Clinical observations show that a large number of patients seen in cardiology departments have varying degrees of psychiatric problems, such as anxiety, panic and depression. If we do not intervene in a timely manner, these psychological problems will in turn aggravate the physical discomfort, which is a vicious cycle of “depression due to illness and illness due to depression. At present, most cardiologists always focus on the physical disease of patients, but do not pay enough attention to their combined psychological problems, so that patients repeatedly visit the doctor, but the treatment is not effective. In order to change this situation, Professor Hu Dayi, a famous cardiovascular specialist in China, proposed a new model of “double heart clinic”, in which patients can enjoy the dual diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and psychological diseases by simply registering a number. After several years of promotion and efforts, dozens of hospitals in China have opened “double heart clinics”.
The “double heart” problem of heart patients
In the past 100 years, many medical experts have done a lot of basic and clinical research on the etiology, pathology, treatment and prognosis of coronary heart disease and found that coronary heart disease is associated with hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, hypertension, hypertension, hypertension, hypertension, hypertension, hypertension, and hypertension. smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet and mental stress 8 risk factors are closely related. Controlling these risk factors can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality by 70%. At present, people generally know more about the first 7 risk factors, but do not pay much attention to the risk factor of “mental stress”. Mental stress, also known as psychosocial problems, includes mild depression, anxiety, tension, pessimism, work stress, social disharmony, family disharmony, and the feeling of being treated unfairly. If these psychosomatic problems are not addressed over time, they can lead to or exacerbate cardiovascular disease.
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Psychiatric psychological problems are more prevalent in patients with cardiovascular disease, especially in patients with acute coronary syndromes, those who have undergone coronary interventions or coronary artery bypass grafting, and when combined with psychiatric psychological problems, they are often associated with higher mortality and poorer prognosis, both of which are mutually beneficial.
A survey of 3260 patients who had repeated visits to cardiology clinics at 10 hospitals in Beijing showed a 42.5% prevalence of anxiety and a 7.1% prevalence of depression.
Psychological problems cause “heart disease symptoms”
Anxiety and depression are often accompanied by physical symptoms, such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, dyspnea, chest pain, palpitations, dizziness, weakness, and sweating. Because these symptoms are often associated with heart disease, patients often first and repeatedly go to cardiology. One survey showed that 70% to 80% of depressed patients visited internal medicine for somatic symptoms. Of patients who underwent coronary angiography for chest pain, 10% to 40% had normal or near normal coronary arteries, 15% of whom were eventually diagnosed with panic disorder, and 27% were diagnosed with major depression.
Psychological problems increase “heart disease risk”
Surveys have shown that cardiovascular events increase by 49% to 169% and the risk of death increases by 3 to 4 times, depending on the severity of depression, in patients with coronary heart disease and in the general population. In the same population, anxiety increased the risk of cardiovascular events and cardiac death by 22% to 81%. The absence of friends, lack of social acceptance, poor family relationships or marital disharmony can increase the risk of cardiovascular death by 3 to 4 times. Also, anxiety and depression can significantly reduce the quality of life of patients.
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The “two-hearted medicine” model has emerged
The traditional medical model focuses more on physical symptoms and physical illnesses than on the impact of psychiatric problems on physical illnesses. Many patients with psychosomatic problems are often seen repeatedly in cardiology or other internal medicine clinics with “heart disease” symptoms or other physical symptoms. On the other hand, even if the doctor finds that the patient has a psychological problem, the patient is unwilling to accept the diagnosis that he or she has a “psychological disorder” and refuses to go to the psychiatric department, and is repeatedly seen in the internal medicine department, which wastes a lot of time, manpower, and money.
To address the psychosocial problems of patients seen in cardiology, a comprehensive discipline formed by the intersection of cardiovascular medicine and psychological medicine is urgently needed, and a group of cardiologists with knowledge of psychosocial health is needed. Double heart medicine is the study of cardiovascular disease and psychosomatic factors and how to intervene. The “bicardiac clinic” is a very important part of bicardiac medicine. “The clinic is located in the Department of Cardiology and is staffed by experienced cardiologists. These physicians are trained in psychiatric mental health, and have the ability to identify and advise patients on common psychiatric problems in order to treat both the heart and the mind.
Expert advice:
If you or your friends or relatives have frequent cardiac symptoms and repeatedly go to the hospital without finding any obvious cardiac problems, or if you have had a heart attack and your indicators have almost returned to normal after treatment but you still have many cardiac symptoms, you should think about the possibility of psychosomatic problems. If you have had a heart attack, you should think about the possibility of psychological problems. If you can, you may want to go to a hospital that has a double heart clinic.