Chest pain can occur for various reasons, not always they talk about heart muscle diseases. Sometimes the doctor can determine the exact cause of discomfort in the heart and lungs after a complete examination. It is worth knowing if your heart hurts, what symptoms may indicate the development of the disease, what you should pay attention to, what kind of pain can be in diseases of other organs.
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Causes of heart pain -
Heartache: symptoms in women, treatment -
Pressing pain in the heart area: effective treatment -
Stitching pain in the heart area: causes and treatment -
Getting rid of heart pain in simple ways
Onefrom the main difficulties in diagnosing many diseases - often it starts to hurt not in the place where the source of pain itself is located. In diseases of many organs, pain can be given to the heart area, and there can be no pathologies of the cardiovascular system.
Moreover, in a number of cases, pain in the chest is not a dangerous condition that speaks of any diseases. Painful sensations can arise because of a person's psychological state or be a temporary phenomenon, for example, because of physical exertion.
Pain sensations in the sternum can be quite different in nature. There are both acute sensations, literally binding and not giving a deep breath, and "dull" pain, not interfering with daily activity, but causing discomfort and anxiety.
To understand what really could provoke pain and immediately turn to a suitable doctor and choose a treatment, you should pay attention to the nature of the pain and the attendant symptoms.
Important! Before the beginning of treatment, it is always necessary to undergo examination, in this case with self-diagnosis the probability of error is high.
How to find out what exactly the heart is hurting
First of all, it is necessary to consider the main symptoms of pain, associated specifically with the heart muscle and cardiovascular system. Contrary to misconceptions, the pain in the sternum with heart disease is not the most frequent reason for these sensations. You should consider the most common diseases of the circulatory system, leading to this symptomatology.
Angina of the
With the attack of this disease, painful sensations arise precisely in the area of the heart muscle: on the left side, behind the breastbone. Angina pectoris is a common disease, the pain in an attack usually has the following character:
- the pain is always "dull", accompanied by a feeling of squeezing, squeezing;
- pain can spread under the shoulder blades, in the jaw, in the left arm;
- a feeling of discomfort arises after emotional stress, physical activity, after plentiful food, at night.
It is also worth noting that pain does not depend on the position of the human body, the attack usually lasts up to twenty minutes. In addition to discomfort in the heart, there may be a sense of panic, dizziness, it becomes difficult to breathe. Immediately after the withdrawal of the attack, the remaining symptoms disappear.
Pain of the same nature occurs with inflammatory diseases of the heart muscle. However, one must take into account that inflammation in the body is almost always accompanied by an increase in temperature, therefore, in the inflammatory process in the heart, the patient usually has a high fever. Also, inflammation swells joints, there is a cough.
Myocardial infarction
With a heart attack, pain is much more intense, they are sharp, a person feels burning and heaviness in the heart. When myocardial infarction does not work, the patient always tries to take a sitting position, the breathing becomes faster and faster.
In case of a heart attack, the pain increases with sharp, careless movements, in contrast to angina pectoris. These sensations can not be removed with the usual medications, in this state it is desirable to immediately call an "ambulance".
Aortic aneurysm
With aortic aneurysm, the pain increases with physical activity, usually it is localized in the upper part of the sternum. With exfoliating aneurysm, painful sensations acquire a bursting character, this disease is extremely painful. Need urgent help specialist.
Where does the heart ache?
In general, with the majority of cardiac diseases, the pain sensations increase rather quickly, under different conditions they are basically present as if behind the breastbone, always on the left side. Discomfort in heart disease often "gives" to other organs, usually on the left side of the trunk.
Most often, pain is given to the left arm. Also it is worth considering that when heart diseases often lose heart rate, increase or decrease the pressure without apparent causes: stress or physical exertion. In this case, emotional or physical exertion can increase pain.
For acute, severe pain, shortness of breath and palpitations, see a doctor as soon as possible. At an attack it is desirable to immediately call an ambulance, doctors should see if hospitalization is required, tell what medicine to take to eliminate the attack.
Important! A single attack does not mean that the disease will not bother anymore. After relieving pain in the heart, you should visit a cardiologist in the near future and undergo a complete examination.
Other causes of pain in the heart area
Discomfort, unpleasant sensations in the sternum - not always a consequence of heart problems. Especially if there are symptoms in young people who have never encountered diseases of the circulatory system of people. In this case, attention should be paid to the signs of other possible diseases that are not related to the function of the heart.
Osteochondrosis
The cause of unpleasant sensations in the chest may be symptoms in osteochondrosis. With this disease, the nerve endings are squeezed in different parts of the spine, vessels, in severe cases, there is pressure on the lungs. As a result, there is pain in the sternum.
When osteochondrosis pain is given in the back, under the shoulder blade, they are usually dull in nature and accompanied by a feeling of numbness. Also, with this disease, there is usually a headache, dizziness, especially when changing positions. Osteochondrosis causes a lot of vegetative symptoms, especially as the disease progresses.
Important! In osteochondrosis, there may be feelings similar to those experienced during a panic attack.
Diseases of the digestive system
With many diseases of the digestive system, pain can be given to the left half of the body and the sternum, especially in diseases of the stomach, liver, pancreas. Pains are usually blunt, with a slight feeling of pressure.
Usually the pain in the heart area is supplemented by other symptoms. There is heaviness, pain in the abdomen, especially in the right hypochondrium with pancreatitis, peritonitis, liver diseases. Acute conditions are accompanied by digestive disorders, nausea, vomiting, and stool disorders. In inflammatory processes, the temperature rises.
For these diseases, you should urgently consult a doctor. However, in some cases, the sensation of pain in the heart can be triggered by severe heartburn or overeating, in which case a person's condition is not so dangerous. Although with frequent heartburn, it is advisable to consult a gastroenterologist, since it can be a symptom of gastritis.
Psychosomatics
Another cause of heart pain is psychological problems. In this case, a person actually experiences discomfort, but there are no problems in the functioning of the organs during the examination.
A feeling of pain in the chest is often observed with a strong emotional stress, stress, panic attacks. With this condition, there are difficulties in breathing, a strong, sometimes unreasonable sense of fear, increased sweating, a sense of derealization.
If the unpleasant sensations in the sternum arise for psychological reasons, with the improvement of the emotional state of the person they pass. Psychosomatic symptoms in women are more common than in men.
It should be noted that if stresses are permanent, a disease called heart neurosis develops. To get rid of it recommend psychotherapy, rest from worries, sometimes - the use of antidepressants and sedatives. Indeed, sometimes the heart hurts "from the nerves".Sometimes constant stress can provoke the development of real heart muscle diseases, but this is not the main factor, it usually takes years for the development of the disease.
The child has a heart ache: what are the symptoms?
If a child develops any cardiac pathology, the first signs can be seen from the side. A child with heart problems starts to get tired more quickly, it is harder for him to give lessons or any other activity that requires serious emotional and physical efforts.
Signs of heart disease in a child - a bad sign, in childhood completely formed the body and the cardiovascular system. It is at this age that the probability of developing a serious pathology is high, with signs of the disease, you should always consult a cardiologist.
What to do
First of all, do not panic immediately, if the pain is not acute, there is no life threat, you should make an appointment with a therapist or cardiologist if you have the confidence that the problem is in the heart. At the reception should describe the nature of the pain and the accompanying symptoms, then the doctor must send for examination.
The ECG is mandatory, an overall blood test is taken. When suspected of osteochondrosis, an x-ray of the cervical region is required. If there is a possibility that the pain is caused by digestive problems, you need an examination of the gastroenterologist, ultrasound of the liver, pancreas, other organs.
In each individual case, the list of necessary studies will be different, it all depends on the symptoms present and information about already diagnosed diseases.
How to treat heart pain
Treatment depends on the cause that caused discomfort. In some cases, therapy is not needed, if the pain is caused by a single stressful situation. However, there are several drugs that will help calm anxiety with emotional stress or while waiting for an "ambulance" with probably a serious heart pathology.
First of all, sedative preparations of natural origin are permissible: on the basis of motherwort, valerian, other medicinal herbs. Also, if there are no contraindications, you can try to stop pain in heart diseases with nitroglycerin.
For osteochondrosis, you can take painkillers. The most effective in this disease are Diclofenac, Nimesulide, Ibuprofen. After a while, the pain should be weakened.
To make the pain no longer arise, it is necessary to establish their exact cause and begin treatment. It is worth remembering that in most diseases that cause this symptom, self-medication is unacceptable, otherwise it can worsen their course.