According to statistics, the annual fatality rate of acute myocardial infarction can be as high as 30% , especially the incidence of myocardial infarction in young people is also increasing. Why are more and more young people suffering from acute myocardial infarction?
1. Myocardial infarction in young people may be more dangerous than middle-aged and elderly people
Data from the "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2020" show that from 2002 to 2018, the fatality rate of acute myocardial infarction in my country showed an increasing trend year by year. Among them, about 1/3 of patients with acute myocardial infarction are younger than 60 years old , and the disease tends to develop rapidly and the recurrence rate is high.
Clinically, patients with acute myocardial infarction will experience severe and persistent retrosternal pain , which cannot be completely relieved even by rest or medication , causing arrhythmia in mild cases, shock, heart failure, and even death in severe cases.
Why are more and more young people suffering from myocardial infarction? New research from Yale University answers that question.
The researchers selected 2246 first-time acute myocardial infarction and 2246 age- and sex-matched participants without acute myocardial infarction, all aged 18-55 years, for a controlled analysis.
The study found that among young people under the age of 55 who experienced acute myocardial infarction for the first time, about 85% of the incidence was related to seven risk factors, namely hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia , depression, smoking, low family income and family history of premature myocardial infarction .
In other words, as long as interventions are taken as soon as possible to manage these seven risk factors, the risk of acute myocardial infarction can be reduced.
In fact, heart attack in young people may be more dangerous than in older people.
Because young people's vascular plaque is more unstable , it is easy to fall off. Once the plaque ruptures suddenly and forms a thrombus, it may lead to complete occlusion of the blood vessel and cause a large area of ​​myocardial infarction.
Moreover, compared with the elderly, the underlying lesions of the blood vessels in the young are lighter before the onset of the disease, and they lack “myocardial ischemic preconditioning.” When a myocardial infarction occurs, the heart cannot initiate self-protection mechanisms such as intervascular collateral circulation. Therefore, it is important for young people to intervene early risk factors.
Second, there is an early warning before myocardial infarction, don't take it seriously
Data shows that There are 600,000 new myocardial infarction cases in my country every year, only 30,000 cases can receive timely and standardized treatment , and the mortality rate exceeds 30%. First of all, let's understand some common signs before the onset of a myocardial infarction.
Common symptoms before the onset of myocardial infarction include chest discomfort, limb weakness, shortness of breath during activity, angina pectoris, profuse sweating, tachycardia, mental retardation, fainting, shock, and heart failure.
The golden time for myocardial infarction is within 120 minutes after myocardial infarction. Especially if reperfusion therapy can be performed within the first 60 minutes , the heart muscle and life can be saved to the greatest extent.
Once a myocardial infarction occurs for more than 120 minutes, the area of ​​myocardial necrosis will become larger, which may easily lead to heart failure, shock and even death.
3. What should we do when acute myocardial infarction occurs?

• Self-rescue of acute myocardial infarction
  

If there is no other person around, first of all, call the 120 emergency number and inform yourself of the exact location, indicating that you may have an acute myocardial infarction.
Then lie down and rest in a suitable position closest to the door to ensure that emergency personnel can find you as soon as possible when they arrive.
If you have related medicines, can take a tablet of nitroglycerin under the tongue first .
Finally, try to soothe your emotions and wait patiently for emergency personnel.

• First aid for acute myocardial infarction
  

If someone around you suddenly has an acute myocardial infarction, you should call the 120 emergency number as soon as possible.
While waiting for the emergency personnel to arrive, if the patient is conscious, you can put the patient in a supine position first. If you have emergency medicine with you, you should immediately give the patient a sublingual tablet of nitroglycerin, or oral aspirin and clopidogrel ( or ticagrelor).
If the patient loses consciousness, at this time, the patient should be kept in a supine or lateral position to avoid suffocation due to nausea or vomit.
Then perform rescue measures such as chest compressions on the patient as soon as possible; if there is an AED near the public place, rescue measures such as AED electrical defibrillation can be performed on the patient as soon as possible according to the situation.
In addition, myocardial infarction is preventable and treatable, and daily prevention work should be done well. Coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension should be treated as prescribed by a doctor. Even if young people usually feel healthy, they should pay attention to monitoring blood lipid levels regularly. Once they experience discomfort such as heart discomfort or chest tightness, they should be alert and seek medical attention in time.