Subtropical Climate Taiwan's Cold Wave from the Arctic Causes Cardiac Suspension Patients Outside Hospitals...What about Korea?
Jan 14, 2025
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Taiwan's Central Meteorological Agency (CWA) reported that the temperature of 玉, Taiwan's highest mountain, recorded minus 8.2 degrees Celsius at 3,952 meters above sea level, and issued a low-temperature special report from the evening of the 12th to the dawn of the next day. He also urged the elderly and vulnerable to pay attention to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by low temperatures.
According to Taiwanese media such as the Yonhap News Agency and the China Times, experts believe that most OHCA patients occur suddenly at dawn due to low temperatures, and that men over 45 years of age, women over 50 years of age, and smokers should be careful. In particular, since heating facilities are not applied to residential facilities, most patients are often rushed to hospitals at dawn due to cardio-cerebrovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke due to refraining from using electricity due to the burden of electricity bills.
'Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest' requires immediate first aid due to loss of heart function and absence of systemic circulation. The causes of occurrence are various, including heart disease, respiratory problems, and trauma. Environmental factors such as extreme temperature changes and hypoxia in alpine regions are also included.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of OHCA cases in Korea is increasing every year. In 2021, there were 33,235 OHCA cases, of which male patients outnumbered women and those in their 70s and older accounted for the majority of the total.
If CPR is performed within 4 minutes of cardiac arrest, the survival rate can increase by more than 20%, and the survival rate tends to decrease rapidly 10 minutes after cardiac arrest. When an AED is used, the survival rate is more than doubled, and AED accessibility and use play an important role in improving the survival rate.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
