You can’t control your heart: doctors explained what chest pain may indicate

Description of the problem

Painful sensations when inhaling are associated with the movement of the diaphragm; their nature is different and may indicate the cause of the occurrence.

Types of pain when inhaling are divided by international medical classification. The division is as follows:

• A sharp manifestation. It comes on suddenly and is accompanied by sudden changes in blood pressure. Frequent accompaniments of such an attack are irregular pulses, impaired breathing rates, bluish skin, and increased sweating.
• Pressing feelings. They manifest themselves in attacks and are often associated with changes in blood pressure. May be accompanied by symptoms such as arrhythmia and dizziness.
• Compressive symptoms. Most often associated with oxygen starvation. Accompanies various forms of ischemia, and can also occur with abuse of substances containing nitroglycerin and excessive physical exertion.
• Stitching feelings. Being the most common variety, this type is the least dangerous. It manifests itself as evidence of neurosis as a result of overwork and nervous tension.
• Acute manifestation. Accompanied by a feeling of fear and nervousness. And there is a reason for this, since this appearance may indicate an impending heart attack or serious thrombosis.
• Burning sensations. Associated with disturbances in lung function.

According to doctors, discomfort during breathing movements associated with cardiac problems is quite rare. Most often, unpleasant sensations are associated with emotional turmoil. About 80% of all complaints of discomfort of this nature are the result of pinched nerves. Sometimes pathologies of internal organs create painful feelings that radiate to the myocardium.

Diagnosis and treatment

The doctor clarifies the medical history, interviews the patient, clarifying the symptoms in detail, conducts a physical examination - measures pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, listens to the heart and lungs, and, if necessary, prescribes instrumental and laboratory tests.

:

• electrocardiography;
• Holter monitoring;
• magnetic resonance imaging of the heart;
• electrophysiological study;
• sometimes - laboratory blood tests.

If the irregular heart rhythm is not associated with cardiovascular disease, treatment may not be required. Recommendations in such cases may be based on lifestyle changes (for example, limiting coffee consumption, eliminating alcoholic beverages, quitting smoking).

Original article on the website:

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Causes

The symptom can be caused by:

1. problems with the heart muscle;
2. inflammation of the pleura (outer lining of the lungs);
3. muscle strain or inflammation, bone or nerve damage.

Painful sensations emanating from the heart itself can be recognized by the duration and nature of the attack. In this case, it lasts 3-20 minutes and persists in any body position.

How does the heart work? Let's do a little test ourselves.

Here's a simple test to check how well your cardiovascular system is functioning.

On average, a normal heart rate is 72 beats per minute, and a normal breathing rate is 18 breaths per minute. Thus, there is one respiratory cycle per four cardiac cycles. Deviation from this ratio indicates existing disorders in the cardiovascular system.

The state of the autonomic nervous system can be judged by the reaction of the cardiovascular system to an orthostatic test. Lie on your back and after a five-minute rest, count your pulse. Then calmly stand up and after a minute count your pulse again.

A difference of 6-12 beats per minute indicates a good condition of the autonomic nervous system, a difference of 13-18 beats per minute indicates a satisfactory condition, and if the difference exceeds 18 beats per minute, it means that there is excessive excitability of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.

Are you at risk?

Cardiovascular diseases today pose a danger to everyone without exception, but there are people at risk. Check whether you are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and if the answer is yes, do not hesitate to take preventive measures. And with a properly organized lifestyle, you can easily avoid illness.

So, your heart and blood vessels are at risk if:

• Have any of your direct relatives had or currently have cardiovascular disease.

• You have diabetes.

• Your weight is significantly higher than normal.

• You have neurocirculatory dystonia.

• And of course, if you have been smoking and leading a sedentary lifestyle for many years.

We are looking for the cause of heart disease.

"What happened to my heart?" - this is the question a person asks himself when he feels pain in the heart area. But very often, in people who contact a cardiologist with complaints of heart pain, a cardiogram and other studies do not show any abnormalities in the cardiovascular system.

How can this be explained? The fact is that cardialgia, that same pain in the heart, can be a symptom of a large number of diseases not related to cardiac pathology. For example, such pain manifests itself in diseases of the peripheral nervous system, osteochondrosis of the spine, pathology of the muscles of the pectoral girdle, pathology of the ribs, hiatal hernia or exacerbation of cholecystitis, hormonal disorders and even chronic tonsillitis.

Doctors know that, with the exception of angina pectoris and myocardial infarction, pain in the heart area is a low-risk symptom. But nevertheless, in each case of cardialgia it is necessary to understand the reasons. Before contacting a doctor, you can try to do this yourself.

Possible complications

According to the recommendation of cardiologists, unpleasant sensations arising during breathing cannot be ignored, since if they are associated with the heart, the symptoms may worsen. Depending on the source of discomfort, possible complications can be severe, associated with blockage of blood vessels, which leads to the rapid development of painful conditions that are life-threatening.

Since the most common cause of heart pain when breathing is fatigue, this condition also requires intervention. Staying under stress and tension for a long time leads to exhaustion of the body and can lead to the development of any diseases. It is important to give yourself a break after stressful periods and get quality rest.

Are you worried about heart pain and rapid heartbeat?

The life of a modern person can be called calm, and the lifestyle that we lead, as a rule, is far from what is usually included in the concept of a “healthy lifestyle.” Our life is far from perfect. And very often the main organ in the human body, the heart, cannot cope with the load placed on it. As a result: hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart attack. Everyone knows the names of these diseases, and it is known that all of them can lead to the most terrible outcome. It can start as simple as a rapid heartbeat.

By detecting the disease at the initial stage, you can stop its development, preventing complications. How can you independently recognize diseases of the cardiovascular system?

Treatment Options

A person whose heart hurts after inhaling should consult a therapist, cardiologist, surgeon or pulmonologist. Finding the root cause will allow you to quickly relieve the painful condition and get rid of the disease.

According to medical recommendations, you should contact a cardiologist if the frequency of attacks is more than once a month.

The sudden onset of heart pain when breathing is often eliminated after the following steps:

• Take a sedative (drops, tablets, tincture), for example, Corvalol. The condition should improve in 5-15 minutes.
• Hold the breath. If the attack is eliminated, then its origin is associated with neuralgia or muscle inflammation.

Conditions requiring consultation with a doctor:

1. the attack lasts more than 30 minutes and the pain intensifies;
2. the symptom manifests itself not only when awake, but also at night;
3. improvement is observed after taking drugs based on nitroglycerin;
4. associated disorders are observed - blue discoloration of the epidermis, dizziness, impaired consciousness, increased sweating.

Attentive attitude to your body and timely treatment of emerging disorders will help you maintain health for many years. Unpleasant sensations in the cardiac region when breathing are often treated with rest, and if necessary, medical help should not be neglected.

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You can’t control your heart: doctors explained what chest pain may indicate

Among fatalities in our country, cardiovascular diseases have long held first place. And in terms of mortality from acute myocardial infarction, Russia occupies one of the leading places in the world. Heart problems have a lot of warning signs and early symptoms, many of which can be easily confused with signs of other diseases.

Which ones? We tried to figure it out.

It's pounding and is about to jump out

A strong heartbeat manifests itself as a feeling of disruption in the functioning of the heart; it seems that the heart is almost “jumping out” of the chest or freezing. Attacks may be accompanied by weakness, discomfort in the heart, and fainting.

Such symptoms may indicate tachycardia, angina, or heart failure.

If you have at least one of these symptoms, it is important to immediately consult a doctor and undergo tests to determine an accurate diagnosis.

Exception. Palpitations can occur during intense physical activity, as a result of a person's emotional arousal, or due to overeating.

Burns in my chest

A burning sensation in the chest may be a symptom of developing heart failure. In this case, a cough, severe shortness of breath, a blue tint to the lips and ears, wheezing, a cough with blood, and a feeling of lack of air may appear.

If you do not provide timely assistance to the patient, the risk of cardiac arrest increases, which can lead to death.

Exception. The cause of burning may be diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Most often, discomfort occurs during and after eating and is accompanied by attacks of nausea. This is due to an increase in acidity levels, which contributes to chest heaviness. Consult a doctor, because we may be talking about gastritis or an ulcer, as well as a hernia in the diaphragm. Also often the cause of a burning sensation in the chest area on the left side is diseases of the spine - osteochondrosis or displaced discs.

Chest pain

Severe, prolonged pain in the chest, radiating to the left arm, neck and back, is characteristic of a developing myocardial infarction. Chest pain during myocardial infarction can be extremely severe, including loss of consciousness.

Stitching pain is accompanied by a feeling of fear of death, panic, psychomotor agitation, pallor or redness of the face, instability of blood pressure and pulse, and sweating.

Exception. Often such heart pain is confused with intercostal neuralgia - a syndrome that appears when the intercostal nerves become inflamed. Some symptoms will help distinguish heart pain from intercostal neuralgia. Firstly, if pain in the chest does not go away within 20–30 minutes, but, on the contrary, intensifies and does not subside from taking medications (nitroglycerin, for example), this may indicate an impending heart attack. You need to call an ambulance as soon as possible.

Secondly, heart disease can cause digestive system upset. If gastrointestinal pathologies have not been treated in any way for a long time, it is worth visiting a cardiologist for consultation. Shortness of breath should also be an alarm signal: it usually goes away at rest. If shortness of breath against the background of pain in the sternum does not go away even with rest, but increases, again, you must urgently call an ambulance.

It hits the jaw

Compressive pain or burning in the lower jaw, especially occurring in stressful situations, should alert you. Under load, the heart works faster, and, accordingly, it needs more blood and oxygen. If there are atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries, narrowing their lumen by 50% or more, myocardial ischemia develops - a pathological condition consisting of a lack of oxygen to the heart.

You can understand that toothache is caused by heart problems by looking at some signs. Pain in the lower jaw, and sometimes in the teeth, is diffuse in nature - it is impossible to determine the location of pain in a particular tooth; the entire jaw hurts. Such manifestations are clearly related to physical or emotional stress. The pain syndrome goes away either at rest, when blood pressure stabilizes, or after taking drugs that quickly cause dilatation of the coronary arteries of the myocardium.

Exception. In most cases, this may be ordinary caries or pulpitis.

Pain when moving

One of the warning signs is unexpected pain during physical activity - when you accelerate your pace or walk uphill, a feeling of squeezing or burning appears behind the sternum, possibly radiating to the neck or left arm. This is often accompanied by swelling, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, and rapid pulse. This may be a characteristic sign of angina.

If suddenly, after lifting a heavy suitcase, you experience something similar, urgently rush to the cardiologist. After all, IHD can lead to myocardial infarction at any time.

It hits the back of the head

Chest pain radiating to the back of the head, back, or groin area may be a symptom of an aortic aneurysm or dissection.

This disease is dangerous because it can occur without symptoms. They appear when an enlarged vessel begins to compress neighboring organs. For example, if the aortic wall expands in its thoracic and abdominal sections, severe chest pain, shortness of breath, hoarseness, hemoptysis, and dry cough appear. The main danger of an aneurysm is that it can rupture. Often this ends in death.

...Of course, there is no need to panic in advance. But there is no need to ignore unpleasant symptoms either. Indeed, in the case of heart disease, the sooner you see a doctor and undergo the necessary tests, the greater the chance of a cure.

How to Determine the Source of Symptoms

Chest pain varies in nature, location, duration, and radiates to different parts of the body. Tachycardia is distinguished from sensations of interruptions in the heart that occur with arrhythmias. Let's see how these symptoms manifest themselves in various diseases.

Most often, heart pain indicates angina pectoris. The character is aching and oppressive, attacks occur quickly, last from two to twenty minutes and disappear just as suddenly. They are provoked by physical exertion and emotional stress. In case of a heart attack, it is more acute, stabbing and lasts longer than 40 minutes, causing suffocation and fear of death.

Endocarditis and other inflammatory diseases are also characterized by rapid pulse and acute pain. Accompanied by fever, trembling and general weakness. With arterial hypertension, there are sensations of squeezing, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, and headache. Valve defects are manifested by the following symptoms of heart failure: fatigue, shortness of breath, cyanosis, tachycardia and chest pain. When an aortic aneurysm dissects, a sharp, acute pain occurs, which often leads to loss of consciousness. The skin becomes pale and covered with sweat.

With arrhythmias, there is a feeling of an irregular heartbeat, the heart rate either increases or decreases. At moments, the heart seems to freeze, or, on the contrary, it seems that it is ready to burst out of the chest.

Heart pain and tachycardia also occur due to extracardiac pathologies. In diseases of the spine, the pain is usually acute and intensifies during movement and breathing, which resembles angina pectoris. However, it is not relieved by taking Nitroglycerin. Respiratory diseases are accompanied by a productive cough, shortness of breath, and fever. Peptic ulcer or reflux esophagitis - nausea, vomiting, heartburn, attacks usually develop after eating spicy and fatty foods. With myositis and neuralgia, the pain is sharp and intensifies with deep breathing and bending to the healthy side.

Pathologies in which the heart beats strongly

If there are no physiological reasons, but the heart is pounding, you need to look for pathology. Conditions in which symptoms are observed:

• pathologies of the cardiovascular system: infection, heart disease; arrhythmia, cardiosclerosis, hypertension, heart failure, pericarditis;
• endocrine diseases: diffuse toxic goiter, hyperthyroidism;
• cardiopsychoneurosis;
• anemia;
• menopausal syndrome;
• neurosis.

When the heart is beating strongly and a person experiences chest pain and fear of death, you should immediately call an ambulance. This could be an attack of angina. It is quickly relieved with nitroglycerin, but the patient requires examination and medical supervision.

Respiratory diseases

Pain when breathing in the heart area accompanies pulmonary pathologies in all forms. The cause is a painful pleura. Pain receptors from it transmit impulses to the intercostal nerves. Painful sensations are localized in a certain part of the chest.

Discomfort can be caused by inflammation of the bronchi - the fibers of their nerves and trachea are located in the area of ​​the vagus nerve.

Small vessels and the lining of the lungs give pain only when inflammation or neoplasms touch the pleura and affect the large bronchi. The greatest pain is achieved when the lungs are destroyed.

Diseases that manifest themselves as a symptom of pain in the heart area when inhaling:

• pneumonia;
• abscess;
• neoplasms;
• pleurisy.

In bronchopulmonary pathologies, pain is accompanied by wheezing and pleural friction.

Pneumonia has the following symptoms:

• shortness of breath of varying severity;
• high temperature 39.5 degrees Celsius;
• rave;
• high breathing and heart rate;
• cyanosis;

When over 60 years of age and complicated by other diseases, a particularly serious condition is observed.

The cause of pain when breathing can be inflammation of the membrane lining of the chest cavity, pleurisy. The reason leading to inflammation is:

• pneumonia;
• chest injuries;
• neoplasms of various nature.

Pleurisy happens:

• primary, caused by pleural rupture;
• secondary, caused by pneumonia.

Symptoms:

• pain is worse when breathing;
• discomfort is less when a person lies on the sore side;
• shallow breathing due to fear of pain;
• weakness, sweat and chills at night;
• The noise of the pleura differs when listening.

When the pleura is affected, the painful sensations are described by patients as stabbing, activated by coughing and breathing - the same as with myositis and injuries to the intercostal muscles.

Pneumothorax causes severe pain.

Severe pain in the heart area when inhaling is observed in the first stages of bronchogenic lung cancer. When cancer develops at the apex of the lung, the pain quickly affects the nerves of the brachial plexus and radiates strongly into the arm. The patient has a narrowing of the pupil on the side of the tumor localization.

Diagnostics

If you have increased heartbeat, you should consult a therapist. He will refer you for an examination, with the results of which the patient will go to a specialist: a cardiologist, endocrinologist or neurologist. The list of diagnostic measures if the heart is beating strongly includes:

• general blood analysis;
• ECG;
• blood test for thyroid hormones;
• Ultrasound of the heart (EchoCG);
• daily monitoring of pulse and heart activity according to Holter;
• Ultrasound of the thyroid gland.

If the disease cannot be detected by laboratory and instrumental methods, a consultation with a psychiatrist may be required.

Read also: Heartache

Reasons for violations

The heart rate changes in people suffering from thoracic osteochondrosis. In this case, diseases of the cardiovascular system may not be detected.

Factors influencing the frequency of contraction of the heart muscle:

• heart disease;
• hormonal disorders, pathologies of the endocrine glands;
• kidney disease;
• abuse of caffeine, alcohol, nicotine;
• side effects of medications;
• degenerative processes in the spine.

Why is tachycardia accompanied by pain?

Pain in the head, chest and specifically in the heart against a background of rapid heartbeat has cardiac and non-cardiac causes. The attacks last from a few minutes to 3 or more days. Pathology is detected after physical work or at rest. A feeling of burning and pressure may indicate serious illnesses, so the problem should not be left unattended.

From the side of the heart

Chest pain during tachycardia often occurs due to oxygen starvation and impaired tissue nutrition in general, resulting from poor filling of a rapidly beating heart. In addition, pain and increased heart rate accompany the following diseases:

• angina pectoris;
• heart attack;
• inflammatory processes;
• failure of metabolic processes in the heart muscle;
• hypertension;
• ischemia;
• rheumatic heart disease

From other organs and systems

Often, with tachycardia, pain occurs that is not related to the work of the heart, but radiates into the chest. In this case, a thorough examination is required to make a diagnosis. Pain syndrome is provoked by the following diseases:

• osteochondrosis;
• pleurisy;
• stomach spasm;
• pathologies of the pancreas and gall bladder;
• myositis;
• VSD.