Painful sensations in the area of the heart force patients to consult a cardiologist. Anxiety, irritability and fear for one's own life arise. But not all unpleasant symptoms are directly related to heart problems. Even thoracic osteochondrosis - symptoms, feeling - pain in the heart provokes as often as diseases of this organ.
There is often pain behind the sternum, closer to the back or even to the diaphragm when the vertebrae are affected, regardless of the stage of the pathology. And the mechanism of the unpleasant symptom has many features.
The mechanism of the development of symptoms
During osteochondrosis, interruptions of the heart cannot occur by themselves, they develop only as an echo of the underlying disease:
- Thinning of intervertebral structures. The distance between the bone elements and the cartilage decreases, which leads to the restriction of the nerve roots. As a result, painful sensations are formed, which often radiate to the heart in the presence of destructive processes in the thoracic or cervical spine.
- Changes in the heart muscle. Due to the disease, the sensations spread in the heart muscle, the so-called "echo" of pain.
- Involvement of the upper limbs in the process. The effect of osteochondrosis on the heart may be due to excessive muscle tension in the arms. As a result, the pain spreads to the heart muscle, but the EKG shows no abnormalities.
- Changes in the structure of the lumbar region. The position of the abdominal organs shifts, resulting in increased stress and heart rate changes.
- Muscle spasms and changes in blood circulation. Osteochondrosis heart pain occurs in response to changes in blood flow in the large arteries of the back. The heart rate increases when blood has to be pumped through a narrower passageway.
- Severe destruction of the intervertebral discs. The nerves are pinched, causing pain in the heart area. Hypoxia develops gradually. It also affects the functioning of the brain, as a result of which the usual functioning of the internal organs changes.
- Due to the compression of the arteriesand high pressure of nerve fibers may appear. Because of this, painful feelings appear in the heart.
Based on certain symptoms, you can distinguish heart pain from the manifestations of osteochondrosis.
Signs of osteochondrosis with painful sensations
Heart syndrome - heart pain due to osteochondrosis of the chest region - develops in many patients.The symptoms have the following characteristics:
- oppressive, dull pain in the heart;
- gradually increasing discomfort, dull, not too pronounced;
- the pain persists for a long time, covers the chest, causes palpitations;
- there is no pain of sharp intensity due to the destruction of the cartilage between the vertebrae;
- Almost always, a symptom such as a feeling of warmth behind the sternum helps to distinguish heartache from osteochondrosis;
- heart drugs (nitrates) do not help relieve pain;
- if a person begins to move his upper limbs, the pain intensifies.
If the cervical spine is involved in the process, pain can be felt in the area of the vertebra.
Some patients note that the pain is of a different nature: the discomfort covers the left side of the sternum, affects the muscles, sometimes spreads to the shoulder, neck and face, and the attack can last for several days.
If the vertebra of the artery is compressed, additional symptoms appear: weakness, dizziness, spots, in severe cases the patient loses consciousness. In addition, with pain in the heart, hearing and vision deteriorate, and blood rushes to the face. If someone takes medication for high blood pressure, it will not help them.
Differences in pain
There are many ways to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis, the main method is MRI and EKG examination.In addition, you should know what happens with damage to the thoracic cartilage between the vertebrae and what does not happen with heart disease:
- the pain is moderate, increases and persists for a long time. In the event of a heart attack, the symptoms are more severe;
- if you press your chin to your chest, the pain of osteochondrosis intensifies;
- if the pain increases with movement and exercise, this is osteochondrosis;
- Heartaches always cause panic, fear and anxiety.
Neuralgia itself is safe, but it can be aggravated by tilting the body in different directions or making sharp turns. You can relieve the pain with painkillers.
Severe heart disease and osteochondrosis
You need to know how the heart hurts with osteochondrosis of the chest region, especially in order to distinguish neuralgia from life-threatening conditions. In chronic ischemic heart disease, the pain appears very acutely, within 3-5 minutes. Oppressive sensations prevent breathing, and after nitrates the symptoms disappear immediately.
If the risk of a heart attack is high, you should remember that in this condition a person may lose consciousness, experience nausea and acute chest pain. The pain of osteochondrosis never appears so sharply.
But with VSD (dystonia), the symptoms can be similar. But unlike osteochondrosis heartaches, with this pathology, a person experiences tachycardia, bradycardia, a feeling of fear, gets tired quickly and feels constant weakness. The pain is usually aching and dull, and in the case of osteochondrosis it is compressive.
Palpitation
In the case of osteochondrosis, the heart can not only hurt, but can also be disturbed by angina pectoris, arrhythmia and tachycardia. This is due to spasms and compression of the artery.In the case of osteochondrosis, the following symptoms appear:
- increased heart rate at rest, increased rhythm during exercise;
- smooth rhythm without interruptions;
- wave-like heat attacks;
- tachycardia may be accompanied by presyncope.
The symptoms disappear if the disease is treated with quality.
Extrasystole
Extrasystole is a condition in which there is a sensation of a second cardiac arrest. In the case of osteochondrosis, this complication causes a real panic. However, this unusual condition is the norm for the human body. True, most people do not notice this process.
Extrasystole is a kind of "respite" in the work of the heart muscle. Surprisingly, such short pauses are vital for the organ.
Such "breaks" occur in people, regardless of their age, weight and daily physical activity.
Pressure in osteochondrosis
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis often include high blood pressure. But there may be other reasons for this pathology. During osteochondrosis, the arteries, veins and blood vessels are compressed, and the nutrition of the brain and other organs deteriorates.
Patients start taking drugs to fix the problem, which causes the blood to stop flowing to the brain again. Oxygen depletion and nutrient deficiency develop. The person is tormented by symptoms such as: weakness, drowsiness, pain and dizziness, pale skin, nausea.
Treatment of painful feelings
Having managed to distinguish heartache from osteochondrosis, the treatment of diseases should be differentiated. If all the symptoms are related to damage to the thoracic spine, then you cannot take any medicine that relieves heartache.
Therapy should eliminate the causes of osteochondrosis or minimize them. It has been proven that regular, systematic treatment helps relieve tension, spasms and tension in nerve fibers.Since the heart and osteochondrosis are closely related, treatment should begin with the spine at the time of exacerbation:
- The person should not move much, bed rest is recommended.
- NSAIDs or glucocorticosteroids are prescribed to relieve acute pain.
- Local drugs are also used, which are good for pain relief caused by osteochondrosis.
- Physiotherapy helps in the early stages of the disease, but is rarely used to relieve pain. Only during the recovery period after an exacerbation.
- Manual therapy is a very effective way to restore the vertebrae, relieve spasms, tension and swelling of the surrounding tissues.
- Exercise therapy and sports are also prescribed for osteochondrosis of the chest region.
- In addition, you can use folk recipes - baths and compresses - which are very relaxing and have a positive effect on the emotional state of patients.
- Diet is equally important in the treatment of osteochondrosis. Adequate amounts of plant-based foods, healthy fats and protein are essential to repair damaged tissue. A balanced diet also helps to reduce excess weight.
The best way to determine whether osteochondrosis or the heart is bothering you is a medical examination. With the help of X-rays and a simple EKG, you can understand what feelings are associated with a particular disease.