Cardiovascular disease is tending to be younger.

In Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Heart Institute, at least 1 in 3 people over 25 years old are at risk of cardiovascular disease, and this rate is increasing among young people.

A male patient in Hanoi who just suffered a heart attack at the age of 37 and died is an alarm bell showing that this disease is getting younger and increasing in Vietnam at an alarming rate.

Cardiovascular disease causes very high mortality.

Cardiovascular disease is a non-communicable disease but has a very high mortality rate, up to more than 40%. In particular, the number of young patients from 25-40 years old coming for examination and treatment is increasing, including cases of acute myocardial infarction occurring before the age of 40.

At Hue Central Hospital, the number of patients coming for examination and cardiovascular intervention has increased significantly. On average, the hospital receives 600-700 patients per day. The number of angiography and cardiovascular intervention cases has reached about 1,000 cases in just the past 2 months.

What is worrying is that not only the elderly but also patients under 45 years old are facing serious cardiovascular problems. Compared to the same period in 2024, the number of patients treated at the Cardiovascular Center and the severity of the disease has increased by 20-30%.

Dr. Ho Anh Binh, Director of the Cardiovascular Center (Hue Central Hospital) shared that recently the hospital has received and successfully intervened in many critical cardiovascular disease cases, including very young patients. This shows that cardiovascular disease is no longer a problem for the elderly but is showing a clear trend of getting younger.

One of the notable cases was patient NVT (40 years old), admitted to the hospital in a state of circulatory arrest, ventricular fibrillation and acute myocardial infarction.

Upon admission, the patient was given electric shock and active cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Doctors performed emergency coronary intervention, helping the patient recover well. After 10 days of treatment, the patient was discharged and is currently in stable health.

Another case is patient NNA (21 years old), admitted in cardiogenic shock after acute ST elevation myocardial infarction. The patient had a large thrombus in the left ventricle, up to 5 cm in diameter, and severe acute heart failure. After emergency consultation, doctors intervened promptly and helped the patient stabilize. The patient is currently receiving long-term anticoagulant treatment.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Manh Hung, Director of the Vietnam Heart Institute, shared that 10 years ago, the Institute only performed about 5,000 cardiovascular intervention procedures each year.

However, the number of patients treated with cardiovascular interventional techniques has increased at an average rate of 15% per year. "This is very worrying and is creating a heavy burden for the country. While Vietnam is facing an aging population, young people are facing cardiovascular diseases," Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Manh Hung commented.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Manh Hung explained that the main cause of this trend is the industrialized lifestyle, with people being physically inactive, abusing alcohol, smoking, eating unhealthy foods, consuming a lot of fast food, and using a lot of animal protein instead of vegetable protein. In addition, prolonged stress in life is also a factor that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

According to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, about 15% of myocardial infarction patients who receive emergency intervention are between the ages of 35 and 45. Risk factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hypertension are the main causes of cardiovascular disease in younger people.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Sinh Hien, Director of Hanoi Heart Hospital, said that signs of cardiovascular disease often appear fleetingly and are unclear, causing many people to ignore them until the condition becomes serious.

However, heart disease is completely preventable, and the risk and severity of disease can even be reduced through lifestyle changes and increased awareness of heart health.

According to experts, there are many factors that can be changed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Factors that cannot be changed include age, gender (men are at higher risk before age 50), and family history.

Modifiable factors such as high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, smoking, diabetes, unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle can be controlled to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Ho Anh Binh recommends that everyone pay attention to symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, anxiety, palpitations, dizziness, fainting, swollen feet, swollen ankles, and prolonged fatigue so that they can be detected early and treated promptly.

To protect heart health, doctors recommend that people maintain a healthy diet, reduce salt, sugar and saturated fat, increase green vegetables, fruits, whole grains and eat fish at least twice a week. At the same time, it is necessary to limit alcohol and quit smoking.

In addition, increasing physical activity is very important. Exercising at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, will help maintain cardiovascular health. Avoid sitting for too long, control your weight appropriately, control stress, get enough sleep and keep your mind relaxed to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Young people aged 30 and above should have their blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar checked regularly. If there is a family history of early cardiovascular disease, screening should be done earlier. Regular health check-ups and healthy lifestyle changes will help protect the heart and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in the future.

Associate Professor, Doctor, CKII Vo Anh Minh, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, cardiovascular disease spares no one, from the elderly to young people under 45 years old, from people with many risk factors to those who maintain a healthy lifestyle. Screening and early detection of cardiovascular disease is extremely important to reduce the risk of disease and prevent the disease from getting worse.

In Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Heart Institute, at least 1 in 3 people over 25 years old are at risk of cardiovascular disease, and this rate is increasing among young people.

Comment (0)