Heart disease
What foods should people with heart disease eat?
Patients with heart disease should adopt a diet that is low in fat, salt, and oil in their daily lives, and they should try to eat more fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamins, trace elements, and dietary fiber. They can frequently eat foods such as sea cucumber, eggs, milk, beef tendon, lean meat, rabbit meat, belt fish, yellow croaker, shrimp, and others that contain a good amount of high-quality protein needed by the human body, and have lower cholesterol. Continuous consumption over time can enhance the body's immunity and disease resistance.
Manifestations of Cor Pulmonale
Cor pulmonale refers to a disease characterized by changes in heart structure and function due to increased pulmonary vascular resistance caused by pathological conditions of the bronchi, lungs, thoracic cage, or pulmonary vessels, leading to pulmonary arterial hypertension. This condition is collectively known as cor pulmonale. The clinical manifestations of cor pulmonale generally develop slowly. Clinically, in addition to pulmonary and pleural symptoms, there gradually appear signs of pulmonary cardiac failure and damage to other organs. Common symptoms include coughing, expectoration, palpitations, dyspnea, fatigue, decreased endurance to physical activity. In the decompensated stage, symptoms such as worsening dyspnea, headaches, insomnia, decreased appetite, and even some signs of right heart failure like palpitations, poor appetite, abdominal bloating, nausea, and swelling of the lower limbs may occur.
Is rheumatic heart disease serious?
Rheumatic heart disease is a type of organic heart disease caused by an abnormal immune response, leading to pathological changes in the heart valves, which pose significant risks to the body. Due to valve insufficiency or stenosis, rheumatic heart disease causes changes in hemodynamics, leading to heart failure and pulmonary edema. These are severe conditions for patients and require timely treatment and correction. If effective dietary therapy is not administered, especially for pulmonary edema, it can be life-threatening.
Can people with heart disease soak their feet?
Patients with heart disease can soak their feet. Soaking feet can dilate peripheral blood vessels, promote the expansion of capillaries, accelerate blood flow, and help invigorate the blood and remove stasis. Especially when soaking feet, adding some blood-activating and channel-unblocking medicines can achieve better effects. Foot soaking for patients with heart disease can dilate peripheral blood vessels, reduce the blood returning to the heart, and lessen the burden on the heart. Particularly for patients with coronary artery atherosclerosis, foot soaking can enhance blood flow and invigorate the blood, which is beneficial for heart disease patients. However, do not soak for too long and the water level should not be too high.
Rheumatic heart disease etiology
Rheumatic heart disease is a type of organic heart disease, often caused by an abnormal immune response following a streptococcal infection, which affects the heart valves, resulting in valvular lesions, leading to stenosis or insufficiency, and posing significant risks to human health, severely impacting physical well-being. To prevent the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease, it is essential to actively control streptococcal infections, commonly including tonsillitis and upper respiratory tract infections. When a streptococcal infection occurs, effective antibiotics should be actively used to control the infection and reduce the incidence of rheumatic heart disease.
Is premature beat a type of heart disease?
Premature heartbeats belong to heart disease, and any disease that affects heart function and conduction is called heart disease. However, heart disease can be divided into organic heart disease and functional heart disease. Premature beats can also be due to different causes, categorized as physiological and pathological premature beats. Physiological premature beats are common in the normal population and are caused by disturbances in the nerves regulating the heart due to various reasons. Pathological premature beats are caused by organic heart disease, and it is necessary to treat the primary disease while correcting these premature beats.
What should be noted for rheumatic heart disease?
Rheumatic heart disease is caused by valvular pathology and often affects heart function. It is important to rest regularly, avoid overexertion, wear more clothing to prevent colds, and avoid exposure to cold winds. Each occurrence of a cold can exacerbate rheumatic heart disease. Dietary attention should focus on easily digestible, high-nutrient foods. Avoid consuming spicy and greasy foods, as they can lead to indigestion and gastrointestinal irritation, which can worsen symptoms of heart disease and increase the cardiac burden, bringing about adverse factors for the patient.
Can people with heart disease drink alcohol?
Patients with heart disease should not consume alcohol, especially those with severe heart conditions such as coronary heart disease, severe arrhythmias, and viral myocarditis. These patients especially should avoid alcohol as they need to use many medications during treatment. If they consume alcohol, the alcohol entering the body can chemically interact with some medications, leading to reduced efficacy, diminished effects, or causing side effects. Additionally, for these heart disease patients, consuming alcohol can increase the burden on the heart and exacerbate symptoms of heart disease.
How is cor pulmonale treated?
Cor pulmonale refers to the disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to pathological changes in the bronchi, lung tissue, thorax, or pulmonary vessels, leading to pulmonary arterial pressure and subsequently causing changes in the structure and function of the right ventricle. When cor pulmonale occurs, treatment is generally divided into the acute exacerbation phase where active control of infections, clearing of the airways, improvement of respiratory function, correction of hypoxia and carbon dioxide retention, control of respiratory failure and acute heart failure, and management of complications are emphasized. During the chronic remission phase, the goal is to enhance the patient's immune function, eliminate triggering factors, reduce or avoid the occurrence of acute exacerbations, and partially or fully restore cardiopulmonary function.
Complications of cor pulmonale
Complications of cor pulmonale commonly include several conditions. The first is pulmonary encephalopathy, caused by respiratory failure leading to hypoxia and carbon dioxide retention, which can cause somnolence in patients and, in severe cases, lead to coma. The second is acid-base imbalance and electrolyte disturbances. Cor pulmonale may present with various electrolyte disturbances, such as hyponatremia and hypokalemia. The third is arrhythmias, most commonly manifesting as atrial premature beats or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. The fourth complication is shock. Shock is not very common in cor pulmonale, but if it occurs, the prognosis is poor.