Beginning September 6, 2008, I had two myocardial infarctions, one critical, four cardiovascular interventional angiograms, and six stents were installed in three major heart arteries. Exactly two years later, I chose to go to Japan to see a doctor, my friend Liling Zhang, told me that Japan's Kambara Memorial Hospital is Japan's best cardiology hospital, which is world-class. This hospital has some of the best cardiologists in the world.
Currently, the most reliable means of viewing cardiovascular conditions in China is cardiovascular photography, which is to cut the arteries in the arm or thigh, and then injected with a contrast medium, and then use a wire to enter the blood vessels, all the way into the cardiovascular part of the cardiovascular system, and then observe the cardiovascular conditions on the screen, I have seen my own cardiovascular CT, the clarity of which is as clear as the image of the black-and-white movie.
Cardiovascular angiography is a painful procedure for patients, and cutting open the arterial vessels is scary in any case, but Zhang Liling told me that there was no need to cut open the arterial vessels to do the angiography at Kambara Hospital, and that was the most important reason that drove me to go to Japan to have my heart examined.
Because I didn't have an appointment in advance, I wasn't able to have the imaging done the first time I went to the hospital, but the doctor made an appointment in principle for me to go in February of this year. The second reason that attracted me to Japan was the patience and sense of responsibility that Japanese doctors have for their patients.
The doctor who saw me, whose name was Sumiyoshi, first told me, after my first examination, with a model of the heart that could be disassembled and assembled, which piece of heart muscle I had infarcted, where that piece of heart muscle was located, and what its current condition was.
The myocardium was in shock due to lack of oxygen during that offense, and because of the timely rescue, it didn't die, so it can be said that it came back to life, except that they weren't as energetic as they used to be, and they became sluggish and lazy, and they were moved by the other muscles, which was the best possible outcome.
He also said that our cardiac ultrasound, which looks at 67 parts of your heart muscle, evaluates each localization, and then says which level of vitality is represented in the picture, so that I can see it at a glance, and after that he pulled out a model of a blood vessel in the heart from the arteries to the side branches like a tree root, and he told me where the blockage was, and where my stent was currently located.
As he explained, he apologized and said to me, "Am I being too wordy, I'm sorry, I'm trying to give you as much detail as possible about your condition.
That time, I can say it was the first time I knew exactly what my heart looked like, the first time I knew what was wrong.
This time to Japan is February 17, before going to the hospital has made a detailed examination plan for me and my fellow countrymen, in two days and nights, the three of us completed seven tests, of course, the most important is the coronary artery angiography CT I mentioned.
Let me say a few trivial things:
1. The angiography which doesn't have to be cut
The doctor told us that the coronary artery angiography was not necessary to be cut
The doctor told us that the coronary artery angiography was not necessary to be cut. >The doctor told us about that coronary angiography CT, of which there are only three in the world, in the US, Germany and Japan. And the operators of the equipment are said to have typically trained for more than five years.
Before the CT, we were all injected with a small amount of contrast material by way of an IV, and we were also given agents to control our blood pressure and heart rate to keep our minds calm. I noticed that the machine had Siemens written on it, so it was evident that it was a German product.
This test took about 20 minutes before and after, and all I did was inhale, stop and exhale several times. But the next day, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the pictures from the CT. The first thing the doctor showed me was an extremely clear, 360° 3D picture of what I thought was a color model of your heart, and the doctor told me that's what your heart is.
The next step was even more amazing. Cutting into this heart, he showed you how each ventricle was beating, how each piece was wriggling in the beating, the thickness of each blood vessel, and then cutting into the blood vessels, you could clearly see the stents inside the vessels, and how much blood was flowing through them.
This as an image should be much clearer and more precise than the relatively fuzzy black-and-white images of arterial vessels cut at home, which tell you all the information that is so intuitive, from the outside to the inside, and even more clearly than if you were to hold your own heart in your hand, which is really "clear as day".
Two of my friends, who should have gained more than I did, one of them, He Chong, had been self-diagnosed as a diabetic with coronary artery disease and carotid artery stenosis before he went there.
For about two or three years, he and I have been talking mostly about discouragement, discouragement, and I've heard that his company is basically in a state of closure, and he's paying all his employees out of a position of humanity, and this time the doctor has told him, "Your heart is doing very well, and look at how strong it is, and it is recommended that you stop taking your diabetes medicine.
He told me when he returned home that he had a lot of work to do to regroup.
Another friend, Erhu, whose heart disease symptoms had kept him awake often, said he was liberated after we left the Kambara hospital, where Erhu would get lost in a nap whenever he could, whether he was in the car or in the house.
He said the conclusion of the Japanese doctors, so that he can not help but believe, can not help but admire, and now who said he had a heart attack, he himself do not believe. The reason is very simple, he clearly saw how his heart was working, clearly saw every atrium, every blood vessel, he believed his eyes.
2. Measurement of blood pressure
In the domestic hospital, I do not know how many times I measured the blood pressure, roughly the same, only the measurement of the upper limb side.
Blood pressure measurement in Japanese hospitals, you need to measure both upper limbs, both lower limbs of the four high and low pressure readings, the doctor said that the upper limbs of the left and right blood pressure difference, the lower limbs of the left and right blood pressure difference have a parameter, especially the upper and lower limbs of the difference is a very important parameter, so the measurement of blood pressure I have not experienced in the country.
3. Blood sampling
Domestic hospital blood sampling for blood biochemistry tests, the nurse will give you a swab after blood sampling, said they press for a while, let you go.
In Japanese hospitals, the nurse will press a cotton ball on the needle, and then put a wide piece of tape, let you press, but not allowed to leave within 5 minutes, 5 minutes after the nurse removed the tape to confirm that there is no problem with the needle, she will take out a 25px square super small band-aid on the needle, this small piece of tape until I left the hospital the next day is still firmly affixed to the needle there.
4. The caregiver
The caregiver comes to the room to measure blood pressure and temperature and give medication, and is always on her knees, making you feel more intimate than your son or daughter.
5. Cost
Domestic hospitals are for patients to do a test, go to the queue price, queuing up to pay, queuing up to get the medicine.
Japanese hospital charges and restaurants, eat and drink well, to go when there will be a person respectfully bring your bill, kneeling in front of you to ask you to see, and will surprise you, it turns out that in Japan than the domestic cheaper, I mean the same conditions and items.
6. Food
The delicacy of meals in Japanese hospitals can definitely be compared with any high class restaurant in China. You will be amazed by the variety of patterns and the meticulous nutrition.
7. Learning
Probably meet Japan is promoting China tourism, I got off the plane Zhang Liling said, the Tourism Department of the Chief wants to invite me to dinner, Zhang Liling has to no time to decline, but in the whole process of seeing the doctor, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan or sent project researchers and specialized medical interpreters, tracking the whole process, probably they are trying to accumulate some experience.
8. tax rebate
Japanese people are impressed by China is certain, I met a friend from the United States in Japan, he is a Chinese American, we buy things together in the store, he would let us take his passport to help him refund, he said the tax rebate is only refunded to the Chinese, the Americans do not have this preference, I said that the Japanese people are so careful, how many things the Chinese bought, how many Americans bought things, the Japanese know exactly what is happening, and how many things they buy, and how much they buy. The Japanese know very well how many things the Chinese have bought, and how many things the Americans have bought.
9. Free
I've lived in Anzhen Hospital and Fuwai Hospital, and the outpatient clinics of these two hospitals, the crowds are totally comparable to Wangfujing Street, no, it's several times more crowded than Wangfujing Street. At Shenyuan Hospital, you don't see that many people, the outpatient or inpatient floors are quiet, and it is said that all patients come by appointment and are free, which is probably the socialist element in a capitalist society.