Can a cough stop a sudden heart attack?

Symptoms of cardiac cough

Cough is a complex mechanism for clearing mucus from the lungs. The concept of “cardiac cough” does not exist in official medicine. This is the name for an attack caused by heart failure. It does not benefit the body: it does not cleanse the lungs or heart of harmful bacteria or phlegm, but only causes discomfort to the person and indicates the development of the disease.

Signs of cardiac cough include the following features and factors:

1. The main sign of a cardiac cough is its dryness and lack of secretion from the lungs. The patient can only observe the released blood spots.
2. During an attack, the patient's face turns blue and the skin around the lips turns white. A similar phenomenon can also be observed on the tips of the fingers, which indicates pathologies of the vascular system.
3. A severe attack is accompanied by shortness of breath and lack of air in the lungs, causing the patient to suffocate. Shortness of breath can also occur with minor physical exertion.
4. The attack intensifies, begins with tension, and it can be static, or as a result of a nervous shock.
5. The cough is accompanied by arrhythmia, rapid pulse, chest pain, and often a burning sensation.
6. Due to lack of oxygen, the patient experiences weakness and dizziness, suffers from pain in the head and darkening of the eyes. With a prolonged attack, loss of consciousness is possible.
7. In an adult patient, swelling of the veins in the neck or forehead can be observed.
8. In a lying position, more blood flows to the heart, so the risk of an attack increases. Often such patients begin to sleep on a high pillow or even in a sitting position.

The main sign of the development of cardiac cough is also swelling of the extremities, which can be observed immediately after waking up. But gradually the disease progresses, and the swelling does not go away throughout the day.

Reasons for appearance

In most cases, cough occurs with the development of heart failure, which occurs due to the following reasons:

• the presence of arterial hypertension - in this case it means an increase in blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg. Art. in chronic form;
• development of myocarditis - this disease appears in the form of inflammation of the heart muscle;
• left ventricular hypertrophy – characterizes an increase in the weight of the heart due to thickening of the walls;
• deformation of the walls of the ventricles of the heart;
• heart valve insufficiency;
• valve stenosis is a dangerous disease that appears in the form of narrowing of the aorta and aortic valve (this leads to impaired blood supply and lack of blood to the organ);
• amyloidosis of the heart - protein accumulation occurs in the tissues of the organ as a result of impaired metabolism;
• cardiomyopathy – changes in the structure and thickness of the heart muscle;
• taking medications whose action is aimed at lowering blood pressure - this is observed with hypertension.

Etiology

Before starting therapy for the manifestation, the patient and the doctor need to understand what a cardiac cough is and how it manifests itself. This phenomenon often appears precisely from left ventricular failure. The following pathologies can provoke such a disorder:

• heart failure;
• heart diseases in children;
• ischemic disease;
• valve disease;
• arrhythmia;
• myocarditis;
• cardiomyopathy;
• myocardial infarction;
• aortic damage.

The reasons for the development of the disease also lie in problems with the endocrine and respiratory systems, from frequent consumption of alcoholic beverages, nicotine, in complicated forms of anemia, the use of medications to eliminate cardiac pathologies, as well as from stress. Cardiac cough in children manifests itself from strong pressure in the pulmonary artery and congenital anomaly of the heart.

Since the disease develops from heart failure, it is necessary to further determine what caused the development of such a pathology. Clinicians argue that specific disorders could provoke the appearance of such a negative process:

• decreased contractile function of the left ventricle;
• increased pressure in the lungs;
• venous congestion in the pulmonary and systemic circulation;
• accumulation of fluid in the lungs.

This symptom does not develop in all people who have heart problems. This is a so-called complication of the disease. And in the initial stages of cardiac pathology, the patient may have severe shortness of breath and a mild cough.

Diagnostics

Elimination of problems is possible only after a thorough diagnosis, where the patient will have to undergo the following examination:

1. Examination by a doctor - first, the patient needs to go to a therapist so that he can rule out a cold cough and assume ischemic lesions. Subsequently, the patient is sent to a cardiologist, who monitors the nature of the attack for a short time.
2. General blood test – helps to obtain data on the patient’s health status.
3. Biochemical blood test - can determine the condition of the heart, its function and areas of tissue damage based on detected deviations from the norm in indicators.
4. Urinalysis - determines kidney pathologies, which often provokes hypertension.
5. ECG - determines the nature of the failure by the number of deviations in the heart rate.
6. EchoCG - can determine the structure of the organ and identify existing pathologies.
7. Echocardiography through the esophagus - helps determine the presence of blood clots in the heart; the study gives better and more detailed results than standard echocardiography.
8. Coronary angiography determines the development of atherosclerosis. The disease is a deposition of excess cholesterol in the vessels of the coronary artery, which occurs due to a violation of lipid metabolism.
9. X-ray – it can be used to detect blood stagnation in an organ.

The presented tests are completed in full, provided that the doctor cannot determine the cause of the cardiac cough. If a pathology is detected, the subsequent examination will include only part of the presented list.

Diagnostic measures

At the initial visit to a medical institution, a doctor examines the patient and systematizes the complaints coming from the patient. To clarify the diagnosis, they resort to prescribing additional diagnostic procedures.

They may be:

1. 
   

   X-ray of the lungs. Allows you to determine the presence of stagnant processes.
2. an ECG is the most informative type of study, as it allows you to analyze the state of the heart rhythm and identify its disturbance.
3. EchoCG . It involves an examination using ultrasound and provides complete information about the cause of heart failure.
4. Coronary angiography is used to clarify the diagnosis of atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary vessels.
5. Computed tomography and MRI allow a detailed study of the functional state of the myocardium.

Differences between a heart cough and a cold cough

For your own peace of mind, it is recommended to study the question of how to distinguish a cardiac cough from a regular one. This is necessary for timely consultation with a doctor.

The differences are presented in the table:

You should determine the cause of the attacks yourself. Otherwise, incorrect self-medication occurs, which is strictly prohibited. Patients take cold medicines for heart cough, which harms the body.

Treatment of illness with folk remedies

Cough due to heart disease can be successfully treated with medications . But, besides them, you can also use folk remedies.

Before use, you need to consult with a specialist and agree on the method of treatment. Traditional medicine recipes have a gentler effect on the heart and blood vessels, normalizing their functioning naturally.

This is a way to treat cardiac cough at home, but for a positive effect, folk remedies must be used regularly for a long time. In addition, factors that provoke the development of the disease should be completely excluded.

The most effective recipes for cardiac cough in adults:

1. An effective remedy for treating cardiac cough is honey . Using it you can prepare a honey-lemon elixir with garlic. To prepare the recipe you will need 10 large lemons, a kilogram of natural linden honey, 10 large heads of garlic. Citrus fruits should be poured with boiling water and allowed to cool for 15 minutes. Then squeeze the juice out of them and add honey and chopped garlic to it. Mix all ingredients well, pour into a glass container and place in a cool, dark room for 10 days. Take this medicine 1 teaspoon before meals 4 times a day. Treatment lasts at least 3 months until the disease disappears completely. Taking such a remedy at an early stage of development can completely cure arrhythmia and other similar problems.
2. Dill infusion . You will need a glass of seeds of this raw material, 2 tablespoons of grated valerian root, 2 glasses of natural liquid honey. Dill seeds should be ground and valerian shavings, honey and a liter of boiling water should be added. Mix all ingredients well and leave for 4 days. Drink 1 tablespoon in the morning, at lunch and in the evening before eating. The minimum course of treatment is 2 months, but if arrhythmia is present, it will take several years for complete recovery.
3. Collection of herbs . To prepare, you should take 50 grams of motherwort herb, 50 grams of goose paw and the same amount of lemon balm leaves. Everything needs to be mixed thoroughly, pour 200 milliliters of boiling water and leave for 30 minutes.
4. An infusion of a five-component herbal collection . It contains caraway seeds, nettle leaves, knotweed herb, horsetail herb, and vesicular fucus leaves. The ingredients are taken in 50 grams. They need to be mixed well, separate 2 tablespoons and pour 700 milliliters of boiling water. Then leave the medicine for a quarter of an hour and strain through gauze. Take the prepared infusion in the morning, at lunch and in the evening a quarter of an hour before meals.
5. An excellent remedy to get rid of a heart cough is an infusion of hawthorn, yarrow, lemon balm, broom and valerian root . All ingredients must be taken in a volume of 50 grams, crushed and mixed thoroughly. After this, separate a tablespoon of the mixture and pour a glass of boiling water, leave for half an hour and drink three times throughout the day.
6. A good result will be obtained from a collection of the following plants: motherwort grass, hawthorn inflorescences, hawthorn fruits, lovage grass, valerian root, lemon balm leaves, rose hips, nettle leaves, mistletoe grass . The ingredients are taken in equal proportions, 50 grams each. You need to mix everything well, separate a tablespoon and pour a glass of boiling water. Leave this remedy for at least 3 hours under a closed lid and drink 1 glass in the morning, at lunch and in the evening before meals.
7. A simple way to strengthen the immune system and heart muscle is to consume 3 cloves of garlic daily .

Disease prevention

Prevention is recommended not only for patients with heart pathology, but also for young people who have not yet thought about such problems. Recommendations include:

1. Proper nutrition - the basics are presented above. Additionally, there are recommendations for introducing large quantities of dairy products and lean meat into the diet. It is recommended to bake or steam during cooking.
2. Rejection of bad habits.
3. Take care of your emotional state - it is recommended to refrain from stress and nervous breakdowns.
4. Daily walks in the fresh air. It is recommended to abandon personal automobile transport in favor of walking to bus stops or the metro.
5. Compliance with the regime is enough to go to bed on time (no later than 22:00-23:00 hours) and not skip meals.

The symptoms and treatment of cardiac cough in adults were examined in detail, which allows you to timely determine the prerequisites for the development of pathology. You cannot self-medicate; it is better to undergo an examination and determine the cause of the attacks.