Dyslipidemia - a dangerous disease that many people in Hai Duong are facing

Silently causes many dangerous complications

Master, Doctor Vu Van Nguyen, Head of the Department of Endocrinology, Hai Duong General Hospital, said that dyslipidemia is a disease without clinical symptoms and occurs silently. People only know they have this disease when they go for a routine health check-up or suffer from complications caused by dyslipidemia.

The number of patients with complications caused by dyslipidemia who have to go to Hai Duong General Hospital for emergency treatment is increasing. In the first 3 months of this year, the Endocrinology Department alone received 441 patients, an increase of 11.2% over the same period in 2023.

"More and more young people are suffering from dyslipidemia, mainly those who are overweight or obese, many of whom are only 9-10 years old. Dyslipidemia causes a series of dangerous complications such as: cerebrovascular accident, stroke, myocardial infarction, diabetes...", said Dr. Nguyen.

Doctor Trinh Anh Van, Deputy Director of NHV Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Hai Duong City) said that during the process of health check-ups for employees in enterprises, it was found that men are at higher risk of dyslipidemia than women. The reason is that men often use alcohol and other stimulants. "In 2023, we tested about 400 male employees at an enterprise and found more than 117 people with dyslipidemia. This disease occurs silently, so many people only know when they receive the results," Doctor Van informed.

Dyslipidemia is caused by many factors, but the most common is uncontrolled eating, often consuming many types of food that are harmful to health such as fast food, greasy food (fried, stir-fried)... A part of the population has this disease due to genetic factors, congenital due to gene mutations.

BDD patient (36 years old, from Cam Giang) is being treated at the Department of Endocrinology, Hai Duong General Hospital, and is suffering from many diseases caused by lipid disorders such as adrenal insufficiency, diabetes, high blood pressure... "For a long time, I regularly ate dishes made from animal organs, drank soft drinks, and weighed up to 107 kg. Having this disease made my health very weak, affecting all activities in life," Mr. D. sadly shared.

Ms. NTX (39 years old, in Chi Linh City) suffered from kidney failure due to dyslipidemia. Ms. DTL (Ms. X.'s mother) said that her daughter has been unable to do almost anything since she got this disease. She herself has also had a harder time taking care of her daughter.

Dyslipidemia occurs silently, at a certain stage it will cause many dangerous complications, directly threaten the life, and affect the long-term health of the patient. Doctor Vu Trong Thinh, Deputy Head of the Stroke Department of Hai Duong General Hospital, said that about 25% of stroke cases are related to dyslipidemia.

Do not buy medicine for treatment on your own.

Doctors recommend that everyone is at risk of dyslipidemia. Therefore, it is necessary to have regular health check-ups twice a year, especially those who have a history of being overweight, obese, or frequently consuming fast food, greasy food, etc.

In addition, maintain a healthy, balanced diet, prioritizing foods containing fiber found in green vegetables and fresh fruits. Each person needs to spend at least 30-40 minutes a day exercising and playing sports.

Those who have relatives with diabetes, myocardial infarction... also need to have a health check because dyslipidemia is a disease with genetic factors.

When unfortunately suffering from dyslipidemia, patients need to strictly follow the treatment regimen as instructed by the doctor. Quitting smoking, minimizing alcohol consumption, changing eating habits, exercising regularly... will help the body significantly reduce total cholesterol, limiting the risk of dangerous complications.

In fact, many people with dyslipidemia buy medicine to take themselves. Others believe in videos on YouTube and Facebook advertising traditional medicine with the promise of curing this disease.

Doctor Vu Van Nguyen warns that arbitrarily buying drugs to treat dyslipidemia is a mistake. Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder that must be based on a very complex pathogenesis to come up with an appropriate treatment regimen, not simply prescribing drugs according to a prescription, according to a scale without scientific basis, without expertise.

Some patients who self-medicated with drugs suffered from unwanted side effects such as adrenal insufficiency, rapid weight gain, severe metabolic disorders, liver failure, and acute kidney failure. Some had to be transferred to a higher-level hospital for dialysis.

"When suffering from this disease, it is necessary to see endocrinologists and cardiologists for proper and effective treatment advice. Patients should not buy medicine on their own," Dr. Nguyen emphasized.