Wine culture is Chinese traditional culture. During festivals and family gatherings, people always like to drink some wine to cheer up. However, for patients with coronary heart disease, is drinking alcohol a "good medicine" that activates blood circulation and removes blood stasis, or a "poison" that is as poisonous as arsenic?
Let me tell you a real case. Mr. Xiong, 58, is a patient with coronary heart disease. He liked to drink when he was young. Later, he developed high blood pressure and coronary heart disease, and he has not gotten rid of this problem. Moreover, he searched the Internet and found many articles saying that drinking liquor can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. They also said that the higher the liquor, the better. Using this as an excuse, he had to drink at least 2 taels of liquor every day.
Before the Chinese New Year this year, Mr. Xiong had a myocardial infarction, but the condition was relatively mild. At that time, the doctor recommended that he insert a stent to improve the myocardial ischemia situation and avoid future accidents. But Mr. Xiong refused. He felt that the stent was a scam. Since he wanted to clear the blood vessels, he could just drink some liquor every day, so why spend tens of thousands of yuan on the stent.
Just like that, Mr. Xiong was discharged from the hospital despite the doctor's dissuasion. After he was discharged from the hospital, he drank even more heavily. He drank half a kilogram of liquor every day, euphemistically calling it "sterilizing, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis". But such days did not last long. In just over 2 months, Mr. Xiong was sent to the hospital again due to myocardial infarction. This time he was not so lucky, because his condition was relatively serious, and the doctors' efforts to rescue him could not save him. life.
Can drinking liquor really activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis?
The saying that liquor can activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis is an enduring one. Alcohol can indeed promote blood circulation to a certain extent, but relying on drinking to activate blood circulation and remove blood clots is really not worth the gain. Many patients believe this because after drinking alcohol, their blood pressure will indeed drop and they will feel relaxed. In fact, this is the "paralysis" effect of alcohol.
After people drink alcohol, the blood vessel lumen will expand under the influence of alcohol, so that the blood pressure will drop temporarily. However, as alcohol is slowly metabolized out of the body by the liver, blood pressure will gradually rise and even rebound to a higher level than before. In this way, accidents such as myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and cerebral hemorrhage can easily occur.
As for the fact that people feel refreshed and comfortable after drinking, it is because alcohol numbs people’s nerves. This is also the reason why some people become addicted to drinking. For the health of patients with coronary heart disease, it is recommended that you drink less. .
Moreover, long-term drinking can also directly damage the vascular endothelium, leading to the formation of plaques, narrowing the vascular lumen, or even complete blockage, leading to myocardial ischemia and hypoxia, angina pectoris, and myocardial infarction.
The world's authoritative medical journal "The Lancet" has also published a report that the safe amount of drinking is 0. Drinking less will cause harm to the body. The safest way is not to drink. Other studies have shown that drinking a small amount of alcohol every day may be more harmful to the body than drinking a large amount of alcohol once in a while. Therefore, for patients with coronary heart disease who are already prone to myocardial infarction, drinking alcohol will not bring benefits, and it is best to avoid drinking at all.
Do patients with coronary heart disease need stents? Can I still live longer with a stent?
Mr. Xiong also encountered a problem during the treatment process, that is, whether to install a bracket. For patients like Mr. Xiong who have had a myocardial infarction, doctors generally recommend the insertion of a stent because the stent can help unblock blocked blood vessels and solve the problem of blood supply to the myocardium.
After the stent is installed, as long as you insist on taking medicine, eating a light diet, exercising moderately, working regularly, quitting smoking and drinking, it will be less likely to be blocked again, and the chance of myocardial infarction will be greatly reduced. Therefore, there are many clinical cases of longevity after stent placement. The key is to look at the patient's own attitude. Active cooperation with treatment and scientific treatment is the way to longevity.
And if, like Mr. Xiong, you don’t control your diet, don’t exercise, and drink alcohol for a long time, even if you have a stent, your myocardial infarction may still be unavoidable, but it will just come a little later.
Therefore, we must remind the majority of patients with coronary heart disease that drinking alcohol is not good for the body, especially for patients with cardiovascular disease. It is not recommended to drink alcohol. Maintain a good diet and lifestyle, adhere to medication, and insert a stent when necessary. This is coronary heart disease. The recipe for longevity.
