Heart failure: symptoms, treatment, causes

How to strengthen your heart

When the heart works normally, we do not think about this most important organ of our body and do not ask the question: how to strengthen the heart and cardiac muscle.
Meanwhile, this is a very important question and everyone needs to know how to strengthen the heart muscle. When you feel well, the heart muscle works unnoticed. But if signs such as pain in the chest area radiating to the left arm, shortness of breath even at rest, rapid heartbeat, increased fatigue, and fever appear, you should think about inflammation of the heart muscle, which needs emergency help. Chest pain is especially dangerous at rest or after minor exertion.

Not easy to recognize

Recognizing the symptoms of heart failure is not easy. Why? They manifest themselves as simple malaise, fatigue or any other problem. The first signs of cardiac fatigue:

• Fast fatiguability
• Weakness
• Weight gain

When the disease has already made itself known enough, symptoms characteristic of heart failure appear:

• Upper abdominal pain or feeling of fullness
• Edema
• Dyspnea
• Blueness of the nasolabial triangle
• Blueness of nails

At the first signs, it is enough to change your lifestyle, give up the bad habits of alcohol and smoking, and the disease can be stopped.

Risk factors for heart disease

The main causes of cardiac diseases are:

• heart defects
• genetic disorders
• hypertension
• kidney pathology

The development of acute myocardial infarction and the risk of sudden death increases with age. This problem especially concerns men over 40 years of age. In men who have crossed the age of 40, changes in fat and carbohydrate metabolism are possible, i.e. the occurrence of diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus in combination with atherosclerosis negatively affects the condition of the vascular wall from the inside.

Increased body weight with elevated cholesterol levels in the blood (above 5.0 mmol/l) affects the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques that settle on the inner wall of the arteries.

Arterial hypertension (high blood pressure) is the culprit of increased vascular tone. This condition leads to disruption of the blood supply to internal organs, which affects the regular hard work of the heart.

Alcohol and smoking negatively affect the condition of the inner lining of blood vessels.

Symptoms

Symptoms indicating the development of problems with the heart and blood vessels in some cases can be confused with signs of the development of another disease.

In order to prevent the development of complications and diagnose pathology in a timely manner, if specific symptoms appear, it is recommended to visit a cardiologist.

Symptoms indicating heart problems include:

1. A cough
   can be a symptom of a cold, but if the patient uses expectorants that do not help, this may indicate a heart problem. Especially if it is a dry cough that bothers the patient while lying down.
2. General weakness and
   - another sign of problems with the heart and blood vessels, more precisely, the development of anemia, the spasmodic nature of damage to the heart and blood vessels, malfunction of the aortic valves.
3. Nervous system disorders
   - sleep problems and tremors of the arms and legs, absent-mindedness and increased nervousness may indicate the development of neurosis of the heart muscle.
4. Increased body temperature
   , fever, which indicate the development of myocardial infarction.
5. High or low blood pressure
   , rapid or too weak heartbeat are signs characteristic of hypo or hypertension, ischemia, tachycardia.
6. Swelling that manifests itself in the evening
   may indicate problems with the kidneys, as well as problems and malfunctions of the heart muscle.
7. Dizziness and motion sickness when driving in a car
   are most likely signs of a stroke and problems with the vestibular apparatus and optic nerve.
8. Shortness of breath
   is a sign that indicates the development of heart problems such as angina and heart failure.
9. Nausea and vomiting
   may be signs of the development of gastritis or ulcers, but due to the fact that the heart, its lower part, is located close to the stomach, such symptoms can be quite deceptive.
10. Pain in the sternum
    - dull or spasmodic, a burning sensation and squeezing are the most characteristic signs of problems with the heart muscle.

Causes of weakening of the heart muscle

The development of weakness of the heart muscle is influenced by:

• poor nutrition of heart cells;
• stress;
• smoking;
• excess salt, sugar, alcohol in the diet;
• blood thickening due to the small amount of water entering the body;
• allergic reactions;
• tonsillitis, tonsillitis, toxoplasmosis, influenza, scarlet fever;
• sedentary lifestyle.

Strengthening the heart muscle with drugs

There are now a large number of medications that help restore metabolism in weakened heart cells. They help fill the body with all kinds of vitamins to strengthen the heart.

It is important to nourish the body with vitamins during the winter season. It is during this period of time that a person especially lacks vitamins in the body. The risk of problems with the heart muscle increases noticeably.

The following strengthening drugs can be mentioned: Riboxin, Panangin, Cocarboxylase. Despite the fact that they do not meet modern criteria for effectiveness, nevertheless, with long-term use of drugs, patients experience a positive change and strengthening of the heart.

Medicines can significantly strengthen the heart muscle. The main thing is that specialists select the right balance.

But how can you strengthen your heart muscle? Due to a complex of vitamins that would support heart function. Strengthening vitamins include rutin, ascorbic acid, and pridoxine.

Preventive measures

To strengthen the heart muscle and maintain a healthy heart, it is enough to regularly follow simple rules.

Rational nutrition, a healthy lifestyle, and feasible physical activity are of great importance for strengthening the heart muscle.

Quitting bad habits is very important for people trying to reduce their risk of developing heart disease. Drinking alcohol and smoking cause tachycardia (rapid heartbeat). A person who regularly drinks alcohol and inhales nicotine condemns his heart to an increased need for oxygen. Oxygen is delivered to the heart through the coronary arteries, but if, due to atherosclerosis or diabetes mellitus, the arteries are changed (the lumens are narrowed due to cholesterol plaques), the supply of oxygen is hampered due to poor circulation. This situation leads to myocardial ischemia, and subsequently to acute infarction.

Frequent exposure to stressful situations leads to weakening of the heart muscle . Constant stress negatively affects the functioning of the adrenal glands, heart and blood vessels. This happens due to the release of adrenaline and cortisol into the blood, which increases the heart rate and leads to tachycardia, and then to arrhythmia.

Against the background of these diseases, there is a high risk of diabetes mellitus.

It is very important to be able to maintain peace of mind , not succumb to provocative attacks, and avoid stressful situations. If you can’t do this on your own, you need to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist.

Another important factor influencing the strengthening of the heart is adequate sleep . During quiet deep sleep, the heart requires less oxygen and experiences less stress, i.e. During sleep, not only you, but also your heart rests. Eight hours of sleep should become a law for people who care about their health. Sleeping less than 8 hours a night has a negative impact on your health over time.

Proper nutrition is not diets that sometimes lead to severe starvation and end with uncontrolled consumption of foods.

Proper balanced nutrition is the inclusion of healthy foods in the diet, but the exclusion of “harmful” foods.
Regular eating is also important, at least 4 times a day. Dinner should be no later than seven o'clock in the evening. If you want to eat before going to bed, drink a glass of milk or kefir, eat a couple of spoons of sour cream or cottage cheese. This will help relieve hunger and sleep peacefully.

Heart failure first signs. What to do?

People are getting older, diseases are getting younger... Previously, it was believed that heart failure was the lot of the older generation, but as life shows, this disease does not disdain young people.

Along the same path as arterial hypertension, myocardial exhaustion, ischemia and myocarditis, there is heart failure or, as it is also called, cardiac fatigue. The heart muscle loses its ability to function at full capacity and uninterruptedly pump the required volume of blood.

“Heart failure is a complex of disorders caused mainly by a decrease in the contractility of the heart muscle.” Wikipedia

In women, the heart muscle is not able to relax because it is under constant tension. People say: “The heart turns to stone.” In men, on the contrary, with each beat the heart pumps blood worse.

Not easy to recognize

Recognizing the symptoms of heart failure is not easy. Why? They manifest themselves as simple malaise, fatigue or any other problem. The first signs of cardiac fatigue:

• Fast fatiguability
• Weakness
• Weight gain

When the disease has already made itself known enough, symptoms characteristic of heart failure appear:

• Upper abdominal pain or feeling of fullness
• Edema
• Dyspnea
• Blueness of the nasolabial triangle
• Blueness of nails

At the first signs, it is enough to change your lifestyle, give up the bad habits of alcohol and smoking, and the disease can be stopped.

Most common reasons

Heart failure most often occurs with pathologies of the heart and blood vessels, such as:

• Cardiac ischemia
• Hypertension
• Valve abnormalities
• Inflammation of the heart muscle
• Cardiosclerosis
• Heart attack leading to myocardial infarction
• Damage to muscle fibers by infections caused by trypanosomes
• Diabetes

The functioning of the heart can be undermined by drinking and smoking.

Emergency help or how to react?

Treatment of heart failure in the early stages requires the correct balance between physical activity, rest, nutrition and bed rest. How to react if...

Fatigue and weakness

When a person experiences weakness and fatigue, most likely the body does not have enough oxygen.

What to do?

1. Spend more time outdoors
2. Go out into nature
3. Ventilate the room more often
4. Don’t overwork yourself, give yourself extra rest during the day

Dyspnea

During physical exertion, breathing intensifies and becomes more frequent, it is difficult even to climb stairs - this is shortness of breath.

What to do?

Stop doing what caused shortness of breath. Until your breathing returns to normal, do nothing, rest. Sometimes it happens that shortness of breath can occur even at rest. In this case, you need to lie down, making the head of the bed higher. If shortness of breath begins after sleep, then you need to sit down, dangle your legs, move your feet and wiggle your fingers. You can walk around the room.

Edema

Swelling of the ankles is characteristic of heart failure. Especially in the late afternoon. They usually go away by morning. But if the disease is advanced, swelling persists constantly.

Frequent, irregular heartbeat

Do not panic if your pulse is weak or irregular. But what to do?

Take a deep breath, hold your breath and exhale slowly. Continue breathing like this until your breathing is restored.

It’s better to call an ambulance, but breathe while it’s driving. The main thing is to calm down and not be nervous. If your heart is fluttering and breathing does not help, you can press on the eyeballs, but first close your eyes.

Weight gain

With heart failure, quite often, body weight increases. Why is this happening? The reason for weight gain is fluid retention in the body.

What to do?

Eat as little salt as possible, as it can retain liquid. Under no circumstances should you consume more than 1-1.5 teaspoons of salt.

Fear of death

Usually heart failure develops gradually, but... it happens over hours and even minutes...

A “special” case appears:

• A hacking cough
• With bubbling breath
• Foamy sputum
• Increased heart rate
• Wet and cold skin
• Pressure drop

This often happens in a dream. A person wakes up from suffocation in a cold sweat and a panicky fear of death.

In this case, you should urgently call an ambulance, and provide first aid until the doctor arrives.

First aid

In case of acute heart failure, before the ambulance arrives, you should:

1. Provide fresh air flow
2. Place the victim in a semi-sitting position
3. Give ammonia a whiff
4. Spray cool water on the victim's face and neck
5. Give the victim nitroglycerin (under the tongue), or validol, or corvalol (40 drops per 100 ml of water).

Foods that are bad for heart health

For many years it was believed that all foods were good for health. The main thing is not to feel hungry. People didn't think much about what they ate. Tasty, satisfying, aromatic - that means it’s healthy. But it turned out that this was not entirely true. And now only babies do not understand (but do not consume!) that fatty meats, salted foods, smoked foods, fried foods, fried lard, sausages and frankfurters, canned food of any kind, sweet carbonated drinks, many confectionery products have moved from the category of food to the camp "harmful products".

People who care about their health have stopped eating junk food. It takes a couple of months for the body to wean itself off these products, and when looking at them even a feeling of hostility arises.

Instead of the listed products, include lean meat and fish, dairy and fermented milk products, cottage cheese, eggs, grains and cereal products, vegetables and fruits in your diet. Limit your salt and sugar intake.

Treatment

If muscle weakness is caused by overwork, it is enough to rest your limbs after strength training or a long walk (especially in uncomfortable shoes). In other cases, appropriate therapy may be prescribed:

• muscle development through special exercises;
• medications to improve brain activity and blood circulation;
• drugs that remove toxins from the body;
• antibacterial agents for infections in the spinal cord or brain;
• increasing neuromuscular activity through special medications;
• elimination of the consequences of poisoning;
• surgical intervention aimed at removing tumors, ulcers and hematomas.

The most beneficial foods for the heart

Nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, have a beneficial effect on strengthening the heart muscle.

Pomegranate, apples, grapefruit, rose hips, currants, raspberries, cherries, cherries, strawberries, containing potassium, magnesium, iron, are very useful and important for normal cardiac activity.

Avocado, pumpkin seeds, onions, garlic and broccoli contain important microelements that help normalize vascular tone and help proper contraction of muscle tissue cells.

Cereals : oatmeal, buckwheat, wheat, rice, wholemeal bread - this is a real storehouse of very valuable B vitamins that the body needs. These vitamins are necessary for the normal functioning of the body, including the heart.

Fish : cod, tuna, sardine, lean veal, turkey contain protein and B vitamins. Fish is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, important for the absorption of “good cholesterol” and the removal of “bad” cholesterol.

Strengthening the heart and cardiac muscle independently

A poor environmental situation, an unbalanced diet, periodic stress and bad habits are the main factors that worsen the condition of our body.
But the cardiovascular system is one of the first to give up its protective barriers.

How can we help arm our hearts in the fight against the negative consequences of environmental activities? Is it even possible to strengthen the heart muscle at home or will you still have to contact a specialist?

Why does my heart hurt?

Scientific studies conducted on centenarians from various countries have proven that the heart muscle has a safety margin of no less than 120 years! That is, in fact, we use our blood supply pump to only half of the potential that was originally programmed. Is there a chance to correct this trend, at least in a specific case? Undoubtedly!

Any muscle in our body needs strengthening, and the heart is no exception to the rule.

Moreover: unlike other systems, the temporary shutdown of which a person can survive, without the activity of the circulatory system, provided by the continuous work of the heart, our body dies immediately.

A person simply cannot live without his little “engine”. Therefore, it is extremely important to pay special attention to the work of the heart muscle.

In our everyday life, we are only aware, but we hardly physically feel the beating of our heart. However, when painful sensations arise in the heart area, panic immediately creeps into our mind, and for good reason. Heart problems can be either separate diseases or indicate symptoms or consequences of other diseases.

How to determine if you have heart problems

How can we determine that our heart is “screaming” to us about our poor health? Check yourself for the following signs, especially if you haven’t noticed them before:

• the occurrence of acute pain in the heart area,
• difficulty breathing,
• rapid pulse,
• dizziness.

how to determine if you have heart problems

There can be several causes of heart pain:

• insufficient levels of nutrients in cells,
• periodic stress,
• bad habits,
• excessive passion for sunbathing,
• lack of potassium in the body,
• insufficient amount of water consumed per day,
• allergy,
• diseases of an infectious or viral nature,
• lack of moderate physical activity,
• use of certain medications.

If you find yourself with at least a couple of the listed points, try, without procrastination, to take care of your blood supply engine.

How to strengthen the heart muscle on your own?

Remember the saying “you can’t pull a fish out of the pond without effort”? It fully reflects the essence of methods for strengthening the heart muscle at home. So, pull yourself together and take action, because your life is on the line, literally, and that makes the effort worth it.

• Medicinal way to strengthen the heart

There are a number of drugs that are quite effective in combating heart problems:

• Directs
  (contains B vitamins and rose hips) normalizes blood flow,
• Vitrum Cardio
  (vitamin complex with microelements) prevents acute attacks of heart disease,
• Hawthorn forte
  (rose hips, magnesium and potassium) soothes and lowers blood pressure,
• Riboxin
  (inosine) increases nutrient absorption,
• Ascorutin
  (ascorbic acid and rutin) strengthens the walls of blood vessels and accelerates tissue repair.

Be careful! Although we talk about medications in the article “how to strengthen the heart muscle at home,” this does not mean that you can go to the pharmacy right now and buy them. Any prescription of medications should be made only by a doctor.

There is no need to buy something after consulting only with relatives or friends. The phrase “I know one medicine.

It helped me, and it will help you” here can cause harm, because we are talking not just about an organ, but about the heart, and it may not give a second chance.

Yes, these same notorious moderate physical activities will not only bring good sleep and a toned figure into your life, but can also strengthen the heart muscle. The tips are simple but effective:

• Walk more
  . This could be the ever-popular race walking, walks in the woods or park, walking to and from work, and avoid using the elevator.
• Run
  . This already means a real run of a kilometer or more.
• Swim
  . This method trains the heart muscle better than all other physical activities.
• Do exercises
  . Select 3-4 simple exercises and perform them regularly, without sudden movements or heavy load.

Moderation, not fanaticism, is the secret to success in preventing heart disease. Do not expect that intensity will reduce the time of physical activity. Positive results are achieved through duration, not enthusiasm.

Physical exercise and proper diet are the basis of measures to strengthen the heart muscle at home

We are what we eat, so try to balance your daily menu as much as possible.

For example, give up everything excessive: salty and sweet, fatty and fried, spicy and smoked.

The heart needs microelements and vitamins, which it can only get from food, so add to your diet:

• apples, raspberries, black currants, oranges, sweet fruit (sources of vitamin complexes that accelerate the absorption of nutrients),
• seaweed, cottage cheese, beets, cabbage (sources of iodine, which maintains the necessary level of cholesterol),
• watermelon, seafood, nuts, cereals (sources of magnesium),
• beans, dried fruits, bananas, zucchini (sources of potassium),
• vegetable oil,
• fish,
• honey,
• low-fat yogurt, green tea.

Still, what is better: nutrition or physical activity in strengthening the heart muscle? The answer will be very banal and simple: only in combination, by properly nourishing and moderately loading your body with physical exercise, can you slow down and even prevent the wear and tear of our motor, but it’s worth it!

Source: https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5ae00f9a581669ab8730a98e/5b335b843598dd00ad9b01cd

Physical activity

Movement is life . These words are not just a slogan, but truly a call to action. As long as a person moves, he lives. Active movement promotes active blood circulation, motor activity slows down - blood circulation slows down, and with it all functions.

But this does not mean at all that a person who has never done running or gymnastic exercises, and yesterday decided to start a healthy lifestyle, today decided to run a 2 km cross-country race. Such a decision could end very badly. You need to move on to active physical activity gradually. Start with morning exercises, walks in the fresh air, brisk walking, swimming, avoiding the elevator, and then, if you feel well, you can gradually add more difficult physical exercises.

Try to spend less time under the scorching sun on hot days, and follow the drinking regime.

Take medications containing magnesium at least twice a year: magnesiumB6, magvit and others.

Use infusions of rose hips, lemon, hawthorn, eat raisins and dried apricots.

Under ideal conditions, a person’s heart would not stop suddenly, abruptly, due to illness, long before old age. Studies of centenarians in different countries show that, of all the body organs, the heart should be one of the last to fail.

Science has proven that its safety margin can last at least 120 years.

In fact, this ingenious pump with its blood supply, nerves, and electrical potential fails before reaching half of the time programmed by nature.

How to strengthen the heart muscle in the real world, full of temptations, cheeseburgers and cakes, computer games and television series, beautiful cars? We tried to collect practical advice and present scientific findings in accessible language.

How to strengthen your heart muscle at home

The heart is one of the most important human organs, and therefore, you need to know how to strengthen the heart muscle. A person’s well-being and life expectancy depend on the performance of the heart muscle.

To prevent a person’s heart muscle from suddenly stopping working due to illness long before the end of their life, it is necessary to strengthen it.

It is necessary to think about how to strengthen the heart muscle, because its strength reserve is enough for at least one hundred and thirty years.

But how to strengthen the heart muscle in our age of fast food and computerization of life? Let's present the most practical advice on this topic.

The main “enemies” of the heart

Before we talk about how to strengthen the heart muscle, let’s look at the main opponents of proper heart function.

This is, first of all, excess weight. Constant stress and chronic diseases also damage the heart muscle.

It would seem that in order to strengthen the heart muscle, you need to follow the following simple but effective rules:

• take life’s troubles calmly to strengthen the heart muscle;
• balanced nutrition to strengthen the heart muscle;
• daily warm-up to strengthen the heart muscle;
• meditation to strengthen the heart muscle.

Symptoms of heart failure

The symptoms of a weak heart muscle are quite simple, and therefore you need to know how to strengthen it. The main symptoms are shortness of breath and swelling. At this time, the contractile functions of the heart muscle decrease.

The causes of heart failure are stress and obesity.

There are three types of heart failure: left, right ventricle and complete.

Fighting excess weight

The process of losing excess weight is directly related to how to strengthen the heart muscle. The presence of internal fat increases the risk of blood clots in the vessels of the heart muscle, and the effect of insulin decreases.

To strengthen the heart muscle, it is necessary to exclude from the diet flour products, strong coffee, too fatty meat, and semi-finished products that contain trans fats.

But how to strengthen the heart muscle through food? It's simple. You need to eat more raisins and legumes - they are rich in potassium, which helps fight arrhythmia and strengthen the heart muscle. To increase iodine in the body, you should eat more cottage cheese, cabbage and seaweed. To strengthen the heart muscles, it is necessary that the body is filled with all the necessary vitamins.

You can also strengthen it with citrus fruits and apples. You can also use the following products:

1. Olive oil is also recommended to be used in food for strengthening. It contains a lot of unsaturated fats, which will help fight cholesterol. This will prevent blockage of blood vessels. It is advisable to purchase virgin oil. You can also use flax seed oil to work the heart muscle. Sunflower oil should be excluded from the diet.
2. Dark chocolate, which is very rich in cocoa, is good for strengthening the heart muscle. Thanks to dark chocolate, the cardiovascular system improves, this will help reduce cholesterol levels in the human body. But other types of chocolate can be dangerous for the body, as they contain more calories and a lot of sugar. Excessive consumption of the same milk chocolate can lead to weight gain.
3. Pumpkin. It contains a large amount of vitamins and beta-carotene. It also acts as a prophylactic in protecting and strengthening blood vessels from atherosclerosis. Regular consumption of this vegetable will help reduce blood pressure.
4. Honey. An equally important product for strengthening the heart muscle. It can be used to treat diseases related to the functioning of the heart muscle. Honey has bactericidal properties.

Minerals for the heart

To strengthen the functioning of the heart muscle, it is necessary to have a complex of minerals in the body. Due to excess weight, the body increases the risk of overstraining the heart muscle.

It is necessary to pay attention to ensuring that the body receives essential minerals in full to strengthen the heart muscle (potassium, magnesium, iodine).

1. Potassium. The water balance in the human body depends on this mineral. Thanks to it, swelling is reduced and toxins are removed from the body. You need to replenish your body with potassium every day. The peculiarity of this microelement is that if in the fall it is present in excess in human food, then in the spring it is catastrophically low. To replenish the amount of potassium in the body, you need to eat more fruits, berries, vegetables, cereals and rye bread to strengthen the heart muscle.
2. Magnesium. Perhaps the most important microelement for strengthening the heart muscle. Magnesium helps normalize blood pressure. A good source of magnesium is water. Therefore, it is important that a person drinks at least two liters of clean water every day. In urban areas it is very difficult to find truly clean water. Many people purchase special filters for water purification, purchase water in coolers, and specially go to sources of clean water to stock up on it. This microelement is also found in bread and cereals.
3. Iodine. To maintain the balance and strengthen the heart muscle of this microelement in the human body, it is necessary to eat more seafood, vegetables, berries and egg yolks.

Physical activity for the heart muscle

Physical activity is very important to strengthen the heart muscle. The more trained the heart muscle is, the easier it will be for it to cope with heavy loads and stressful situations.

How to strengthen your heart muscle:

• Walk more to strengthen your heart muscle. If you live close to the office, then it is better to get to work on foot to strengthen the body. If you come to work by public transport or personal car, then get off one or two stops from the office. A short daily walk will tone your body.
• Avoid using the elevator to strengthen your heart muscle. Walking the stairs will improve your well-being over time. But there are exceptions if you work or live on the 10th floor or above.
• Cold and hot shower. This simple manipulation will help your heart muscle quickly adapt to unfavorable environmental conditions.
• Spend your free time with friends in the gym, swimming pool, and cycling to strengthen your heart muscle. On the one hand, you will be able to have fun with your loved ones, discuss recent life situations, on the other hand, you will engage in physical activity and strengthen your heart muscle.

Some tips for those who, when asked “how to strengthen the heart muscle?” chooses to visit the fitness center:

• start with static types of exercise to strengthen the heart (Pilates is good);
• monitor your well-being, control your pulse to strengthen your heart;
• increase strength loads gradually to strengthen the heart, do not overload the body, this can lead to the opposite process;
• You should not combine diet and strength training to strengthen your heart.

Even for an absolutely healthy person, a sharp increase in the level of physical activity on the body can lead to harmful consequences. It is necessary to gradually increase the load to strengthen the heart.

It is important that before you start exercising, you undergo a comprehensive examination of your body in medical institutions to strengthen your heart. You should not engage in intense sports activities without consulting your doctors. He will be able to suggest the amount of exercise that you can afford to strengthen your heart muscle.

It is this type of physical training that strengthens the functioning of the heart muscle. This happens due to small stretches.

Types of exercise

So, how to strengthen your heart muscle? Here are a few simple recovery exercises you can do after you wake up to strengthen your heart.

1. Stretching to strengthen the heart. After you wake up, try to stretch. At this time, your legs and arms should be tense. The tips of the lower extremities need to reach the ends of the bed. Well, the arms are extended forward, the fingers are straightened. This exercise must be performed at least 4 times.
2. We breathe correctly. We place one hand on the stomach and the other on the chest. Then we take a deep breath into our belly and immediately exhale forcefully. In this case, it is necessary to control the functioning of the chest. This exercise must also be done at least 4 times to strengthen the heart.
3. With your back on the bed, spread your arms in different directions to strengthen your heart. We bend our legs and place them close together. The feet should be close to the buttocks. During inhalation, your knees should point in one direction and your head in the other direction. During exhalation, you must return to the starting position. This exercise must be performed at least six times, and the turns must be alternated, first to the left, then to the right.

If you train the body on an ongoing basis, then a person will not have problems with the heart muscle for a long period of time.

Strengthening the heart muscle with drugs

There are now a large number of medications that help restore metabolism in weakened heart cells. They help fill the body with all kinds of vitamins to strengthen the heart.

It is important to nourish the body with vitamins during the winter season. It is during this period of time that a person especially lacks vitamins in the body. The risk of problems with the heart muscle increases noticeably.

The following strengthening drugs can be mentioned: Riboxin, Panangin, Cocarboxylase. Despite the fact that they do not meet modern criteria for effectiveness, nevertheless, with long-term use of drugs, patients experience a positive change and strengthening of the heart.

Medicines can significantly strengthen the heart muscle. The main thing is that specialists select the right balance.

But how can you strengthen your heart muscle? Due to a complex of vitamins that would support heart function. Strengthening vitamins include rutin, ascorbic acid, and pridoxine.

The intake of vitamins occurs due to the intake of medications in which they are found. The same thiamine makes the muscle fibers of the heart muscle elastic. Due to this, the work of the heart muscle is stabilized. Thiamine is mainly found in grains and various types of coffee.

Rutin is aimed at strengthening heart vessels. It is found in abundance in rosehip decoction and chokeberry berries.

Regular intake of ascorbic acid reduces the risk of cholesterol formation on the walls of blood vessels. This vitamin is also found in citrus fruits, including rose hips.

Using natural recipes

It's no secret that to find out how to strengthen the heart muscle, you need to look at folk remedies.

Basically, among folk methods for strengthening the heart, there are the following recommendations regarding nutrition. This can be done at home to strengthen the heart.

To strengthen the heart muscle, it is advisable to follow these tips:

• use honey instead of sugar in food to strengthen;
• drink more tea with mint and valerian to strengthen. This will bring a calming effect to the body;
• make more juices from vegetables to strengthen. Carrot juice will be an excellent neutralizer for arrhythmia;
• more nuts and dried fruits as heart-healthy snacks.

In this simple way you can feed and strengthen the human body with vitamins and beneficial microelements.

Also, folk remedies for strengthening the heart may not include medicinal decoctions that are prepared from various herbs.

To prepare a medicinal decoction to strengthen the heart, you need to take calendula, viburnum berries, and lingonberry leaves. Mix this set thoroughly and brew it in a thermos.

You must wait at least 12 hours, and then drink a quarter glass every three hours to strengthen the body.

This folk remedy imperceptibly at first glance reduces the risk of myocardial damage.

Conclusion

Through the whole range of measures, which includes training, overcoming difficulties, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and using traditional methods of treatment, you can maintain and improve your health. If you eat right, get enough sleep, and stress yourself less in stressful situations, then questions about how to strengthen the heart muscle will arise less and less.

So, how to strengthen your heart muscle? First of all, choose a menu and foods to eat, exercise more, get proper rest and provide the body with vitamin support. As a result, this will help normalize the functioning of the heart, which will not fail over a long period of time.

Source: https://stopvsd.net/all/kak-ukrepit-serdtse-i-serdechnuyu-myshtsu/

What are the main “enemies” of the heart you will have to fight?

Knowing the enemy by sight makes it easier to deal with him. The most significant factors damaging the myocardium of the heart are:

• accumulation of excess weight;
• high cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein);
• hypertension;
• chronic inflammation;
• metabolic disorders;
• stress.

In theory, strengthening your heart muscle by adopting a healthy lifestyle is simple. This means:

• smile rather than get angry when faced with troubles;
• eat an apple, not an apple pie;
• drink green tea while watching news on TV, and not eat chips;
• in the morning, while waiting for the kettle to boil, spend 5 minutes doing stretching exercises;
• try to meditate for those few seconds while the computer boots.

Let's combine theoretical knowledge with practical actions.

What to do with accumulated fat?

Protruding bellies and folds at the waist do not just disturb the figure. These formations have become dangerous due to internal (visceral) fat. It sharply increases the risk of hypertension, thrombus formation in the vessels of the heart, and reduces the effect of insulin. It is from this type of fat that the liver synthesizes low-density lipoproteins, hormones that stimulate appetite.

An excess in the diet of foods consisting of sugars, starch, white flour, polished rice, and potatoes does not contribute to a strengthening effect on the heart muscle.

To protect your heart, you should avoid the following foods:

• saturated fat in cream, sour cream, lard, ice cream;
• trans fats in margarine, chips, semi-finished products;
• fatty meat;
• culinary dough products;
• strong coffee;
• white flour loaves.

Healthy foods that help the heart include:

• zucchini, bananas, apricots, raisins, legumes - rich in potassium (prevent arrhythmias);
• porridges - oatmeal, buckwheat, nuts, seafood, watermelons - contain magnesium, which is necessary for the contraction of myofibrils;
• cabbage, beets, cottage cheese, seaweed - contain iodine, which prevents an increase in cholesterol levels;
• sweet peppers, oranges, black currants, raspberries, apples - are filled with a complex of vitamins that ensure the synthesis of energy in the cells of the heart muscle;
• vegetable oils can completely replace animal fats;
• fish at least twice a week - helps delay the process of deposition of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary vessels;
• green tea, fresh juices, low-fat yogurt are drinks that not only replace coffee, but also strengthen digestion.

Hypertension is enemy number 3

High blood pressure causes intense internal pressure on the walls of blood vessels. It practically “presses” atherosclerotic plaques into the thin inner lining. At the same time, resistance and load on the heart increase, but nutrition deteriorates.

Strengthening the heart muscle is impossible under conditions of constant hard work.

Hypertension is called the “asymptomatic killer” because it leads to deaths in 75% of cases in acute heart attack and stroke.

What kind of inflammation do we constantly face?

Inflammation of the heart muscle occurs under the influence of microorganisms during infectious diseases. You should not hope that weakness after the flu or ARVI will pass without consequences. During this period, an inflammatory reaction occurs in and around the heart cells. Even when good health is restored after some time, instead of muscle elements, scars appear on the heart, which means that the contraction mechanism is disrupted. When the lesions are localized in the area of ​​the conduction pathways, heart blockades and arrhythmias are possible.

The modern interpretation of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis emphasizes the primary effect of herpes and influenza viruses on the inner wall of the coronary arteries of the heart. Only in the membrane destroyed by inflammation are fatty inclusions deposited.

Another option is an abnormal allergic reaction of blood vessels in the presence of such chronic diseases:

• bronchial asthma,
• multiple sclerosis,
• Crohn's disease,
• rheumatoid polyarthritis.

It turns out that the following can “trigger” an allergic reaction in the heart and blood vessels:

• substances secreted by visceral fat;
• oxidized low-density lipoproteins;
• stress (through increased synthesis of adrenaline);
• trans fats in foods (prevent the body from producing anti-inflammatory agents);
• lack of vegetables and fruits containing antioxidants in the menu.

This indicates the connection between all the “enemies” of the heart that we have cited and requires a fight against not just one, but all causes.

What are the benefits of fighting cholesterol?

Let's not blame cholesterol for all the sins of the heart. This is an important plastic material for restoring heart cells and replacing old ones with young ones. Scientists have divided it into fractions and found that low-density lipoproteins are dangerous, and high-density fats are even beneficial.

In addition to the heart diet that we have already reported on, drugs called statins play a significant role. Disputes over their appropriateness and negative effects have led to a recommendation: to prescribe only in cases where the elevated lipoprotein levels have not been reduced with the help of a two-month diet.

The optimal result is obtained through the combined effects of physical training, quitting smoking, and proper nutrition.

How to avoid metabolic disorders and stress?

Doctors talk about metabolic syndrome, which causes excess insulin levels. Its consequences affect early atherosclerosis and malnutrition of the heart muscle.

Most people do not even know about their problem, since diagnosing the disease is difficult. We learn about it years later, when there is already myocardial damage and heart disease.

The stress reaction is initially designed to protect a person, to prepare the muscles and heart for an attack by the enemy. But in the age of “sedentary illness” it turned out to be unnecessary and excessive. With the simultaneous effect of other risk factors, stress only increases the negative impact on the heart.

Psychologists do not advise trying to influence a difficult life situation. It is much healthier for the heart to change your attitude towards the troubles that have arisen and try to be distracted by more pleasant things. Once you master yoga, you can relax in a few seconds.

Exercises to strengthen the heart do not require much time; they can be performed at home, on the way to work, or during your lunch break.

Causes

There are a large number of different causes and pathologies that can lead to this disease. Most often, heart failure is caused by damage to the heart or impairment of its ability to pump blood through the vessels.

Therefore, the main diseases that cause this disease are:

• cardiac ischemia;
• arterial hypertension;
• heart defects.

Coronary artery disease occurs due to blockage of the heart vessels by fatty plaques. As a result, blood cannot flow to the heart muscle in the full required volume, which causes heart failure. It can also develop in cases of heart attacks, as this kills some of the heart cells, which die and heal.

In the case of arterial hypertension, the heart needs a large amount of energy to pump blood through spasmodic vessels. As a result, the left ventricle increases in size, which causes weakness of the heart muscle.

In men, this disease appears more often due to coronary artery disease, while the symptoms of heart failure in women are mainly caused by arterial hypertension. But these are far from the only causes of pathology.

It can also be caused by the following factors:

• diabetes;
• abnormal heart rhythm or arrhythmia;
• excessive drinking and smoking;
• cardiomyopathies and myocarditis.

Sometimes myocardial diseases and cardiosclerosis can additionally cause cardiac asthma. In this case, frequent attacks of suffocation occur. The occurrence of this disease greatly increases the risk for the patient.

There are four types of disorders, each of which differs from the others in the principle of operation, but, in the end, lead to the same result - heart failure:

• Aortic stenosis, pulmonary hypertension, arterial hypertension, heart valve insufficiency.
• In this case, the heart either has to pump too much blood, causing some of the blood to continually return to the heart, or it has to exert too much force to overcome the resistance of the affected vessels.

• Caused by various types of arrhythmias.
• As a result, the activity of the heart is disrupted, making its contractions either weakly or ineffective.

• Increased stiffness of the heart muscle, pericarditis, cardiac tamponade, stenosis of atrioventricular valves.
• In these cases, compression of the walls of the heart or excessive rigidity of its tissues prevents its normal blood supply.

Acute part of manifestation

There are two main factors in how acute heart failure manifests itself. The first of them is direct disturbances in the activity of the heart. This may occur for the following reasons:

• Excessive mental and physical stress;
• Increased pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs;
• Due to pressure, spasms of the heart arteries occur - ischemia progresses. At the same time, the heartbeat and the number of its contractions accelerate, and the heart is overloaded;
• Arrhythmia - accelerated contractions overload its work;
• Various types of damage and deformation of the heart valve - these factors cause acute disturbances in blood circulation in the heart;
• When severe myocarditis occurs, pumping function deteriorates and heart rhythm worsens;
• Cardiac tamponade is when fluid accumulates between the heart muscle and the heart sac. Due to external pressure, it cannot fully contract;
• Myocardial infarction – due to cell death, cardiac circulation deteriorates.

There are also reasons that are not directly related to the functioning of the heart apparatus:

Decompensated heart failure is an extreme stage of development of an acute form of the disease, in which the heart is unable to provide the body with oxygen not only during physical activity, but also at rest.

Chronic form

The causes of the chronic form of the disease include the following factors:

When these pathologies occur in the body, protective mechanisms are activated, which temporarily improve blood circulation in the body. But in the absence of proper treatment, they weaken over time, and the disease recurs.

Recommendations for the use of physical activity

Tips for quietly increasing exercise on your heart and relieving stress:

• walk to work or park your car away from the office;
• do not use the elevator;
• if you want to chat with colleagues, walk along the corridor;
• feel free to sing along when you hear pleasant music;
• walk in the evening in any weather;
• When watching TV, sit less in a chair, do stretching exercises, bending to the sides;
• take a contrast shower in the morning and a warm one in the evening;
• use weekends for cycling and hiking;
• visit the swimming pool and fitness club.

For those who intend to seriously increase the load on the heart through regular training in fitness centers, the following rules must be followed:

• start not with strength training, but with static types of exercise (Pilates, callanetics, Pilates ball);
• monitor your pulse and well-being, do exercises at your own pace;
• It is enough to study for an hour twice a week;
• after 2–3 months, you can choose the appropriate option for strength exercises;
• You should not combine training days with fasting in your diet;
• do not get carried away with dietary supplements and tonic cocktails;
• Before you start regular exercise, check your heart using available methods (ECG, ultrasound).

What folk remedies help the heart?

Among the popular advice there are recommendations on nutrition and targeted preparation of herbal decoctions.

It is recommended to include in your heart-healthy diet:

• honey instead of sugar;
• soothing teas with mint, lemon balm, valerian, hawthorn;
• vegetable juices, for example, cucumber, carrot - to prevent arrhythmias;
• cinnamon;
• raisins and nuts for a snack at work.

Medicinal decoctions are prepared in a thermos in the evening or in a water bath. You can drink half a glass before meals. Suitable for this:

Each method quietly reduces the risk of myocardial damage. Overcoming difficulties and giving up habits will return to you with preserved health. If you properly nourish and take care of the heart, it will give a person a long, energetic life without disease.

Atrophy of the heart muscle is a pathological process that does not have an inflammatory nature, as a result of which a change occurs in the structure of myocardial cells. The second name for this disease is myocardial dystrophy. It occurs due to metabolic disorders and leads to a weakening of contractility, as well as other myocardial functions and the development of heart failure.

This pathology most often occurs in older people, since processes in the body at this time begin to slow down, and gradual involution occurs in all organs and systems. In this case, this process affects not only the heart muscle. But muscle atrophy in the heart can also occur as a result of certain diseases.

Tired Heart Syndrome

The heart and blood vessels in the human body act as an “engine”, “pump” and “pipeline” through which all organs are supplied with oxygenated blood. They work without breaks, day and night.

Stopping this mechanism even for a minute can lead to serious life-threatening complications. Heart failure occurs when the contractile function of the heart is impaired, or overwork from hard work.

What happens in a “tired” heart

The heart muscle needs a lot of nutrients and oxygen. The cells contain fibers of the protein actomyosin, which provide stretching and contraction of the myocardium under the influence of the reinforcing nerve. Thus, the central nervous system is involved in the regulation of heart contractions.

Energy is needed to replenish and renew actomyosin. The lack of a sufficient amount of kilocalories leads to a decrease in muscle performance and the development of congestive heart failure.

The contractions of the heart become slower and weaker, and it does not empty completely, as it is not able to push all the blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery.

First, a compensatory reaction is activated - thickening of the muscle. When “reinforcement” does not arrive, muscle tissue becomes flabby. Overflow of the chambers leads to a wave of stagnation “behind the heart.”

Insufficiency in the left sections causes blood retention in the pulmonary circulation, in the lung tissue.

With isolated insufficiency of the right sections and general muscle weakness, venous blood is retained in large veins, the liver, and throughout the systemic circulation.

All tissues receive “poor quality” blood and experience oxygen starvation. The bone marrow is stimulated and additional blood cells are produced. This puts even more strain on the heart, aggravating heart failure.

Scientists attribute a major role in the progression of the disease to the renal mechanism: renal blood flow decreases 4 times, this causes sodium retention, and with it water, which leads to venous congestion and edema.

Causes

All causes leading to impaired contractility of the heart muscle can be divided into two groups: primary and secondary. The primary ones include those that cause toxic damage when:

acute and chronic myocarditis (rheumatism); poisoning with toxic substances and toxic poisons, internal products of tissue breakdown (sepsis, severe infectious diseases); endocrine disorders (thyrotoxicosis, diabetes mellitus); anemia (anemia); damage to the nervous system, brain injuries, stroke .

Secondary causes are understood as those that do not directly affect the heart muscle, but create mechanical conditions for fatigue and oxygen starvation. This group includes:

hypertension; atherosclerosis of large vessels; acquired and congenital heart defects; adhesions around the heart, compressing blood vessels.

The division may be conditional. For example, if, against the background of hypertension, a person gets sick with influenza pneumonia. You can read more about the causes of heart failure here.

Classifications

There are several classifications of heart failure. They reflect the severity of clinical signs, duration of the disease, and the degree of functional disorders. The most commonly used terms are “acute heart failure” and “chronic or congestive heart failure.”

Acute - develops quickly, sometimes in a few minutes with myocardial infarction, pulmonary artery thrombosis, hypertensive crisis, acute nephritis. In these diseases, heart failure can worsen the condition and lead to death.

Congestive failure - develops over years, accompanies the underlying disease, clinically manifests itself in attacks of the left ventricular type, right ventricular type (rarely) or mixed.

Since Soviet times in Russia, doctors have continued to use Strazhesko’s classification, which reflects the stages of the disease:

1st degree - proceeds covertly, objective signs can be detected only during physical activity; 2nd degree is subdivided into “2a” - the patient’s complaints are accompanied by objective research data (expansion of the boundaries of the heart, with left ventricular failure, congestion in the lungs, with right ventricular failure - enlarged liver, edema on the extremities); “2b” - all symptoms are expressed sharply in the form of total damage, although they are not irreversible, blood circulation can be restored under the influence of treatment; third - irreversible dystrophic processes develop in all organs with damage to their functions.

Characteristic swelling of the fingers

According to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD - 10), the following code names for the condition are defined:

I50.0 Congestive heart failure. I50.1 Left ventricular failure. I50.9 Heart failure, unspecified.

The New York Heart Association classification (NYHA) defines four functional classes (FC) of the body’s physical capabilities during the development of heart failure:

Class I - there is no shortness of breath and weakness during normal work. Class II - moderate shortness of breath and weakness appear, requiring restrictions in physical activity. Class III - there is a pronounced limitation of ordinary physical activity. Class IV - shortness of breath is observed at rest, the ability to work is impaired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql0XY0slGw8

American cardiologists consider this approach more understandable for sick people.

Symptoms appear when moving

It is much more important during the treatment process to determine the form and duration of heart failure. This is determined by clinical symptoms and during diagnostic testing.

Diagnostics

It is not difficult to make a diagnosis for this disease, as the symptoms accompany the disease.

With left ventricular failure, congestion occurs in the blood vessels of the lungs. The patient is worried about shortness of breath, attacks of suffocation (cardiac asthma) at night, cough with blood in the sputum, and palpitations. Diagnostics includes examination of the patient, auscultation of heart sounds (listening), ECG examination, ultrasound of the heart, and radiographic photographs.

This makes it possible to establish an expansion of the borders of the heart to the left, an enlargement of the left ventricle, a disruption (slowdown) of blood movement through the cavities of the heart, a characteristic “gallop rhythm,” and signs of congestion in the lungs.

Similar phenomena are observed in the severe stage of hypertension, chronic kidney damage, syphilitic damage to the aorta, myocardial infarction, and cardiac aneurysm.

Failure of the right heart in isolated form practically does not occur. It joins the stagnation of the left ventricle and aggravates all the symptoms.

This is what engorged neck veins look like

Due to the slowing of blood flow through the veins, the patient has visible swollen neck veins, sometimes on the face. The main symptom is an enlargement of the liver to a large size. A tense capsule makes palpation of the edge of the liver painful. Characteristic symptoms include bluish lips, ears, fingers and toes, swelling in the legs, and an enlarged abdomen (ascites).

The acute form of insufficiency occurs most often in two variants:

cardiac asthma - with nocturnal attacks of suffocation, cough with foamy sputum mixed with blood; cardiogenic shock - caused by the rapid shutdown of a large section of the heart muscle (for example, during myocardial infarction). The condition can be fatal. Blood pressure drops and nutrition of all organs practically stops; the brain is of particular importance.

Both emergencies require treatment in the intensive care unit.

Basic remedies

Several types of drugs are used in the treatment of heart failure:

cardiac glycosides - a group of drugs from Digitalis, it has been proven that they restore the contractility of myocardial cells, supply the necessary energy to the heart; diuretics - the removal of excess fluid eases the load on a tired heart, swelling disappears; beta blockers - a large group of drugs that allows you to maintain blood pressure normal level, preventing an increase and mechanical obstruction to the work of the heart; drugs containing potassium - lead to normal electrolyte balance of cells, allow actomyosin fibers to fully contract; medications that reduce the myocardial oxygen demand; vasodilator drugs - are necessary to improve the conditions for the delivery of nutrients.

All of the listed remedies are highly effective drugs. Only a trained physician can use and dose them correctly. If the attending physician has warned the patient about the need to change the dosage in certain conditions, then this can be done independently. In other cases, you cannot prescribe or stop medications without the participation of a doctor; this can cost your life.

You can read more about treatment methods for this pathology here.

How to prevent heart failure

The consequence of heart failure is irreversible changes in all organs, leading to death. This complication is easier to prevent than to treat.

Prevention comes down to early detection and treatment of diseases such as rheumatism (full treatment of sore throats and examination after illness), prevention of the atherosclerotic process (blood cholesterol control, diet), timely treatment of infectious diseases, control of excess weight, dosed rest and physical activity.

Walking and physical therapy help maintain the tone of the heart muscle.

Vegetables and fruits on the menu should be 400 g daily

The diet consists of limiting one-time large intake of food and liquid (the diaphragm rises, which serves as an additional mechanical obstacle to the heart). It is better to eat little by little, several times a day. Drink no more than 1.5 liters of liquid. When swelling appears in the legs, you should focus on the amount of urine excreted.

Limiting salt intake to 5 g per day (a teaspoon) helps relieve swelling and relieve congestion. In stages 1–2 of the disease, nutritionists recommend salt-free fasting days twice a week.

To improve the nutrition of the heart muscle, the diet should contain enough vitamins (vegetables, fruits) and minerals (potassium, magnesium, calcium).

It has been established that the required amount of potassium can be obtained from the following products: raisins, dried apricots, peaches, baked potatoes, Brussels sprouts, bananas, buckwheat and oatmeal, nuts.

Patients with initial manifestations of heart failure are not allowed to smoke or drink strong alcoholic beverages. The daily routine should be reconsidered. Get rid of overload at work, night shifts. Spend your vacation outdoors or in a sanatorium.

You should always remember that cheerful people recover faster.

More articles about heart failure

Source: https://lechim-serdce.ru/2017/10/15/sindrom-ustalogo-serdca/

Causes of atrophic changes in the heart

All the reasons why cardiac muscle dystrophy can develop can be divided into two categories - congenital and acquired. A direct change in the cellular structure of heart cells is observed in congenital cardiomyopathies, the origin of which has not yet been sufficiently studied.

There are also a number of pathological processes underlying the development of myocardial dystrophy, which arise in the process after birth. These include:

• Intoxication. Occurs as a result of acute or chronic poisoning of the body with tobacco, alcohol, drugs, medications, poor-quality food products, industrial substances and other toxic compounds that enter the body.
• Infection. Often, atrophy of the heart muscle occurs against the background of an acute viral (influenza, Coxsackie virus) or chronic infection. Especially often, heart complications result from constant inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx.
• IBS. It occurs as a result of chronic myocardial ischemia against the background of severe coronary atherosclerosis.
• Excessive overload (in athletes and people with physical labor). Appears as a result of constantly increased load on the heart, which it cannot cope with. This is expressed in impaired oxygen metabolism, including in cardiomyocytes.
• Deviations in the functioning of endocrine organs (thyrotoxicosis, hypothyroidism).
• Chronic anemia, vitamin deficiency, starvation.
• Metabolic disorders and obesity.
• Physical inactivity.
• Pathological processes in the liver and kidneys.
• Psychosomatic abnormalities.
• Disorders of the digestive system (liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, pancreatitis).

Symptoms of muscle weakness

A feeling of weakness in the arms, legs or body is often accompanied by drowsiness, fever, chills, impotence and apathy. Each of the symptoms informs about serious problems of the body as a whole.

There are frequent manifestations of muscle weakness at elevated temperatures, which are a consequence of inflammatory processes - bronchitis, common colds, cold kidneys, etc. The slightest jump in temperature leads to incorrect functioning of metabolic processes, and the body gradually loses its functional abilities. Therefore, at a temperature, fatigue and muscle weakness are observed, and not only in the limbs.

Manifestations of the disease are also characteristic of intoxication. Poisoning of the body can be caused by stale food, hepatitis, a certain virus, etc.

In addition, weakness and drowsiness can be a dangerous pathology of an allergic and infectious nature. Brucellosis is considered the most dangerous, often depriving its carrier of life.

There is weakness in the muscles and in cases of blood infections - leukemia and myeloid leukemia. The same symptoms appear in rheumatism.

Somatic diseases also contribute to the formation of the main symptom, including amyloidosis, Crohn's disease (associated with digestion), renal failure and cancer.

Endocrine system disorders lead to muscle weakness, as do epilepsy, neurasthenia, depression and neurosis.

How does myocardial atrophy manifest and its diagnosis?

With the development of cardiac muscle atrophy, especially in the initial stages, signs of the disease may be absent. But most often, patients complain of chest pain on the left side and shortness of breath on exertion. There is a feeling of palpitations or interruptions, severe weakness and decreased ability to work.

Symptoms of heart muscle atrophy also manifest themselves in the form of edema, which, along with shortness of breath, is a fairly reliable sign of the development of heart failure. A weakening of the suction function of the heart leads to congestion in the veins of the lower extremities, sweating of plasma through the venous wall and resulting in swelling, which intensifies in the evening and decreases in the morning.

Abnormalities in the lungs manifest themselves in the form of increased shortness of breath and the appearance of a cough with copious sputum at night. This occurs due to the flow of blood from the lower extremities when the body moves to a horizontal position, and increased stress on the heart. During a cough, traces of blood may be found in the sputum; this is due to overflow and rupture of the bronchial veins.

In advanced cases, discomfort occurs in the right hypochondrium; this occurs due to stagnation of blood in the liver and stretching of the capsule of this organ, and then ascites (fluid in the abdominal cavity) appears.

Rhythm disturbances that accompany dystrophic processes in the myocardium arise due to the death of cells of the conduction system of the heart. In this case, many ectopic foci of excitation arise, causing bradycardia and various types of arrhythmias.

As the dystrophic changes progress, all symptoms intensify, swelling does not go away even at night, and shortness of breath bothers you even at rest.

To clarify the diagnosis, a general examination is carried out aimed at identifying the cause that led to the disease - atrophy of the heart muscles. To do this, a full range of standard studies is done - general blood and urine tests, which will help identify the presence of a chronic infection and assess the level of hemoglobin. If atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels are suspected, a lipid profile is prescribed.

ECG and Holter monitoring allow us to evaluate the functioning of the conduction system and the presence of ischemic changes in the myocardium. Echocardiography with myocardial dystrophy reveals an expansion of the organ cavities and a decrease in contractile function. Such a study allows you to see scar changes, if any.

If the reasons for the development of heart muscle atrophy are associated with endocrine pathology or other diseases, then the patient is prescribed a consultation with specialists to clarify the diagnosis and add the necessary medications and recommendations to the complex of treatment measures.

Heart failure (chronic, acute) - symptoms and treatment

Circulatory failure is a disorder of the circulatory system in which the circulatory system partially loses its ability to supply the body and organs with oxygen and nutrients, which is associated with ischemia.
Poor circulation may be the result of heart failure or the entire circuit. The most common symptoms are swelling and shortness of breath.

Blood

- a necessary element of life and proper functioning of the body. This allows oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients to be transferred to our body cells.

Some diseases can, unfortunately, cause the proper flow of blood through organs to become impaired - then we talk about heart failure or damage to the heart. Every year more than two hundred thousand Russians are diagnosed with heart failure. This is dangerous because it leads to life-threatening complications.

Circulatory failure

is an increasingly serious problem influenced by poor lifestyle choices such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle or smoking.

We invite you to read the article: ➫ Diet for hypertension and high blood pressure

CAUSES

THE MOST COMMON REASONS CONCERNING CIRCULATION

• hypertension
  ,
• Diabetes,
• alcohol,
• drug, and
• Medicines used
• acquired or congenital heart defect,
• Cigarettes,
• hyperthyroidism,
• asthma,
• Chronical bronchitis,
• bad diet
• Diet low in vitamin B1,
• anemia.

Considering the cause of heart failure, we can divide it into:

• Cardiogenic - its cause is a disruption in the functioning of the heart as an suction pump, and
• periphery - the cause lies outside the heart.

Depending on whether the cause of heart failure is the right ventricle (pumping blood through the pulmonary artery into the pulmonary or pulmonary circulation) or the left ventricle (pumping blood into the systemic circulation through the aorta), we distinguish:

• Left ventricular failure
• Refusal of right-sided circulation.

Based on the time and rate of development of heart failure, we can extract:

• acute heart failure
  ,
• chronic heart failure
  .

Circulatory failure can also occur in people:

• With heart defects, and
• anemia,
• Beri-ber imbalance, and
• Thyroid disorders.

The type of symptoms a patient has may indicate the type of circulatory disorder:

• Acute heart failure
  : pain occurs near the heart, accompanied by the impression of an irregular, slow or significantly accelerated heart rate;
• Acute left ventricular failure
  in the form of pulmonary edema: the patient's breathing is heavy and hoarse;
• Severe heart failure
  due to pulmonary embolism: sudden chest pain, cyanosis of the face and upper torso with coexisting shortness of breath, disappearing pulse and creamy sweat;
• Poor circulation
  due to damage to the central nervous system: sudden loss of consciousness, abnormalities in speech, asymmetry of facial features, more or less pronounced paresis of one of the limbs.

Acute heart failure

Symptoms of acute heart failure include:

• Sudden, rapid general weakness,
• feeling of increasing shortness of breath, and
• progressive blanching
• cold sweat (especially on the face),
• Fast or irregular heart rhythm,
• An accelerated and at the same time usually poorly perceived impulse.

Acute heart failure occurs when:

• brain damage (then neurological symptoms manifest themselves in the form of paresis of the limbs or speech and vision disorders);
• Lung diseases (there is a characteristic pulmonary edema in which fluid accumulates);
• attacks of cardiac arrhythmia
  (the patient may experience a feeling of irregular heartbeats);
• Pulmonary embolism (severe chest pain accompanied by bruising of the face and torso).

We invite you to read the article: ➫ Heart rhythm disturbances - cardiac arrhythmia disorder

Behavior

If you notice a combination of these symptoms, call an ambulance immediately. While waiting, the patient should be placed in a quiet and comfortable semi-sitting position and provided with fresh air.

In addition, you can give him a one-time dose of the drugs he is taking, with the exception of digitalis (for example, digoxin), which have a delayed effect and cumulative properties in the patient's body, and in case of overdose can interfere with the conduction of stimuli in the heart and its arrhythmias.

Diagnosis and treatment of acute heart failure

Your doctor will order tests to confirm the cause of your symptoms. This:

• ECG study;
• Ionic concentration;
• Study of cardiac markers;
• Chest X-ray, and
• echocardiography;
• arterial blood gasometry.

Treatment of acute disorder

blood circulation

based on the preparation of drugs that improve blood flow in the coronary vessels of the heart.

Diuretics are then used, which have a diuretic effect and thus reduce the workload of the heart by removing water from the body and measuring an increase in heart rate (eg dopamine). In patients with additional arrhythmia, antiarrhythmic drugs are administered.

In addition, the patient should be provided with adequate oxygen flow through the use of an oxygen mask and his breathing should be monitored on a constant basis.

Chronic heart failure

Chronic heart failure

sometimes increases over many years, during which the efficiency of the heart gradually decreases.

One of the main symptoms of chronic circulatory failure. The tumor is caused by stagnant fluid in various parts of our body, such as the pleura, peritoneum, pericardium. Edema of the lower extremities is characteristic. They are of pasty nature, i.e.

Once pressed with a finger, the skin and subcutaneous tissues do not quickly return to their original shape (just like a raw dough ball). Other typical areas for swelling to occur are the area between the shoulder blades and the sacral lumbar region (“cross”).

Most often they appear at night, they decrease during the day.

The most common symptoms of chronic heart failure are:

• edema
  - caused by the accumulation of excess fluid in extracellular spaces and body cavities;
  they are the main symptom of heart failure
  ; the most typical is a tumor located on the lower extremities - after pressing on the swollen skin with a finger, it does not quickly return to its previous form; swelling may also occur between the shoulder blades or in the lumbar region;
• shortness of breath
  - difficulty inhaling air;
  this is the second symptom (other than swelling) that may indicate heart failure
  ; difficulty breathing occurs due to the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, which makes it difficult to transfer oxygen to the blood; the development of cardiovascular failure causes an increase in shortness of breath. In some patients (at a later stage), this symptom occurs only during physical activity, such as climbing stairs.
• Grayish skin color;
• Persistent cough producing phlegm and mucus, and
• less urine output, and
• increased need to urinate at night,
• Fatigue,
• Drowsiness. Diagnosis and treatment of chronic circulatory disorders

We invite you to read the article: ➫ Gymnastics for cardiac arrhythmia - Exercises for the heart

Additional tests used in diagnosing the disease:

• urine, and
• X-ray examination of the chest, and
• ECG,
• echo of the heart,
• Magnetic resonance,
• angiography,
• A blood test designed to evaluate: ion concentrations, cardiac markers, liver and kidney tests and morphology.

Treatment of chronic renal failure

Treatment for this type of heart failure

carried out by a doctor. The treatment method is selected individually for the patient, depending on what is the cause of the disease, its severity and the coexistence of other ailments. As you know, prevention is better than cure, therefore, in addition to taking pharmacological agents, proper diet and lifestyle changes are very important.

Surgical treatment for heart failure:

• heart valve surgery.

Patients should:

• Flu vaccination
• Reduce the amount of liquid consumed, and
• Reduce body weight (proper nutrition and movement),
• Limit the amount of table salt in your diet,
• quit smoking
• Avoid taking medications
• Avoid drinking high-contrast drinks.

COMPLICATIONS

Untreated heart failure leads to serious complications such as:

• Kidney diseases, most often their ineffectiveness;
• Circulatory disorders in the brain,
• fibrosis of the liver and lungs,
• persistent and unresponsive hypertension,
• permanent cardiac remodeling

We invite you to read the article: ➫ Treatment of Mitral Stenosis and Mitral Regurgitation ➫ Diagnosis of acute and chronic heart failure ➫ Diastolic heart failure is especially dangerous ➫ Acute and chronic heart failure - causes, symptoms, treatment ➫ Symptoms of Inflammation of the heart muscle (Myocarditis) ➫ Recognize and treat heart failure

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Methods of therapy and prevention of heart muscle atrophy

Treatment of the disease in old age involves the use of symptomatic therapy and maintaining myocardial function.

When an underlying disease is identified, all efforts must be directed toward eliminating it or putting it into remission; an obligatory step is the sanitation of foci of chronic infection.

Atrophic processes in the heart muscle tend to be reversible only at the initial stages of the process. Therefore, timely seeking help and adequate treatment can lead to a complete recovery.

Of the medications designed to improve the metabolism of myocardial cells, multivitamins, ATP, trimetazidine preparations, and mildronate are most often prescribed.

Effective treatment of myocardial muscle atrophy is possible only at the initial stage of the process. In the future, any therapy performs only a supportive function. The patient needs to adhere to a daily routine, limit exercise, nutritious food with limited salt in case of severe edema.

Of the medications for the development of heart failure, in any case, ACE inhibitors are prescribed (to protect target organs and improve the clinical condition of the patient); in case of severe swelling, diuretics are used. In small doses, the administration of cardiac glycosides is indicated, and with the development of atrial fibrillation they are the drugs of choice. Sometimes it is recommended to use beta blockers.

The addition of angina requires the use of peripheral vasodilators (nitrates), severe rhythm disturbances are stopped with antiarrhythmic drugs, and in case of a heart attack, it is mandatory to take aspirin or indirect coagulants to prevent thrombosis of the coronary vessels. Statins are often used to control cholesterol levels, as well as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The main symptoms of chronic weakness of the heart muscle

One of the main clinical symptoms of heart failure is the presence of tachycardia in the patient. The patient’s heart tries to compensate for the weakness of the myocardium by increasing its work, that is, with a reduced stroke volume, maintaining the normal minute rate of blood transfer. Such a procedure cannot last long, since the restorative biochemical processes in the tissues of the heart are disrupted, and the heart muscle becomes more flabby.

Drugs are prescribed for heart failure to alleviate the condition and prevent progression. Admission is necessary for both acute and chronic forms. It is necessary to take medications to support the heart and for shortness of breath, including diuretics, especially for the elderly.

• Options for how to strengthen the heart depend mainly on its condition. They also affect blood vessels and nerves. For example, in old age, exercise will support the heart muscle. After a heart attack, folk remedies can be prescribed for arrhythmia.
• A high-quality heart collection of herbs will help improve the condition of the myocardium, adjust the rhythm during arrhythmia, and cleanse the blood vessels. A popular collection of 5 herbs, and medicinal herbs are also combined separately.
• If swelling of the legs occurs due to heart failure, treatment should begin immediately. Well-known medicines and traditional methods will help with this.