Recognizing signs of myocardial infarction in young people

Duc Giang General Hospital ( Hanoi ) has just admitted a 42-year-old male patient to the emergency room with severe left chest pain. Previously, the patient was on his way to work when he suddenly experienced severe left chest pain, pain spreading to his left arm, accompanied by difficulty breathing and sweating, so he went to the hospital for emergency treatment.

At the Emergency Department - Duc Giang General Hospital, the patient was diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction in the first hour, with the risk of dangerous developments (ventricular arrhythmia, cardiac arrest) that could occur immediately. In this emergency situation, experts from the departments: emergency, internal cardiology (cardiovascular intervention team) and intensive care and anti-poisoning quickly consulted to come up with a treatment plan.

After 30 minutes of admission, the patient underwent percutaneous coronary angiography. The results showed that the patient had a blood clot that completely blocked the anterior interventricular artery (the main artery supplying blood to the heart muscle). The patient underwent thrombus aspiration, angioplasty, and 3 stents to restore natural flow of the damaged coronary artery system. After 5 days of treatment, the patient was stable and discharged from the hospital.

PHOTO: THUY ANH

Dr. Nguyen Manh Thang, Head of the Department of Cardiology - Duc Giang General Hospital, said that the patient promptly went to the medical facility when there were warning signs of dangerous coronary artery disease (severe chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating). If not given timely emergency care, the patient could have suddenly gone into cardiac arrest.

Dr. Thang noted that coronary artery disease, especially acute myocardial infarction, is showing signs of becoming younger. If the body has symptoms of chest pain and difficulty breathing, you should quickly go to a medical facility to be examined and treated early by a cardiovascular specialist to avoid dangerous complications that may occur.

In particular, Dr. Thang noted that it is necessary to quit smoking cigarettes and tobacco if you are currently smoking. The above patient has a history of regularly smoking 2 packs of cigarettes/day.