Former finance minister thanks medical team after tricuspid valve operation

Former finance minister thanks medical team after tricuspid valve operation

2023-02-15

Former Finance Minister Lin Chen-kuo on Wednesday thanked a team of doctors at Taipei Veterans General Hospital who treated his heart problems. The 85-year-old official had experienced tricuspid valve regurgitation, a condition that causes blood to flow in the wrong direction in the heart chambers. Thanks to minimally invasive surgery, Lin was able to recover quickly.

Former Finance Minister Lin Chen-kuo, who is 85 this year, thanks the medical team at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. During the Lunar New Year break, Lin was sent to the emergency room due to severe tricuspid valve regurgitation, which even triggered heart failure.

Lin Chen-kuo
Former Finance minister
I often went on walks and felt tightness in my chest. But I didn’t really understand much about the tricuspid valve. I had already had heart surgery. So nobody dared give me any guarantees of what the results would be after another operation.

Lin underwent a catheter-based repair treatment for the tricuspid valve. Recovery time was minimal, and he was able to walk around the following day. Currently this kind of treatment is only covered by the National Health Insurance under some conditions, meaning most patients still have to pay big amounts out of pocket.

Hsu Chiao-po
Taipei Veterans General Hospital
Although they cover some of the costs, it is conditional. We need to collect information on the patient and send it for review. The catheter itself already costs NT$1 million more or less. But during the procedure, other instruments are used as well, so altogether it exceeds NT$1 million.

Doctors warn that big temperature swings can cause patients with cardiovascular disease to experience more severe symptoms.

Lee Ching-wei
Taipei Veterans General Hospital
Tricuspid valve disease and other cardiovascular conditions do indeed get worse when it’s cold, and when temperatures change quickly. All that puts pressure on the circulatory system and it makes it more likely that the conditions worsen. It’s hard to control.

Sung Shih-hsien
Taipei Veterans General Hospital
When the weather is cold, underlying cardiovascular diseases that are not manifesting any symptoms could start showing symptoms. If that happens, it is time to go see a doctor.

Doctors say warning signs to look out for include dizziness, shortness of breath while walking and swollen feet. If you see any of these signs, go to a doctor, as it could mean problems with the tricuspid valve.

85歲前財長林振國心衰竭北榮"經導管"成功救命

2023-02-15

天氣冷颼颼，這時候要格外留意心血管風險。高齡85歲的前財政部長林振國，農曆春節一度引發心衰竭，還好透過"經導管"修補瓣膜成功救命。醫師也提醒，冬天溫度變化劇烈，要是沒做好保暖，當心病情迅速惡化。

85歲的前財政部長林振國，感謝北榮團隊治療，他在農曆春節，因為重度三尖瓣膜逆流，身體不適掛急診，還一度引發心臟衰竭。

[[前財政部長林振國]]
“我是常常會走路，但是只是會胸悶。但是我不了解這是三尖瓣什麼的(問題)，不了解。我動過心臟的手術，也可以再動一次，但是那個結果是怎麼樣，誰都不敢保證。”

林振國這次透過"經導管"修補瓣膜，恢復速度快，手術隔天、就能下床走路。但這個項目目前只有部分狀況，可申請健保給付，大多仍須自費。

[[北榮心臟外科醫師許喬博]]
“雖然說有給付，不過也是有條件的，我們必須把病人的資料整理完之後送審。導管大概都在本身是一百萬左右，不過手術當中還會使用到其他的一些小東西，所以說會超過一百(萬)。”

醫師也提醒，冬天溫度變化劇烈，心血管疾病患者要當心病情突然惡化。

[[北榮心臟內科醫師李慶威]]
“不管是心血管的這些瓣膜疾病，或是心血管的疾病，的確是在天冷的時候會比較容易(惡化)，還有氣溫突然地改變，都會造成心血管的壓力，所以讓症狀會比較容易惡化，不容易控制。”

[[北榮心臟內科醫師宋思賢]]
“(天冷)它只是讓你原來潛在的心血管疾病本來比較沒症狀的，讓它出現症狀，所以我覺得那時候就表示，應該就是要適當就醫的時機了。”

醫師示警，包括暈眩、走路容易喘和腳腫等等，都有可能是心臟瓣膜出現警訊徵兆，盡快就醫檢查。

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After 10 days in Turkey, 130 people and five rescue dogs, part of Taiwan’s search and rescue team, came back home.

Interior Minister Lin Yu-chang and Turkish Representative Muhammed Berdibek welcome them at the airport.

Lin Yu-chang
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We are full of gratitude. Over this period, they’ve worked so hard and completed their mission under very unforgiving weather conditions.

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I really appreciate their help and they saved three souls in Turkey. So you’ve saved three souls in Turkey. We really appreciate it.

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Our efforts were recognized by Turkey. We’ve helped the country more or less. I think it was worthwhile, even though it was cold, really cold. When I was in Iran, at minus 4 degrees, I didn’t feel so cold. But under Turkey’s minus 4 degrees, I couldn’t stop shivering.

This is the third overseas search and rescue mission led by firefighter Huang Po-tsun, who said Turkey was the most unforgettable among them.

Huang Po-tsun
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I’ve led exactly three overseas search teams. This time I’ve also felt most honored, and it was unforgettable. Now I have frostbite on various parts of my body, so it’s felt in the bones too.

Though many parts of Huang’s body were frostbitten, the pain cannot compare to that experienced by Turkish locals affected by the earthquake. The rescue team’s relentless effort once again showed the world that “Taiwan Can Help.”

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President Tsai Ing-wen and Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benitez, pose for a group photo with representatives from allied nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ICDF on Wednesday held the Empower Women Empower LAC Forum. There Tsai discussed her administration’s efforts to achieve gender equality in Taiwan.

Tsai Ing-wen
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In 2019, Taiwan finally became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Over in the government, 40% of our lawmakers were women. That’s the highest ratio in Asia. On the front of economics, 37% of our enterprises are women-led small and medium enterprises.

Many of Taiwan’s allies bore the brunt of COVID. To help them, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned the ICDF to launch programs to provide technical assistance, educational training and financial services for women-led small and medium enterprises in Taiwan’s diplomatic allies.

Women who benefitted from the programs were in attendance at the event. Together with his wife Paraguay’s president spoke about how the programs had helped women in his country.

Mario Abdo Benitez
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I would like to thank the R.O.C. Taiwan for providing US$5 million in funds so that these programs can be implemented more concretely.

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Egg prices are soaring sky high again. School catering companies have been forced to adjust their menus, reducing the number of eggs in meals.

Chen Ming-hsin
National Mealbox Union
What we’re doing is basically adding some vegetables on top of the eggs, for example things kids like, such as onions, sweet corn and tomatoes. For the protein, we’re using vegetable-based proteins to make up the difference, such as soft and dried tofu.

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Meanwhile, on the popular discussion network PTT, netizens are discussing which foods they’ve stopped buying due to the soaring prices. The top three are chicken cutlets, hand-shaken drinks and eggs.

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Soy products, seafood, fish, and even beef and pork, can all replace the protein from eggs. Of course, there are some nutrients which are more particular to eggs, such as lecithin. We hope that people eat a balanced diet, because when you consume a varied diet, you can get the nutrients you would get from eggs from other sources.

This nutritionist says that vegetables and animal proteins are all useful in their own way. To some extent they can replace each other. But nutrients found in eggs – like lecithin – are great for treating blood clots and atherosclerosis. The key is to make sure you eat plenty of different healthy foods.

Hsia Tzu-wen
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The order we recommend for protein consumption would be soy first, followed by fish, eggs and meat. We suggest an average of one egg a day. That’s enough, because an egg contains about 190 milligrams of cholesterol. We usually recommend a maximum cholesterol intake of about 300 milligrams a day.

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His hands fly deftly over the keys. A beautiful melody soars out through this shopping mall and its hubbub. Many shoppers pause to listen and enjoy the special occasion.

This is Keelung’s celebrated pianist Hsu Cheh-cheng. He’s playing Mozart’s “Turkish March” as a tribute to the people of Turkey.

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I’ve got tears in my eyes. No matter what struggles we encounter, it’s enough to make us carry on with courage. Really.

39-year-old Hsu was born blind. At the age of three, he could pick out the notes on a piano to a tune hummed by his grandfather. He began piano lessons at the age of five, and at 13 he won first prize in an international piano competition for visually-impaired youth. He then went to Austria for further training, and has been invited to perform around the world. But despite his pedigree, he loves to play for passing crowds in Taiwan’s public places.

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I think the atmosphere is very down-to-earth. Otherwise, if you play in a concert hall, you’re very far away from the people. It really feels like we’re performing somewhere high and lofty above them. But in fact, as performers we feel very lonely. But in public places, you can connect with people up close.

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The shoe exhibitions that consumers often hear about are mostly second-hand trading markets. But our exhibition meets the requirements of a museum, with 24-hour temperature and humidity control.

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