Recently, various parts of the country have experienced a sudden drop in temperature, and Guangdong has not escaped. Recently, Ms. Liu, a Guangzhou citizen, was worried. She was worried that her mother, who has a history of cardiovascular disease, insisted on staying at home and refusing to go out in order to avoid catching the cold. She would like to know how the elderly with underlying diseases can protect themselves during cooling. To this end, the reporter interviewed cardiovascular and cerebrovascular experts.
“Recently, the number of patients admitted to the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine has increased by 10% to 30%.” Zeng Weijie, deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, said that the sudden drop in temperature in winter has a negative impact on the elderly, pregnant women, infants, and children. People with chronic diseases such as vascular diseases and respiratory diseases, as well as people who work outdoors for long periods of time, are most affected. Due to the physical reasons of thermal expansion and contraction and the physiological reason that the body needs to slow down the rate of heat loss, a cold environment will cause the human body's blood vessels to constrict. The narrowing of blood vessels will increase the resistance to blood passage, which will cause blood pressure to rise. The heart will have to work harder to push blood through the narrowed blood vessels, thus placing a greater burden on the cardiovascular system.
Secondly, in a cold environment, vasoconstriction may cause red blood cells and platelets in the blood to aggregate in the blood vessels, and the viscosity of the blood will increase, indirectly increasing the risk of blood clot formation. The fluidity of the blood decreases and blood circulation becomes poor, placing additional burden on the heart and blood vessels.
In addition, cold temperatures can lead to increased inflammation in blood vessels, further increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
"As an elderly patient with a history of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, it is right for my aunt to keep warm and reduce going out, but it is not advisable to refuse to go out completely." Zeng Weijie said that not going out for a long time will cause the body to lack exercise and affect blood circulation. and metabolism, which can easily lead to a decline in the body's immunity. Therefore, the elderly should go out and walk around appropriately and breathe fresh air while taking special measures to keep warm.
He reminded the elderly to pay special attention to keeping their head, chest, back, neck and limbs warm when going out. In addition, when going out, the elderly should also pay attention to safety and avoid accidents such as slipping and falling.
At the same time, a healthy lifestyle and a reasonable diet are also key. Reduce your salt and fat intake and increase your intake of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Most importantly, get regular physical exams, follow your doctor's advice, and promptly treat and manage potential cardiovascular risk factors.
Yangcheng Evening News reporter Xue Renzheng correspondent Jian Wen Yang Huang Chunyan Dai Xian