrhythmias, which are divided into two types. One type occurs when rheumatic heart disease is very severe, potentially causing atrial fibrillation. Some patients with cardiac bypass might experience ventricular fibrillation, leading to fainting. Additionally, there is a scenario where severe rheumatic inflammation causes dysfunction in the heart's conduction system, leading to conditions similar to sick sinus syndrome or complete atrioventricular block, causing significantly slow heart rhythms, which may also lead to fainting.
Does sudden cardiac death relate to coronary heart disease?
Some studies suggest that 70% of sudden cardiac deaths are caused by arrhythmias. Most of these arrhythmia-induced sudden deaths are associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis. Some are caused by acute myocardial infarction leading to sudden cardiac death. These are all caused by coronary heart disease. Therefore, sudden cardiac death is related to coronary heart disease. Thus, if coronary heart disease is suspected in a patient, it is crucial to perform early examinations and treatments to prevent the occurrence of myocardial infarction. Typical symptoms of coronary heart disease include intermittent chest tightness and chest pain, which can improve after a few minutes, and should therefore be taken seriously.
Is sudden cardiac death an acute myocardial infarction?
Sudden cardiac death refers to a phenomenon where a variety of heart diseases cause acute death in patients, with the most common causes being malignant arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or severe bradycardia, primarily related to myocardial infarction. However, not all cases of sudden cardiac death are due to myocardial infarction; this condition generally accounts for about 70%. Other causes of sudden cardiac death include existing dilated cardiomyopathy, thyrotoxic cardiomyopathy, or severe terminal stenosis of the mitral or aortic valves, which can also lead to sudden cardiac death. Another scenario involves atrial fibrillation leading to atrial thrombosis, causing thrombus detachment and resulting in extensive cerebral infarction leading to sudden death; this is also classified as sudden cardiac death. Therefore, while the majority of sudden cardiac deaths are related to myocardial infarction and arrhythmias, not all sudden cardiac deaths are due to myocardial infarction.
What would happen if the ventricular septal defect occluder dislodges?
An occluder generally works like two umbrella surfaces clamped over the orifice of the interventricular septal defect, achieving the method whereby tissue blood flow enters from the left side of the septum to the right side. Once an occluder dislodges, it can lead to a dangerous situation, as the occluder has a membrane that can easily get caught on the tendons of the mitral valve, causing severe mitral regurgitation; it can also get stuck at the mitral valve orifice, obstructing the outflow of blood; it may also lead to aortic valve insufficiency; if it gets caught in the major arteries, it can cause arterial embolism, leading to sudden death in the patient. Therefore, the dislodgement of an occluder is a very dangerous phenomenon.
How to recover from decreased physical fitness due to dilated cardiomyopathy?
Dilated cardiomyopathy is diagnosed after excluding conditions such as hyperthyroidism, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cardiac hypertrophy, or myocarditis as underlying causes. Generally, the exact cause of dilated cardiomyopathy is unknown, rendering causal treatment impossible. Once diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, it is impossible to completely cure the condition. The only approach is to manage symptoms and prevent further progression of the disease. Typically, this involves the use of beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and diuretics. If the patient has severe cardiac dysfunction, drugs like digoxin, which strengthen heart function, may be considered. If medication does not adequately control the condition, other treatments like CRT might be considered, as well as the use of phosphodiesterase inhibitors, diuretics, or intravenous cardiotonic glycosides.
Can people with atrial septal defect go to the plateau?
A mild atrial septal defect, such as one smaller than 3mm, allows for a normal life without any impact. In fact, some people only discover this condition during medical exams in their seventies or eighties. Therefore, it is safe for these individuals to travel to high altitudes. However, a larger atrial septal defect often causes symptoms like tightness in the chest, palpitations, and difficulty breathing after hypoxia or intense exercise. These patients have poorer compensatory abilities and are advised against going to high altitudes to avoid high altitude sickness. If such patients need to go to high altitude, it is recommended that they consider surgery before doing so.
Does interventricular septal defect occasionally cause chest pain?
Ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease, occurring when the ventricles of the heart develop poorly during the embryonic stage, leading to a defect in the ventricular septum. This often results in a left-to-right shunt which affects the efficiency of the heart's function. In severe cases, it can cause a right-to-left shunt. Generally, these conditions do not affect the coronary circulation or cause chest pain in patients. However, some patients may develop endocarditis at the ventricular septum, which sometimes leads to the formation of vegetations on the cardiac valves or blood clots on the abdominal wall. If thrombosis or vegetations occur, there is a possibility of these breaking off. If they enter the coronary arteries, they can cause chest pain. However, such events are extremely rare, with an occurrence rate of less than one in a thousand.
Does rheumatic heart disease cause bloating?
Rheumatic heart disease can cause stomach bloating. The main reason is that if the patient has severe tricuspid regurgitation, it can lead to right heart failure, causing congestion in the gastrointestinal tract. This leads to a decrease in appetite and a feeling of stomach bloating. Additionally, some heart disease patients are treated for heart failure with large amounts of diuretics, causing electrolyte disorders, such as low sodium or low potassium levels. Patients often exhibit symptoms of stomach bloating, and even nausea, vomiting, and increased fatigue. Thus, rheumatic heart disease can cause stomach bloating.
Pulmonary hypertension vomiting, what's the matter?
In the early stages, arterial hypertension may present no symptoms. However, when it reaches a certain severity, it can lead to difficulties in breathing, tightness in the chest, and may cause edema in the gastrointestinal tract, facial swelling, and fluid accumulation in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. When gastrointestinal edema becomes severe, patients may experience nausea, vomiting, and a significant loss of appetite. Thus, these are symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Some cases of vomiting occur because patients consume high-fat foods that are not absorbed in a timely manner, leading to gastrointestinal bloating which causes nausea and vomiting. Additionally, some cases involve patients who use diuretics to reduce swelling; they often experience vomiting due to electrolyte imbalances, such as low sodium and low potassium levels.