From the emergency rescue dilemma to AI early warning, how to defend the "last battlefield" of cardiovascular diseases?

Recently, the public has shown exceptional attention to the solemn topic of "sudden cardiac death".

"Approximately 540,000 people in China die from sudden cardiac death each year. It's rare for the heart to suddenly stop beating without any cause. Usually, ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation occurs first." Recently, Ge Junbo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and from Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, pointed out during an interview with media such as 36Kr that the period between the ages of 40 and 55 is the "vulnerable period" for the human body, and sudden cardiac death is more likely to occur during this stage.

In the view of clinical experts, problems such as sudden cardiac death and gradually progressing heart failure are often associated with long - term bad living habits, in addition to genetic factors.

"Modern people face long - term high work pressure, have a diet high in salt and sugar (such as being fond of milk tea), and sleep less than 6 hours a day. All these factors can keep the heart in a damaged state of long - term fatigue. Meanwhile, many young people lack correct medical knowledge and have poor compliance during the treatment of chronic diseases such as hypertension, resulting in large fluctuations in blood pressure, which also damages the normal function of the heart." Sheng Fei from the Community Health Service Center in Nanxiang Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, pointed out.

On the "damaged soil" of extreme fatigue, staying up late, and smoking, combined with strenuous exercise, may trigger the rupture of coronary artery plaques, which in turn can lead to acute myocardial infarction. Once myocardial ischemia and necrosis occur, it often quickly leads to fatal arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, which is also one of the common direct mechanisms of sudden cardiac death.

If conditions such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia (such as atrial fibrillation), and senile valvular disease are not well - controlled, long - term progression can lead to heart failure, significantly increasing the risk of sudden death. Currently, there are more than 12 million heart failure patients in China, and the average number of hospitalizations per person per year is 3.3 times.

"In the field of cardiovascular diseases, heart failure is the final battleground for various chronic diseases." Zi Jie from Beijing Taikang Yanyuan Rehabilitation Hospital said. Heart failure is not a single disease but a syndrome. The core pathological manifestation is not simply weakness as the name implies, but a decrease in the heart's pumping ability and circulatory disorders caused by congestion. This leads to an increase in the fluid content in the lungs (pulmonary congestion, often referred to as "lung water"), which in turn causes patients to experience difficulty breathing and edema.

In order to reduce sudden cardiac death, relevant departments have deployed a large number of AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) in subways, airports, etc. However, due to insufficient training, only a small number of people can use AEDs properly, and the public generally worries about the risk of being sued for failed rescue attempts, resulting in a low actual usage rate.

The dilemma of public emergency rescue forces the medical defense line to move forward. In recent years, the state has vigorously promoted "graded diagnosis and treatment". In the "gatekeeper" position of community medical care, health management with the help of AI digital technology may play a considerable role in the future.

Sheng Fei said that to carry out large - scale chronic disease management, portable, easy - to - screen, easy - to - follow - up, and easy - to - connect devices are needed to obtain population data. Currently, grass - roots units are also establishing a "health big data platform". Through data analysis, individual health assessment reports are generated. For example, regarding heart failure, heart failure and comorbidities may be visualized as a "health index". According to the health index, patients are given risk labels of mild, moderate, and severe, and different health management cycles are assigned. In an era of advanced AI technology, if AI monitors that a patient's specific indicators or symptoms reach a certain level, the system will automatically issue an early warning to the user and also remind the family doctor they are bound to. Once the patient's data reaches a dangerous level, it will quickly activate the green referral mechanism to link up with the emergency department of the superior hospital for treatment.

If chronic disease patients are not effectively intercepted and their condition progresses to the "battleground" of heart failure, daily monitoring of vital signs becomes extremely important. The core of heart failure management lies in "management of fluid status". In simple terms, it means monitoring the fluctuations in the patient's lung water content, which usually occur several days or even a week before visible clinical symptoms (such as shortness of breath and edema).

However, there are still several pain points in heart failure management, such as the lack of objective, accurate, and continuous monitoring equipment and means; the disconnection between in - hospital and out - of - hospital management, and the lack of continuous monitoring after discharge, which may lead to problems such as late detection.

Currently, a non - invasive lung water measuring instrument, a medical device, can measure the dielectric constant of the lungs by emitting low - power electromagnetic signals, thereby quantitatively obtaining the patient's lung water content. Cui Xiaotong from the Department of Cardiology of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University believes that for a portable medical device to be continuously used by patients, it should have three characteristics: non - invasive, low - threshold operation, and portability. A non - invasive lung water measuring instrument to be launched by YiXin Medical has such characteristics. He said that in the future AI era, multi - modal data (such as heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate, lung water, etc.) may be integrated through a single device, providing valuable data for subsequent treatment.

Zi Jie also expressed expectations for data integration and AI technology. He hopes that in the future, data indicators such as early monitoring of lung water can be incorporated into the hospital HIS system and health management process. At the same time, on the doctor's side, visual health management data can support clinical decision - making. "If doctors can receive real - time health warnings of the elderly on their mobile phones, such as a recent increasing trend in lung water, and then take proactive intervention and adjust medications, it may reduce the acute onset of heart failure."