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Heart disease
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.
Is congenital heart disease heart cancer?
Congenital heart disease primarily refers to the abnormal development of the heart and blood vessels during the fetal period, leading to cardiovascular malformations. It is the most common type of heart disease in children, with an incidence rate of about 6-8 per 1,000 live births. Generally, congenital heart disease refers to malformations during the development of the fetal heart. The exact causes of this condition are still not completely understood. However, actively preventing viral infectious diseases in the early stages of pregnancy and avoiding certain high-risk factors associated with the disease play a significant role in preventing congenital heart disease in children. It should be noted that congenital heart disease represents malformations in the development of the heart and is not a form of heart cancer, hence there is no terminology that describes it as such.
Is heart palpitations a heart disease?
Palpitations are one of the main symptoms of cardiovascular disease, but they should not be equated with it. Some palpitations do not accompany arrhythmias and can also occur in normal people, especially when lying on the left side, which might be noticeable. It is commonly seen in normal individuals who are nervous and sensitive, as well as in some anxious people. Normal people might experience palpitations during intense exercise; these could be due to sinus tachycardia or a high-output circulatory state, but most other cases should be evaluated to exclude heart disease.