Text/Yangcheng Evening News All Media Reporter Zhang Hua
Correspondents: Lin Weiyin, Liu Wenqin, Huang Yongqing
Picture/provided by the hospital
Wu Meili (pseudonym), a young mother from Jiangxi, although only 34 years old, her life is full of twists and turns. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University helped to tide over the difficulties smoothly. Recently, Wu Meili came to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University again for medical treatment because of a heart attack.
After passing two levels in a row, she suffered the third blow of fate
In 2019, Wu Meili went to a local hospital in Jiangxi to seek medical treatment due to infertility, but she was disheartened and came to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, where she finally gave birth. The medical center realizes the long-cherished dream of being a mother through assisted reproductive technology.
In 2020, during an accidental health check-up, the doctor found that Wu Meili had a thyroid tumor on her neck. Knowing this result, Wu Meili did not hesitate at all, and immediately went to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University for consultation. She successfully completed the thyroid tumor resection and recovered well after the operation.
“The two successful medical experiences made me full of trust and gratitude to the medical staff in this hospital,” said Meili Wu.
In August 2022, Meili Wu had sudden epigastric pain. She thought it was common gastroenteritis, but the treatment in the local community did not improve. Instead, she developed shortness of breath and nocturnal breathing after progressive sexual activity. Difficulty and other symptoms. Wu Meimei was transferred to the emergency department of a local tertiary hospital for treatment. Echocardiography showed that the heart was enlarged and the systolic function of the heart was significantly decreased.
This time it was a heart problem! The successive illnesses in recent years have made this young mother exhausted, so she chose to come to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital again for medical treatment.
The team of experts successfully placed a dual-chamber ICD for Meili Wu
Cardiac arrest the day before discharge
Professor Wang Jingfeng from the Cardiology Department of the hospital inquired about Wu Meili’s medical history in detail, and after performing a physical examination, it was initially considered to be dilated cardiomyopathy, and she suggested that Wu Meili be hospitalized for further diagnosis and treatment.
After admission, the diagnosis and treatment team of the Heart Failure Center carefully evaluated Wu Meili’s condition. The echocardiography showed that the left ventricular ejection fraction was only 28%, and she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. Given that he is in the decompensated stage of chronic heart failure, the ejection fraction is less than 35%, and the risk of sudden cardiac death is high, it is recommended to implant a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).
However, because the anti-heart failure drug treatment has not been optimized, it is also possible to return to the hospital after 3 months of optimized anti-heart failure drug treatment, and then re-evaluate the indications for ICD implantation. There is a risk of sudden cardiac death during this period.
During the hospitalization, Meili Wu received the optimized anti-heart failure drug treatment formulated by the heart failure team, her symptoms gradually improved, and her cardiac function improved from grade IV to grade I. Due to economic reasons, after careful consideration, Meimei chose drug treatment for 3 months before returning to the hospital for evaluation.
But life is impermanent and unpredictable! In the early hours of the morning the day before she was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital, Wu Meili’s ECG monitoring suddenly indicated ventricular fibrillation. The nurses and doctors on duty rushed to check and found that he had suffered cardiac arrest! The nurses, doctors and superior doctors on duty quickly started the rescue procedure, immediately performed defibrillation at the bedside, and then Mei regained consciousness. All this was too sudden and frightening.
ICD implantation is urgent. After discussion with the diagnosis and treatment team of Professor Wang Jingfeng’s Heart Failure Center and the consent of the family members, Professor Zhou Shuxian’s team from the Heart Failure Center successfully placed a dual-chamber ICD for Wu Meili on September 9. Wu Meimei did not experience ventricular tachycardia again after the operation. A week later, Wu Meili recovered and was discharged from the hospital and returned to Jiangxi.
One week after the operation, Meili Wu was discharged home soon
ICD is the only way to prevent sudden cardiac death
If Meili Wu develops ventricular fibrillation outside the hospital, it is very likely that she will induce sudden cardiac death. From this point of view, Wu Meili is lucky.
Professor Wang Jingfeng pointed out that the incidence of sudden cardiac death in my country is 41.85/100,000. According to statistics, the number of sudden cardiac deaths in my country reaches 544,000 every year. The success rate of out-of-hospital rescue is less than 1%, and the success rate of in-hospital rescue is higher than that of out-of-hospital rescue. However, the golden time for sudden cardiac death rescue is within 4 minutes of onset.
After 4-6 minutes of heartbeat stop, irreversible damage to brain cells occurs; the success rate of CPR within 1 minute is nearly 100%, and the success rate of CPR within 4 minutes is about 50%. The patient can be rescued, and the survival rate drops by 10% for every one-minute delay. Therefore, the key to the success of sudden cardiac death rescue is to perform CPR as soon as possible.
Experts say the purpose of CPR is to maintain the vitality of the central nervous system, heart, and other vital organs before giving effective electrical defibrillation. Therefore, popularizing the operation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of simple defibrillator (AED) can effectively improve the rescue success rate of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death.
Source | Yangcheng Evening News · Yangcheng Pie
Editor | Lin Qingqing