Acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which is typically associated with hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, is being increasingly reported in young people due to factors such as stress, staying up late, smoking and drug abuse, the Taiwan Society of Cardiology said.
ACS, the umbrella term for conditions whereby the heart’s blood supply is suddenly blocked, includes the more commonly known conditions of heart attacks and angina.
The organization, which is holding its annual convention this weekend, also said that patients who have experienced myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks, no matter what the cause, would require long-term anti-platelet therapy, which has seen major breakthroughs with new, faster-acting drugs leading to fewer deaths from heart attacks.
Taiwan Society of Cardiology secretary-general Yin Wei-hsian (殷偉賢) said that 60 percent of patients who suffer strokes and heart attacks are exposed to similar risk factors, and those with a first-degree male relative who has suffered a heart attack before the age of 55, or a first-degree female relative having one before the age of 65 are also at high risk of developing heart disease.
People in these high-risk groups should regularly have their blood pressure and blood lipid levels checked, Yin said.
Cardiologists are also reporting an increase in cases of coronary artery spasm, a kind of myocardial infarction, with a particularly high incidence rate in middle-aged women, the society said.
“The causes of heart attacks or coronary artery spasms in comparatively young people are very different from typical cases of myocardial infarction,” said attending physician Chen Jaw-wen (陳肇文) of the Cardiology Division at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
“Constant stimulation from stress, long-term sleep deprivation, smoking and alcohol and drug abuse can result in a sudden narrowing of one of the coronary arteries,” Chen added.
Yin said that patients who have experienced a heart attack, be it caused by the “three highs” — hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia — or by artery spasms, require anti-platelet medications to prevent blood clots.
“The new drug ticagrelor has been found to work more consistently across a variety of groups. Treatment with clopidogrel, the previous drug used, has no effect on 30 percent of patients. Reduced metabolism of clopidogrel, for example, is common in Asian people,” said Andrew Wilson, associate professor of the department of Cardiology at the University of Melbourne, who was a speaker at the conference.
“The new drug will be available and covered by National Health Insurance from next month,” Yin said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS