Why heart aches: a list of reasons and tips

Causes

The following deviations can become the causes of discomfort:

1. Heart disease (heart attack, angina pectoris, myocarditis, pericarditis, myocardial dystrophy).
2. Respiratory system disorders (pneumothorax, pleurisy).
3. Diseases of the digestive organs (hiatus hernia, reflux esophagitis).
4. Problems from the spine (trauma to the thoracic segment, protrusion or hernia as a result of osteochondrosis).
5. Herpes zoster.
6. Neurosis.

These are not all pathological conditions that can be detected if a person's heart aches. But according to the frequency of probability, one of the above diseases is usually detected.

Heart pathology

In addition to an unpleasant sensation with a problem from the myocardium, the following signs are noted:

• dyspnea;
• pallor of the skin;
• blue nasolabial triangle;
• irradiation of pain under the left shoulder blade, in the shoulder, arm, wrist, neck and jaw;
• deterioration after exercise or stress;
• some relief of suffering in a sitting position, and in pericarditis, with a forward bend.

With a heart attack, the pain is long-lasting, not relieved by nitrates. It is accompanied by a feeling of fear, lasts several hours or days. Angina pectoris is characterized by a short-term attack, the intake of "Nitroglycerin" helps with it. Inflammatory diseases (myocarditis, pericarditis) are often accompanied by signs of intoxication.

Other problems

Cardialgias that are not related to cardiac pathology are distinguished by the following signs:

1. The patient describes aching pain of varying intensity and duration.
2. It has no clear relation to physical activity, regardless of it, it can appear and disappear.
3. Decreases after taking sedatives or analgesics, "Nitroglycerin" does not help.
4. It is not permanent, it can appear several times a day, and then disappear for the same period.
5. A person feels constant discomfort, regardless of the presence of an acute attack.

Respiratory pathologies are accompanied by shortness of breath, cough (dry or with sputum of a different nature). If the digestive tract is not well, there is heartburn, belching with air or food, bloating, problems with stools in the form of constipation or diarrhea. Shingles appears as a blistering rash.

Osteochondrosis and intervertebral hernia are manifested by palpation along the strangulated nerve fibers, while the strength of the unpleasant sensations increases. The same effect occurs when coughing, sneezing, taking a deep breath, or tilting the body to the side. A hernia of the esophagus makes itself felt after overeating, especially if a person immediately after the end of a meal takes a horizontal position. For more information on how to separate "spinal" pain from heart pain, see the article at the link.

Patients describe neurotic complaints colorfully, such pain in the heart appears and disappears, arises out of the blue. Often a similar condition develops in people with suspicious people with an unstable psyche. Pathology is not confirmed in any way using objective research methods.

Condition diagnostics

The reason why the heart aches is found out by an experienced specialist already at the stage of examination and questioning of the patient. But for an accurate diagnosis, a complete examination is required. The fact is that I have come across atypical manifestations of angina pectoris and heart attack. And the most important thing with such a symptom is to exclude them or confirm and start timely treatment.

Laboratory research

To clarify the reason, if a person's heart aches, it is necessary to take:

1. General blood analysis. It is taken from the finger, allows you to determine the indirect signs of the inflammatory process, anemia (with pathology of the stomach or intestines). Has no informative value for diagnosing coronary artery disease or spinal problems. A decrease in iron levels can be considered as a factor worsening the condition in case of impaired coronary blood flow.
2. Biochemical research. It is carried out by taking venous blood in the morning on an empty stomach. I often see high cholesterol levels in patients with coronary artery disease. But this symptom rather confirms the cause of angina pectoris - blockage of the lumen by a fatty plaque. A very important criterion for the presence of a heart attack is an increase in the level of creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, troponins and myoglobin. An increase in ALT and AST is also noted in this pathology, but they can also appear in diseases of the liver and pancreas.

Instrumental

The main technique for confirming or excluding cardiac muscle pathology is ECG. But in some cases, it is not enough, and it becomes necessary to resort to other diagnostic methods:

1. On the electrocardiogram, abnormalities in the form of an increase in the T wave, ST elevation above the isoline become signs of myocardial ischemia. If such a phenomenon is noted only when the heart is pinched, and in the period between attacks everything returns to normal, then this speaks from angina pectoris. With a heart attack, even after relief of pain on the ECG, negative dynamics is observed and it continues until a scar is formed. Large-focal necrosis is recorded by the appearance of a pathological Q wave, which can persist in the future after treatment and complete rehabilitation of the patient.
2. Radiography. To study the organs of the chest, images are taken in several projections. On them, you can see the darkening or clarification of the fields in the lungs, the presence of cavernous cavities or effusion in the pleura. As well as damage to the vertebrae and destruction of bone tissue.
3. CT is performed by creating a series of images, then they are processed by a computer. Provides very accurate data on changes in the spine and lungs and other organs of the chest. With its help, a reliable picture of all deviations from the norm is recreated.
4. MRI is carried out according to the same principle, only the tissue is exposed to radio frequency pulses, after which they emit an electromagnetic field in response, which is captured by the devices and processed. In this case, it is possible to obtain high quality cuts. It is performed to diagnose pathologies of the spine, it helps to detect changes in the vessels (for example, aortic dissection).
5. Coronary angiography is a very important method for clarifying the degree of narrowing and localization of the problem area in the heart vessel in IHD. It is invasive as it requires internal intervention. A probe is inserted through a puncture in the vein, which moves to the myocardium under the X-ray control. Then the person is injected with a contrast agent, and its progress is recorded. In this way, it is possible to identify all types of violations of the passage of blood through the arteries of the heart muscle.

How to help a sick person

When a person's heart aches, you can help him as follows:

• give a tablet of "Nitroglycerin", "Corvalol", "Validol";
• lay down or sit down in a comfortable position;
• open access to air (if the attack is found in the room);
• free from crushing parts of clothing;
• with expressed anxiety, take a sedative ("Persen", "Phenibut");
• call a doctor.

When the ambulance arrives, you should describe in detail your feelings, the reasons for their appearance and list the drugs taken.