The public should act quickly on symptoms of heart disease, such as tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, weakness in the left limbs or dizziness, a Nantou County-based (南投) doctor said, adding that the cold weather increases the risk of stroke.
Emergency room (ER) director Wang Ssu-hung (王斯弘), from Yumin Hospital in the county’s Caotun Township (草屯), said he performed emergency surgery on a 58-year-old crane operator who collapsed after having a stroke.
The man was found on the ground next to his crane underneath the Shuei Sha Lian Highway, which runs through the township, Wang said.
Police arriving on the scene believed the man might have been intoxicated, but called an ambulance when they noticed that he did not smell of alcohol, Wang said, adding that doctors removed a blood clot and the patient is still recovering in hospital.
The cold weather has an effect on the cardiovascular system, including arteries in the brain, Wang said.
People who whose arteries have hardened or who suffer from chronic illnesses including hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension are particularly at risk of heart attack or stroke during the cold winter months, Wang said.
The age at which incidences occur has been decreasing, Wang said, adding that whereas the average age used to be between 50 and 60, more people in their 40s have been having heart attacks in the past few years.
Those who suffer from chronic conditions should pay close attention to symptoms when the weather gets cold, regardless of age, Wang said.
“When the weather gets cold, you have to stay warm at work,” he said, adding that it is better to stay indoors late at night and in the early morning when the temperature is the lowest.
“If you experience any characteristic symptoms of an impending heart attack, seek medical help immediately,” Wang said. “The sooner you seek help, the better your chances of being treated in time.”
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
RSS