The Taiwan Heart Rhythm Society (THRS) yesterday urged people to prevent sudden deaths by eating low-sodium and low-fat foods, and to refrain from sleeping late, as cold winter weather often triggers more sudden death cases caused by an irregular heartbeat and cardiovascular disease.
According to the society’s statistics, there are about 500,000 people who have an irregular heartbeat — arrhythmia — in Taiwan, and serious cases of arrhythmia can lead to sudden death, it said.
Society chairperson Chiou Chuen-wang (邱春旺), a physician at Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, said arrhythmia manifests in different forms — the heartbeat having an irregular rhythm; the heart beating too fast (more than 100 times per minute); the heart beating too slow (less than 50 times per minute); and atrial fibrillation.
Sudden death means the patient dies within an hour after experiencing acute symptoms, Chiou said, adding that it is difficult to treat clinically, because the timing and symptoms cannot be predicted, and the conditions are often critical.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital attending cardiologist Chang Shih-lin (張世霖) said symptoms such as dizziness, chest pain and fatigue, or even sudden death, can occur when blood fails to reach the brain.
Chang said clinical statistics showed that sudden death accounts for about 15 to 20 percent of all deaths, with 75 percent of those linked to cardiovascular diseases, including sudden death from heart disease associated with an irregular heartbeat.
The society urged people to eat foods that contain low levels of sodium and fat, avoid sleeping late, keep track of heartbeat rhythms and seek medical advice if an irregular heartbeat occurs.
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