What are the precursors of sudden death? Summary of causes of sudden death
4hw.com.cn: Although modern people have more and more abundant material life, their life pressure is also increasing. What they sacrifice behind them is health and even life. In recent years, the number of people who die suddenly has increased year by year. Although there are many reasons for sudden death, they are still the same in the final analysis. Let's take a look at the causes of sudden death and the signs before sudden death?
Sudden death refers to the unexpected sudden death naturally occurring. The World Health Organization stipulates that death within 6 hours after onset is regarded as sudden death. All kinds of heart diseases can lead to sudden death, and more than half of the sudden death of heart disease is caused by coronary heart disease.
Relevant experts believe that the sudden death of a person shows that his disease has reached a certain degree. If we only encounter great joys and sorrows in life, or encounter bad weather, there is no serious pathological basis, and it is not enough to endanger life.
Sudden death can be divided into the following categories:
1. Sudden cardiac death
Sudden cardiac death is a natural death caused by various cardiac causes and preceded by sudden loss of consciousness within 1 hour from the beginning of acute symptoms. The most likely cause of sudden cardiac death is the disorder of cardiovascular function, which makes the brain blood supply suddenly stop and lose consciousness, and finally leads to biological death. This sudden death is the most common, mostly within 1 hour after onset, some even only a few minutes, mainly related to severe arrhythmia. Coronary heart disease is the most common. Some people can have no angina pectoris and other heart symptoms, coronary heart disease is hidden, and sudden death is the earliest manifestation. This is the case with many so-called 'healthy people' sudden death. And those with hypertension involving the heart and causing left ventricular hypertrophy are also prone to sudden death. In addition, smoking, obesity, diabetes and lifestyle also have an inseparable relationship with sudden death. Studies show that smoking increases the risk of SCD by 2-3 times, which is one of the few factors that increase the risk of sudden coronary heart disease. Obesity is the second factor that can increase the risk of sudden coronary heart disease. People who are not used to exercise also have a higher risk of sudden death than those who exercise regularly.
2. Sudden stroke death
Generally, the time from onset to death of sudden death caused by stroke can reach several hours to one day. It is commonly seen in hemorrhagic stroke with large amount of hemostasis, fast bleeding speed and involving important life centers. It can also be seen in fan Guoda and ischemic stroke involving important parts. Patients with coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation and left atrial thrombosis will die suddenly once the thrombus falls off and enters the cerebral circulation, resulting in multiple cerebral infarction. Those with the original history of stroke and encephalomalacia are also prone to sudden death after another stroke.
3. Sudden pulmonary death
Sudden pulmonary death refers to the sudden death of patients with chronic bronchitis, emphysema and bronchial asthma due to severe hypoxemia at night: respiratory acidosis. If patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema overuse antiasthmatic aerosol, they can cause bronchospasm and contraction, asphyxia and hypoxia, resulting in sudden death. The elderly who have been bedridden for a long time can not cough and excrete sputum due to weakness, which can lead to sputum thrombus blocking the airway, which is more aggravated in the case of secondary pulmonary infection, resulting in sudden pulmonary death.
4. Sudden choking death
Sudden choking death refers to the poor chewing function of the elderly, insensitive swallowing reflex and more sluggish response after drinking, so 'choking' often occurs when eating and drinking. Large pieces of food can block the trachea and cause asphyxia. This kind of death often happens suddenly. The patient can't speak. He often points to his throat, and then his face turns purple, his eyes turn up and suddenly fall.
The reason for the sudden death of the elderly due to choking is that they have dental disease or missing teeth, poor chewing function and are easy to swallow; Secondly, the incidence of cerebrovascular disease in the elderly is high, the pharyngeal emission is slow, and the swallowing action is uncoordinated; Third, old people who are addicted to alcohol are easy to lose control after drinking; Fourth, the esophagus of the elderly is narrow, so that swallowing food is not smooth; Fifth, the elderly are emotionally unstable and prone to esophageal spasm due to stimulation. The above factors are easy to lead to food infarction in the throat or esophagus and asphyxia. Choking is one of the causes of accidental death. According to foreign statistics, this kind of death is the sixth cause of sudden death. Scholars believe that the disease is on the rise in China because the number and frequency of elderly people eating in restaurants are increasing and often misdiagnosed, which is not easy to attract the attention of the elderly and their relatives.
Prevent sudden death and pay attention to health. A comprehensive health examination should be carried out every year to observe the changes of original diseases and the occurrence of new diseases. These congenital and acquired diseases should be actively treated, and incentives such as emotional excitement and overwork should be avoided; In case of symptom discomfort or symptoms, go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible.
Signs before sudden death
1. Recent or aggravated chest tightness.
If you suddenly have chest tightness after activity recently, you can relax for a period of time, which suggests that you may have coronary heart disease. Sudden symptoms show that the atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary artery is still unstable and may rupture at any time, leading to acute myocardial infarction. If there were occasional chest tightness symptoms in the past, the recent symptoms have become more frequent and more serious, which also shows that the previously stable plaque has small damage and will develop into large damage at any time, leading to the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction. In this case, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible and have medical or surgical treatment. (this article is edited and sorted by sihai.com, reprinted with the source indicated, and the original link is: http://www.4hw.com.cn/life/ )
2. Panic.
Palpitation is often the subjective feeling of accelerated heart rate. Irregular heart rate acceleration is usually the result of tachyarrhythmia. Most arrhythmias are less dangerous and will not cause sudden death, but if they occur frequently, they are at risk of developing ventricular fibrillation. In addition, many elderly people have panic because of atrial fibrillation. If atrial fibrillation is accompanied by heart conduction disease, it is also easy to progress to ventricular fibrillation. After the onset of ventricular fibrillation, it can lead to death within a few minutes. Therefore, frequent panic attacks should also be treated in time.
3. Bradycardia.
The beating of the heart is initiated by specific pacing cells. The deterioration of the function of pacing cells will slow down the beating rate of the heart, and in severe cases, it will lead to cardiac arrest. The function of pacemaker cells will gradually deteriorate with age. With the continuous improvement of life expectancy in China, the proportion of the elderly over 80 years old is also increasing. The pacing cell function of this group will gradually deteriorate and the heart rate will slow down day by day. The activity of the elderly is usually small, and the slower heart rate can also maintain the needs of normal life, so it is often ignored. The elderly should regularly monitor blood pressure and heart rate. If the heart rate is less than 50 times and the blood pressure becomes low, it is easy to have long-term cardiac arrest and lead to sudden death.
4. Syncope.
Syncope is an important precursor of sudden death. Most syncope is caused by the sudden slowdown or stop of heartbeat, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the brain. Common causes include sinoatrial node disease, atrioventricular block and high vagal tension. Syncope sometimes lasts for a few seconds and can recover by itself. If it cannot recover, it will cause sudden death. Therefore, we should be very vigilant after unexplained syncope, find out the cause as soon as possible, and prevent the next syncope or even sudden death.
5. Unexplained fatigue.
Sudden death is not the patent of the elderly, but also occurs in young people. Many young people work under great pressure and often suffer from fatigue, which is a normal situation. However, if there is unexplained fatigue, fatigue, or accompanied by chest tightness and edema, we should be alert to the occurrence of sudden death, which may be caused by myocarditis or cardiomyopathy. Myocarditis is more common in young people. It usually occurs 1 ~ 2 weeks after a cold. It has symptoms such as fatigue, chest tightness and fatigue, which is very easy to cause acute heart failure. In this case, heavy physical activity and bed rest shall be strictly prohibited. Cardiomyopathy is mostly a genetic disease, which is not easy to detect in the early stage. When symptoms appear, irreversible changes in myocardial structure have occurred, such as cardiac enlargement and myocardial hypertrophy, which are very easy to cause sudden death. Therefore, when there is unexplained fatigue and chest tightness, we should be highly vigilant against the occurrence of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy.
6. Black eyes and numbness of limbs.
Stroke is also an important cause of sudden death. Some stroke onset is sudden, limb paralysis and high blood pressure will occur within a few minutes. In this case, patients can save lives if they see a doctor in time. But some stroke onset slowly, early only mild symptoms, patients do not care. Once it progresses, it may lead to sudden death, so we need to pay more attention. Especially in patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease or atrial fibrillation, the incidence of stroke is several times higher than that of the general population. If you can't see things on one side, numbness and fatigue on one side, or walk unsteadily and feel stepping on cotton, you should be alert to the occurrence of stroke and see a doctor in time. Early recognition can often achieve better curative effect.
To find the above precursors of sudden death, we need to always be vigilant against physical discomfort, respond quickly and seek medical treatment in time.