Chapter 44

Mingren Hospital…

In the lobby of the inpatient building, an individual, hidden beneath layers of clothing, made their presence known. Despite the season being past the Beginning of Autumn, the temperature still hovered around 33 degrees Celsius, so most people wore short sleeves. This particular person, however, donned a long robe, concealing their mouth and nose with a mask and scarf. They sported a black hat, with only their eyes visible behind sunglasses.

Naturally, this unusual attire drew the attention of onlookers.

“6th floor, Room 601, Bed 3…”

The strangely dressed person murmured as they entered the elevator. And, as fate would have it, Room 601, Bed 3, was occupied by Shen Ruicong. This enigmatic character in disguise was none other than Qin Junhong. He was worried about being recognized, which is why he had dressed so unusually. Upon reaching the 6th floor, he was completely surprised by what he encountered. A crowd of people had gathered outside one of the patient rooms. Some held bouquets, while others had brought fruit baskets. There was even someone who took out an envelope, filled it with 800 RMB in cash, and handed it over. All these individuals had come to visit and offer their condolences to Shen Ruicong.

Li Xuejing’s live stream from the previous day had a positive impact.

“Why are there so many people here?” Qin Junhong realized he couldn’t squeeze through the crowd to get inside. Even if he managed to see Luo Sanmei, he was unsure how to communicate with her in front of such a large audience. With no other option, Qin Junhong had to depart and find an alternative. Inside the hospital room, Luo Sanmei felt, for the first time, the warmth of society and the power of the internet. In just one night, so many kind-hearted people had shown concern for her and her son. She was genuinely thankful to all these individuals.

“Ruicong’s mom, this is a small token of my heart, hoping for Ruicong’s speedy recovery,” one of the visitors said, handing Luo Sanmei a red envelope.

“Oh?” Luo Sanmei was taken aback. “I’m already happy you’ve visited Ruicong, and now…?”

She felt a bit embarrassed about accepting the money.

“Take it!” The woman insisted and forcibly placed the red envelope into Luo Sanmei’s hand.

Subsequently, many more compassionate individuals offered Luo Sanmei cash donations. By noon, to avoid disrupting the hospital’s order and interfering with Shen Ruicong’s rest, these kind-hearted individuals were politely guided outside. When Dr. Lu Ming came for rounds, he noticed Luo Sanmei was counting money.

“Dr. Lu…” Upon seeing Lu Ming, Luo Sanmei quickly got up and looked at the scattered cash on her bed, feeling awkward.

“It seems like everyone is very kind,” she said.

“So, you don’t need to worry about Ruicong’s treatment expenses anymore,” Lu Ming smiled and reassured her.

“Yes, that’s right!” Luo Sanmei beamed. “Just this morning, the compassionate individuals who visited us gave me a lot of cash. I’ve counted a portion of it, and it’s already over 10,000 RMB!”

Luo Sanmei nodded repeatedly, her face filled with a smile. She was hopeful, believing that her son would recover with the help of these kind-hearted people.

“Ruicong’s current condition is relatively stable. Next week, I will fly to the capital city to meet with some experts and work out a preliminary treatment plan.”

After examining Shen Ruicong’s condition, Lu Ming immediately informed Luo Sanmei about the upcoming treatment plan for her son.

“Is it true?” Luo Sanmei exclaimed. “Thank you so much!”

One piece of good news after another hit her, and her hope grew stronger.

Lu Ming nodded slightly and then left the hospital room.

Back at the emergency department, as he arrived at the entrance, an ambulance was just returning. Lu Ming decided to lend a hand.

Lying on the stretcher was an old man, likely in his seventies or eighties. Accompanying him was a middle-aged man, presumably his son.

“What’s the situation with the old gentleman?” Lu Ming asked.

“He suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness. We suspect it might be a heart attack,” the ambulance doctor replied.

“Yes, yes, my father suddenly fainted at home,” the family member, Du Qiwei, nodded repeatedly.

“A heart attack? Have you identified the cause?” Lu Ming asked seriously. Heart attacks can be life-threatening, and he wanted to gather as much information as possible.

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, occurs when there is acute ischemic necrosis of the heart muscle.

Ischemia is often caused by atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, which leads to a significant reduction or interruption of blood supply to the heart muscle.

The atherosclerosis is primarily due to factors like high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, and other cardiovascular risk factors.

“Has he been given nitroglycerin tablets?” Lu Ming inquired.

“Yes, we administered the necessary emergency treatment,” the ambulance doctor replied. “Now, it depends on whether his condition will continue deteriorating.”

Lu Ming nodded, “In that case, prepare to take him for observation. Additionally, conduct the necessary examinations.”

Lu Ming then turned his attention to the old man’s son and asked, “Did he engage in any unusual activities or experiences before the incident?”

“Unusual activities or experiences?” Du Qiwei thought carefully. His father had few hobbies and wasn’t known for doing anything unusual. He simply enjoyed drinking tea and reading the newspaper. However, earlier today, while buying some tea leaves, his father encountered a thief.

“Oh, right! Today, when my father bought tea leaves, he encountered a thief. He couldn’t resist his impulse to help and chased the thief for a while but couldn’t catch up.”

“Upon returning home, he told us about this incident and was filled with regret,” Du Qiwei continued. “Then, a couple of hours later, he suddenly collapsed like this.”

Du Qiwei recounted the unexpected events that his father, Du Hongbao, had experienced.

“Oh?” Lu Ming pondered.

Could it be a heart attack triggered by intense physical activity? During exercise, the myocardium’s oxygen consumption increased. When the oxygen demand surpasses the blood supply, it could result in myocardial damage, causing conditions such as tachycardia and, eventually, a heart attack.

This explanation seemed plausible.

“I have a rough understanding of the situation,” Lu Ming noted the information.

However, not much time passed before Du Hongbao, who had been brought in for treatment, experienced a life-threatening situation.

“His heart rate is increasing!”

“He’s experiencing arrhythmia!”

Medical staff observed the readings on the monitoring equipment and called out the data. Lu Ming frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss. Du Hongbao’s condition might not have been caused by vigorous physical activity.

“Initiate life-saving procedures immediately!”

There was no time to consider anything else. They needed to stabilize the patient’s condition first.

“Lu, we have the test results for the patient!”

“Based on the angiogram, we found an obstruction in the blood vessels!”

A nurse rushed into the resuscitation room with a report.

Lu Ming paused once again, considering the possibility of blood vessel blockage. He examined the report and noticed some vessel constriction.

“This isn’t right!”

“It isn’t a heart attack caused by strenuous exercise.”

Lu Ming was convinced. Du Hongbao’s condition was not triggered by intense physical activity.

Lu Ming immediately called Du Qiwei over and asked, “Before your father lost consciousness, did he do anything unusual?”

“Did he eat anything or take a cold shower?”

Upon hearing Lu Ming’s questions, Du Qiwei pondered carefully. There was no cold shower. As for what he ate, there was only lunch, but that was before Du Hongbao left to chase the thief.

Wait!

Suddenly, Du Qiwei remembered something important.

“What about drinking?”

“Did he have something to drink?” Lu Ming asked eagerly.

“It was a glass of lemon tea,” Du Qiwei replied.

“My son brought it back. My father chased after a thief, and when he came back, he was thirsty. My son happened to buy two cups of lemon tea, so he gave one to my father,” Du Qiwei explained.

“Iced? Right?” Lu Ming continued.

Du Qiwei nodded, “Yes, there was ice inside.”

Lu Ming slapped his forehead. He knew the cause of the problem. It was a heart attack caused by drinking an ice-cold beverage immediately after strenuous exercise! After intense physical activity, especially in this hot weather, the blood vessels in the body are dilated. If you consume ice-cold drinks right away, it causes rapid vasoconstriction, leading to a sudden increase in blood viscosity, clot formation, microthrombosis, and ultimately, blocked blood vessels, resulting in insufficient blood supply or even interruption, leading to myocardial infarction.@@novelbin@@

If you’re young, doing this regularly doesn’t matter. But Du Hongbao was older and certainly didn’t have the physical resilience of a young person. His body couldn’t handle such a drastic stimulus.

So, exercising and then drinking ice water almost gave him a heart attack. If not treated promptly, it could have been fatal.

“Wow!”

“So, it was my son who almost killed his grandfather?”

“This disobedient child!” After hearing Lu Ming’s explanation, Du Qiwei, who had learned the truth, was instantly furious and vented his anger on his son, blaming him for everything.

“That’s not entirely fair to say. After all, your son might not have known this knowledge,” said Lu Ming.

In addition, after exercising, apart from not immediately drinking ice water, you shouldn’t shower, eat, or sit down to rest. It’s best not to smoke, either. If you’re incredibly thirsty, swish a mouthful of room-temperature water to keep your mouth moist, then spit it out.

“After a short break, you can drink room-temperature water.” Lu Ming shared some health-related knowledge with Du Qiwei.

With Du Hongbao’s unfortunate experience as a lesson, Du Qiwei firmly remembered this knowledge and was unlikely to forget it for the rest of his life.