(Yicai) March 27 -- Sales of drugs used to treat acute heart problems have shot up following the sudden death of renowned education influencer Zhang Xuefeng, aged just 41.

Zhang died of cardiac arrest on March 24 after going for a run. He was hugely popular online, having built a lucrative career based on advising young people how to choose university courses.

From 8 p.m. on March 24 to 5 p.m. on yesterday, sales of cardiac medication Suxiao Jiuxin soared more than 10 times from a year earlier, Yicai learned from online retailer JD.Com. People aged 36 to 45 accounted for more than 53 percent of buyers, while Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu were the top three cities by sales.

People also rushed to buy nitroglycerin-related drugs, another kind of treatment for acute cardiac emergencies, with sales jumping nearly 19 times from the same period last year. 

Among users searching for nitroglycerin, those aged 36 to 45 made up over 51 percent, data JD.Com’s data showed, and those aged 26 to 35 accounted for 22 percent. The highest sales were seen in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong. 

“Although the Suxiao Jiuxin pill is useful for emergency treatment, it is only effective for short-term dilation of blood vessels and alleviation of angina pectoris symptoms during emergencies,” Zhang Yi, chief cardiology physician and director of the vascular diseases center at Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, told Yicai.

“Its effect is limited when it comes to actual myocardial infarction,” Zhang noted, adding that for emergency use, nitroglycerin “is more classic.”

Suxiao Jiuxin used to be known as a drug used mainly by the elderly, but a lot of younger people have started to use it as a standard pill in their daily lives, as it is also believed to combat fatigue.

The drug is intended to promote blood circulation and relieve pain, and is commonly used for preventive treatment of angina pectoris, or when chest pains are caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart.

But these drugs will not help in cases of sudden cardiac arrest, when the only effective measures are to immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or to use a defibrillator.

Editor: Tom Litting