Features of manifestations of heart failure in men

Men are ready to overcome a thousand and one dangers in order to save the lives of their loved ones. They perform feats and fight with external enemies. However, when your own body fails, it becomes difficult to be a hero.

Heart failure is a condition when the focus of life, the main pump of the body, suddenly starts to fail. And you can't take it out, you can't grease it, you can't fix it. And the consequences of a neglected disease are very sad.

So it is very important for men (and their beloved women) to be attentive and notice in time themselves (or the beloved breadwinner) symptoms of impending problems.

How to diagnose heart failure in men: the first signs of the disease in the stronger sex

Heart failure (HF) sometimes develops suddenly after severe shocks: heart attack, intoxication, myocardial rupture. But more characteristic of her is a cautious and quiet approach. The action of negative factors (or even chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus), drop by drop, drinks up the functional reserve of cardiomyocytes, and as a result, a small provocation (colds, severe emotional shock, fluctuations in hormonal levels) is enough for the manifestation of an extensive clinical picture.

The first signs of heart failure in men manifest themselves in different ways. This is due to a different etiology (the factor that provoked the final violation of the pumping function of the heart).

For convenience, we will consider separately the symptoms of left and right ventricular failure. They send blood to the systemic and pulmonary circulation, respectively. The different direction of movement of the displaced volumes of fluid determines the difference in clinical symptoms.

Symptoms of the left ventricular type

Since the left ventricle is the main executor of the pumping function of the heart, disorders in its activity are worse tolerated and poison men to a greater extent. Actually, he is responsible for the most typical complaints that force a person to see a doctor.

The first signs of left ventricular dysfunction will be:

1. Shortness of breath (it is difficult to inhale and exhale, there is a feeling of lack of air). At first, it occurs only during intense physical activity (for example, bring a sack of potatoes from the basement, catch up with the trolleybus in the morning). But often at this stage, shortness of breath is perceived as normal, ignored, and the disorders progress. And after a while you have to suffer from the fact that it is difficult to breathe when walking or even at rest.
2. Tachycardia (increased heart rate above 90 per minute) and palpitations. These symptoms often accompany shortness of breath. So, if a man was running after a trolleybus and his heart suddenly fluttered in his chest, it is not a fact that the pretty girl-conductor is to blame for this.
3. Dry cough. It arises due to the fact that the planned blood mass cannot leave the pulmonary vessels and enter the peripheral arteries due to the weakness of the pumping function of the left ventricle. Excess fluid permeates the lung tissue, which causes a reflex cough. Sputum is most often absent (since there is no inflammatory process). But if you smoke, then do not rush to attribute the cough to heart problems - most likely, it is chronic bronchitis.
4. Pallor. If an adult man suddenly has a skin tone more suitable for a young lady from the era of white lead, something is wrong here. And the reason for this visible fragility is in the insufficient blood filling of the capillaries (it is their red color that provides the pink skin tone). Usually accompanied by cold extremities.

Symptoms of the right ventricular type

The right ventricle is also important. But the symptoms of heart failure in men in his performance should be more noticed with the eyes and clarified by palpation (feeling).

So, right ventricular dysfunction is characterized by:

1. Edema is the accumulation of fluid in body tissues. Roughly speaking, the pump is broken - the water is glass down (scientifically, it is called a hydrostatic mechanism). They can be characterized as follows:
   • appear first on the legs (because if you pour water into a glass, it will first cover only the bottom, and then fill the space between the walls), and with the development of the disease they rise to the thigh and even the abdominal cavity;
   • increase in the evening (again, the legs are at the bottom, the liquid that the heart cannot hold at the top flows down);
   • in the early stages, they pass overnight (due to the horizontal position during sleep, the hydrostatic mechanism of edema formation is turned off);
   • cold and dense to the touch (the liquid stagnates in one place, and does not heat up due to circulation in the central parts of the body);
   • cyanotic shade (yes for the same reason).
   But few men pay attention to the size of the feet and the thickness of the ankles. All hope for a spouse. Or he won't notice them until the shoes are too small. Or until a huge stomach filled with fluid appears - ascites.
2. Enlargement of the liver. Due to stagnation of blood, it swells, stretching its capsule, which contains nerve endings. And here the man will feel the pain. Dull, in the right hypochondrium. In the best case, it will be a feeling of heaviness in the same place. The lower edge of the liver will go down over the costal arch (and the doctor will be able to palpate it if the family persuades the father to go to the hospital).
3. Swelling of the jugular veins. This does not mean that your young man swayed the muscles in his neck, and the vessels are now prominent. This symptom is especially noticeable when lying down. Pressing the right hypochondrium can cause the veins in the neck to swell.

Echocardiography is the gold standard for diagnosing heart failure. After this study, a diagnosis is made.

Are there any cardinal differences in the course of heart failure among representatives of different sexes?

Although it is believed that men descended from Mars and women from Venus, they have the same heart. Well, except that the beautiful half will have a smaller one. And the liver is the same. And the circuits of the blood circulation are no different.

Therefore, there are no fundamental differences between the clinical course of heart failure in both sexes, and in the cardiology department they are examined in the same way.

What are the features of treatment in men: what to look for?

Since both men and women are human, the treatment is the same for them. But the side effects of some drugs used for the treatment of heart failure concern precisely the strong half of humanity.

Conclusions

So, we found out that:

• heart failure in men follows the same principles as in women;
• the symptomatology of the left ventricular lesion is more noticeable;
• echocardiography is the gold standard for diagnosis;
• Some drugs used to treat HF ​​can worsen reactions, blur vision, and lead to impotence.

Early initiation of treatment involves small doses of drugs. And the concentration of the active substance in the blood is directly proportional to the frequency of side effects. Take care of your men!