Many people suffer from Heart pain. Those affected notice these impairments to a greater or lesser extent at short or long intervals. This contributes to the fact that the vast majority do not consult the doctor immediately if they have heart pain.
What is heart pain?
Heart pain is one of the most serious symptoms of heart disease in medicine. Doctors understand heart pain to be painful complaints that occur particularly near the heart.
Due to the different characteristics and the changing pain intensity, heart pain cannot always be localized directly. Heart pain is reported by those affected as either as painful impairments radiating into the chest area or into the left shoulder and as pain that can be perceived directly on the cor (Latin anatomical heart) itself.
Usually the heart pain radiates to the abdomen or left arm. Heart pain can occur during periods of physical rest and under physical or emotional strain and stress.
causes
The causes of heart pain are relatively clear. However, the variety of triggers proves to be unfavorable in the context of finding the cause of heart pain. In addition to angina pectoris, a heart attack, inflammation of the heart muscle as well as overwork and stress can lead to heart pain.
In connection with the causes of heart pain, these are a clear warning that something is wrong with the heart. This then leads to extensive diagnostics, which initiate appropriate therapy.
Other causes are inflammation of the pericardium, narrowing of the aortic valve, atrial fibrillation, a so-called aortic dissection or mitral valve prolapse.
Heart pain is also possible as a result of Tietze or Roemheld syndrome. Roemheld syndrome occurs when the heartache occurs after consuming a lot of food.
Diseases with this symptom
- Angina pectoris
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Myocarditis
- Atrial fibrillation
- Aortic dissection
- Pericarditis
- Cardiac neurosis
- Aortic stenosis
- Mitral valve prolapse syndrome
- Tietze syndrome
- Roemheld Syndrome
course
Heart pains usually start quite inconspicuously and are mostly ignored by those affected due to the low intensity. In addition, heart pains tend to be the exception when resting. The heart pain increases in the further untreated course and is usually so severe that it is impossible to take a deep breath. Profuse sweating and impaired breathing add to the severe pain in the heart and often trigger fear and anxiety.
When should you go to the doctor?
Even if not all heart pains originate from the heart and even simple chest pains can be perceived as heart pains, these can often indicate a serious illness. A doctor should be consulted, especially in the case of recurring heart pain. Cardiac pain should also be clarified by a doctor if it occurs for the first time (at rest or during exercise), if it does not improve at rest and additional symptoms such as shortness of breath, circulatory problems, anxiety or swollen feet occur.
People with known angina pectoris (chest tightness) should consult a cardiologist if the chest pain worsens, occurs more frequently or with less exertion than usual, or if it changes in general. This also includes sudden pain during sleep or the spontaneous onset and disappearance of pain at rest. An emergency doctor should be called if the heart pain cannot be treated with nitroglycerine (as a chewable capsule or inhalation spray).
If a heart attack is suspected, the emergency doctor must be notified immediately, as the first hour after the onset of the infarction is particularly crucial for survival. A heart attack is often accompanied by severe, constricting pain behind the breastbone that can radiate to the left arm, back, neck, and / or stomach. The pain is usually accompanied by fear, restlessness, shortness of breath, nausea and sweating.
Doctors & therapists in your area
Complications
Heart pain can have not only physical causes, but also a psychological background. Typical heart pain occurs with coronary artery disease (CHD), which is related to tightness of the chest (angina pectoris). A CHD is the characteristic sign of a heart attack.
With the heart attack, some complications follow, so the person affected may suffer from cardiac arrhythmias after a heart attack, which can lead to further complications such as stroke or even cardiac death. Other complications are heart failure (heart failure) and thus a decrease in performance. Further damage to the heart wall or to the heart valves can result.
In addition to CHD, inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) or the heart valves (endocarditis), as well as the pericardium (pericarditis) can cause typical heart pain. The complications that can arise are also diverse. Detected and treated, the inflammation heals completely and does not entail any further complications.
Heart failure occurs in the rarest of cases. A serious complication of pericarditis that can develop is pericardial tamponade, an effusion into the pericardium that can lead to cardiac arrest. Bacterial endocarditis can also cause blood clots to form, which can trigger embolisms or a stroke.
If the heartache has no physical cause, it can also occur psychologically due to a serious life event, for example death. Once treated, this heart neurosis can be treated within a year or two. If left untreated, complications such as anxiety disorders can arise, which can lead to a reduction in social life.
Treatment & Therapy
In order to be able to treat heart pain, very different approaches to therapy are recommended. In everyday medical practice, the choice of therapy for heart pain depends on the triggers. Sometimes it is the case that not only drug and surgical therapy methods have to be chosen. In most cases, the heart pain will go away with a healthy lifestyle and better treatment of other medications for various previous illnesses.
As part of changing lifestyle habits, quitting smoking, reducing excess body weight and treating diabetes that may be present can be quite effective against heart pain. When it comes to heart pain that is caused by a high concentration of blood lipids and high blood pressure, doctors use well-tolerated and extremely effective drugs.
These attack the causal triggers, relieve the heart and improve its blood flow. This is particularly important if chronic heart pain occurs in connection with angina pectoris or coronary artery disease.
The experienced specialist will prescribe the right drug of choice for chronic heart pain. People who suffer from heart pain in an acute angina pectoris attack use a nitro-containing drug as therapy.
Outlook & forecast
Heart pain is a major health hazard and should always be treated promptly. If heart pain is not treated, it can lead to a stroke and, in the worst case, death. Anyone who experiences heart pain should definitely and immediately consult a doctor for treatment.
Heart pain can be related to either an unhealthy lifestyle or age, and in many cases can be treated and severely limited. If the heart pain is treated, there is a high chance of a life completely without heart pain, so that there is no longer any risk of a stroke.
Treatment can be medication or surgery. An operation always poses a health risk. After the operation, the heart pain disappears and is no longer a risk. Treatment with medication cannot replace an operation and cannot completely contain the symptoms.
Even a healthy lifestyle cannot make heart pain directly reversible, but it does reduce symptoms. If damage has already been done to the heart and arteries, it cannot be reversed directly.
Medical advice should therefore always be sought immediately in the event of heart pain in order to avoid worse.
prevention
Preventing heart pain actually lies in avoiding the triggers and causes. A healthy BMI, a balanced diet that prevents the development of coronary heart disease and diabetes, as well as avoiding nicotine, make prophylactic sense.
In addition, strengthening the heart and improving cardiac blood flow through healthy fatty acids and regular exercise are recommended.
In connection with the use of heart-stressing medication, the doctor should precisely adjust and coordinate this to avoid heart pain. There are certainly drugs, which may include pain relievers and psychotropic drugs, which put additional stress on the heart due to their side effects. These should be discontinued or, if possible, reduced in dose to prevent heart pain.
You can do that yourself
Under no circumstances should heart pain be treated solely by home means. They can be a very dangerous situation and should therefore always be checked and treated by a doctor. However, it is advisable to support the treatment with certain methods and to prevent the heart pain itself.
Changes in diet can have a major impact on heart pain. A low-fat and healthy diet makes sense and can limit heart pain. The patient should also do sports. Smoking and the use of other drugs promote heart pain. These dependencies should definitely be abandoned. If it is not possible to give up these dependencies, self-help groups, psychologists or special clinics can be visited. Addiction to drugs increases the risk of heart pain enormously.
Heart pain is treated either with medication or surgery. It is very important to always take the medication on time in order to avoid and fight the heart problems. Taking medication incorrectly could lead to a heart attack. In general, heart pain should always be treated and examined by a doctor first as it can lead to a very dangerous condition.
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