People aged 18 to 35 account for a 16% increase in the proportion of sudden cardiac death over 10 years. Chinese Academy of Engineering Academician Yang Baofeng: The main factors are high stress, busy work, poor rest, and tension.

By Every Day News Reporter | Zhang Rui    By Every Day News Editor | Yang Jun

From March 25 to 29, the 5-day Zhongguancun Forum was held in Beijing. Yang Baofeng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Harbin Medical University, delivered a report titled “Global Engineering Frontiers in 2025: Assessment and Interpretation” at his “Engineering Science and Technology Innovation Forum.”

During the aforementioned forum, Yang Baofeng accepted an interview with reporters from the Daily Economic News (hereinafter referred to as NBD).

Yang Baofeng is a well-known pharmacologist in China. For decades, he has focused on cardiovascular pharmacology. He combines academic accomplishments with management experience. He once served as the president of Harbin Medical University for 17 years, advancing pharmacology research and medical education in China through rigorous scholarship and an international perspective.

In the interview, Yang Baofeng affirmed the positive impact brought by AI (artificial intelligence) applications in the medical field, but he also said plainly, “To truly treat illness, you still have to go to the hospital.”

Yang Baofeng said that although AI can bring many conveniences and efficiencies for our health, the quality of data still needs to be improved—such as the fact that some data are confidential, and data quality varies widely. Some data come from national key laboratories, while others come from industry experts, frontline doctors, or small clinics. In addition, data on negative results are also needed. In the future, it will be necessary to address the problem of data silos. This requires the government and the scientific and technological community to work closely together and develop together.

On AI applications:

No single model can solve all problems

NBD: When you talk about data silos, do you mainly mean that data between hospitals is not interoperable?

Yang Baofeng: Not only between hospitals—data between companies is also not interoperable. For example, in the case of a company, if it discovers a good material or a good chemical structural formula, can it let everyone know? All of them are large pharmaceutical companies and need to conduct research and development for innovative drugs. Some companies’ patents may not even be filed within a certain period of time. That’s the microscopic picture.

From the macro perspective, data between different countries can never be fully interconnected and interoperable either, unless the entire world becomes one country.

NBD: I’ve noticed that you have long been committed to research on cardiovascular drugs. The industry is also discussing AI for Science (AI empowering scientific research). What is the current state of AI’s application in drug development?

Yang Baofeng: AI has been used in drug development for quite some time. For instance, if I want to study a drug, I ask the AI what drugs the market lacks and which diseases are hardest to treat, and the AI will give you an answer. But the answer provided by AI still needs to be jointly discussed and validated by experts from clinical medicine, basic medicine, and pharmacy.

For example, if I want to design a drug structure that acts on different receptors, AI will provide a structural design方案. However, different AI models may give different answers to the same question. Even when using the same model, the results may differ depending on the education background of the person asking and the country to which they belong. For example, AlphaFold (a series of AI models) is suitable for molecular structure prediction, while Doubao performs excellently in text processing. Researchers can choose different tools depending on their needs, and each tool has its own features and advantages. There is still no single model that can solve all problems.

AI is like a high-quality review article or a reference book. It can quickly provide the content you need and can be repeatedly optimized according to your requirements. Overall, AI has indeed brought tremendous benefits to humans and to every industry. For researchers, it can shorten the time for R&D and data collection, and save human and material resource costs. But in essence, it is the integration and refinement of existing knowledge. If we want to achieve true innovation, it still depends on in-depth research and thinking by top scientists and cross-disciplinary teams.

On sudden death due to cardiac-origin causes:

Currently, it cannot be detected through health check screening

NBD: Zhang Xuefeng’s death has drawn widespread attention to sudden cardiac death. Are there any drugs that can prevent or treat sudden cardiac death of cardiac origin?

Yang Baofeng: One main cause of sudden cardiac death is fatigue. Since Zhang Xuefeng was relatively young, he likely did not have underlying conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia. Even if he did, they might not have been particularly severe. But with long-term fatigue, and then—during running—the sympathetic nervous system becomes overly excited. After the sympathetic nervous system is activated, blood vessels constrict, the heart becomes ischemic, and a sudden arrhythmia occurs, leading to sudden death—that is the mechanism.

NBD: Is there a “life-saving drug” for sudden cardiac death due to cardiac causes?

Yang Baofeng: If it is that kind of vascular spasm, it will happen very quickly. If you have nitroglycerin-type medication with you, and you put it under your tongue, it can save you within 30 seconds to 1 minute.

NBD: “The China Sudden Cardiac Death Epidemiological Investigation” shows that in our country, the number of sudden cardiac deaths due to cardiac causes each year is about 550k, of which, the proportion of the 18–35 age group has risen from 12% in 2015 to 28% in 2024. As an expert in the cardiovascular field, what do you think is the core driving factor behind this “younger” trend?**

Yang Baofeng: The main factors are high pressure, being busy at work, not resting well, and being tense. You need to tell young people not to pull all-nighters; working through the night is not allowed. There will always be work that cannot be finished. At least you should ensure 7 hours of sleep every day, otherwise it’s easy to become fatigued, and then if the autonomic nervous system becomes imbalanced, problems are likely to occur. Of course, it’s okay occasionally, but persistent tension and high pressure are not.

Also, focus on healthy lifestyle concepts and routines—control your diet and weight, and get sufficient exercise and rest. Zhang Xuefeng was in a running event. If the first few days were marked by fatigue and poor rest, nervous system dysregulation is more likely to cause problems.

NBD: Where is the boundary of “moderate exercise”? Especially for people who already have cardiovascular conditions or high-risk factors, how do we define what counts as “moderate exercise”?

Yang Baofeng: This depends on the individual. Exercise is good—yes, you should exercise. Running doesn’t necessarily cause sudden death. For young people, middle-aged people, and even elderly people aged 60 or 65, it’s not a problem to stay active to a suitable extent. But if the heart is already having issues, you definitely need to pay attention to the intensity and amount of exercise.

NBD: For this kind of hidden, “looks healthy” person who suddenly dies, is there any way to find it in advance? For example, is it possible to detect it through health check screening like tumor markers—are there any markers that can help prevent sudden cardiac death?

Yang Baofeng: Not yet. The most important thing is to control underlying diseases, ensure adequate sleep, and don’t get too tired.

Cover image source: Zhu Yu