Believing a tip on social networks, the 47-year-old man voluntarily quit his blood pressure medication, switched to drinking lemon juice and constant sun exposure to “detoxify”, leading to sudden death.
On December 10, Doctor Doan Du Manh, Deputy Director of the International Heart and Stroke Center, Phuong Dong Hospital, informed that the patient was taken to the emergency room in a state of circulatory arrest and died outside the hospital.
Before that, the man suddenly collapsed while basking in the sun. Based on the medical history and circumstances of the incident, the doctor determined that the patient suffered from paroxysmal hypertension causing a cerebral blood vessel rupture.
Family members said the patient had a history of high blood pressure for many years and had complied with the doctor’s treatment regimen. However, recently he joined a group on social networks, believing in the view that “taking too much western medicine is harmful to the person” and that “the body should heal itself”. Ignoring her mother’s advice, the patient arbitrarily stopped taking the medicine and switched to a regimen of drinking high doses of lemon and salt combined with sun exposure for 10 days to sweat, eliminate toxins and bring blood pressure to normal levels.
Analyzing the case, Dr. Manh said hypertension is a chronic disease, forcing the patient to take medication for life to control the index stably. The act of stopping the drug suddenly causes blood vessels to rapidly constrict, causing a “blood pressure flare”. At this time, blood pressure increases uncontrollably, the heart has to work overtime, pushing the patient into “fatal” complications such as myocardial infarction or ruptured blood vessels in the brain. Currently, many people are still subjective and believe in unverified word-of-mouth methods, leading to serious consequences.
On the other hand, when a patient ingests large amounts of concentrated lemon and salt into the body, the high sodium content in the salt causes water retention, forcing the heart to pump blood harder, increasing pressure on already weak blood vessel walls. In addition, exposure to strong sunlight causes dehydration and increases heart rate.
“The combination of three factors including drug withdrawal, high salt intake and dehydration causes the patient’s blood pressure to skyrocket, breaking blood vessels in the brain and causing instant death,” Dr. Manh said.
Medical experts advise people to absolutely not abandon treatment regimens on their own, even if they feel healthy, and to be wary of word-of-mouth treatment trends, detoxification or extreme nutrition. Patients need to have regular check-ups, maintain a healthy lifestyle, reduce salt and avoid stress. When the body shows unusual signs such as severe headache, dizziness or weakness on one side of the body, the family needs to take the patient to the nearest medical facility for timely treatment.