[이데일리 이순용 기자] There is a disease whose incidence increases as the daily temperature difference increases. It is a ‘myocardial infarction’ that often appears in middle-aged men. Myocardial infarction is a disease that causes necrosis in part of the heart due to acute blockage of the coronary artery, a blood vessel that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the heart. Professor Park Hyeon-woo of the Department of Cardiology at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital will find out about myocardial infarction, which has been steadily increasing over the past five years, with male patients accounting for 77.5%, and patients in their 60s accounting for over 30%.
Professor Park Hyun-woo said, “Healthy people do not easily develop blood clots inside the coronary arteries, but when the inside of the blood vessels is damaged due to old age, diabetes, high blood pressure, or hyperlipidemia, they suffer from atherosclerosis, in which blood clots are easily formed. “The reason why the number of patients with myocardial infarction is increasing in Korea is because atherosclerosis, which causes myocardial infarction, is increasing,” he said.
The main symptom of myocardial infarction is excruciating chest pain. In addition, there are cases in which the upper abdomen is stuffy and uncomfortable symptoms and difficulty breathing, so it is mistaken for a digestive disease. In addition, if you suddenly collapse while complaining of chest pain, you should be especially careful as life-threatening arrhythmias pass and blood pressure drops and cardiac arrest may occur.
Professor Park Hyun-woo said, “The mortality rate due to myocardial infarction is known to be about 30%, but after arriving at the hospital, the mortality rate is reported to be about 5-10%. If you check the symptoms quickly and go to the hospital, the mortality rate is significantly reduced, so you should be aware of your health condition and take prompt action if symptoms of suspected myocardial infarction occur.”
If you come to the emergency room with myocardial infarction, the first thing you do is an electrocardiogram and a blood test. If the patient’s symptoms and electrocardiogram show that the blood vessels are completely blocked, coronary angiography is performed to diagnose. It is recommended to perform coronary angiography within 1 to 2 days even if the patient’s symptoms are reduced and the electrocardiogram is not an emergency.
If myocardial infarction is diagnosed, coronary artery intervention is performed using a stent to open the clogged blood vessel. In addition, antiplatelet agents such as aspirin and anticoagulants such as heparin are used to eliminate blood clots. And to reduce or slow the progression of atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia drugs such as statins are used together. In addition, after myocardial infarction, the heart shape is deformed around the infarct area, and at this time, blood pressure medication is used to improve the prognosis. If there is a family history, it is helpful to take hyperlipidemia medication in consultation with a specialist.
Professor Park Hyun-woo said, “If drug treatment is not performed after the initial stent treatment, a complication called stent thrombosis occurs, which increases the probability of recurrence of myocardial infarction. Since stent thrombosis is known to have a very high mortality rate, drug treatment must be performed after stent treatment. In particular, when combined with drug treatment and cardiac rehabilitation, the recurrence rate can be reduced by about 50%.”
To prevent myocardial infarction, risk factors that cause atherosclerosis, such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking, must be carefully managed. In particular, smoking is fatal to blood vessel health, so quitting smoking is the most important. In addition, it is good to have a low-salt diet and vegetarian diet, and it is good to do aerobic exercise for 30 to 40 minutes a day every day. Stress can also cause atherosclerosis, so controlling stress is also important.
Professor Park Hyun-woo said, “Myocardial infarction is a disease that can sufficiently reduce its occurrence. Risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia should be identified and managed early through health checkups. One out of 10 patients who visit the emergency room with chest pain has a myocardial infarction. If you are elderly and have risk factors for atherosclerosis and have symptoms, it is important to visit the emergency room quickly without delay.”
“Sometimes after suffering myocardial infarction, people stop taking the medicine without consulting their doctor, which is a very dangerous behavior that increases the recurrence rate. Because taking medicine reduces the risk of not only myocardial infarction but also other fatal diseases that can occur from atherosclerosis, you must take your medicine well,” he said.