Painful sensations in the area of the heart force patients to consult a cardiologist. Anxiety, nervousness and fear for one's life appear. But not all unpleasant signs are directly related to cardiac problems. Even thoracic osteochondrosis - symptoms, sensations - pain in the heart provokes as often as diseases of this organ.
Pain can often appear behind the sternum, closer to the back or even the diaphragm, when the vertebrae are affected, regardless of the stage of the pathology. And the mechanism of the unpleasant symptom has several features.
Mechanism of development of symptoms
Interruptions in the heart during osteochondrosis cannot occur by themselves; they develop only as an echo of the underlying disease:
- Thinning of the intervertebral structures. The distance between bone elements and cartilage decreases, which leads to the limitation of nerve roots. As a result, painful sensations are formed, which, in the presence of destructive processes in the thoracic or cervical spine, often radiate to the heart.
- Changes in the heart muscle. Due to the disease, sensations spread throughout the heart muscle, the so-called "echoes" of pain.
- Involvement of the upper limbs in the process. The effect of osteochondrosis on the heart can be due to excessive muscle tension in the arms. As a result, the pain is transmitted to the heart muscle, but the EKG shows no abnormalities.
- Changes in the structure of the midsection. The position of the abdominal organs changes, resulting in increased stress and changes in heart rate.
- Muscle spasms and changes in blood circulation. Heart pain with osteochondrosis occurs in response to changes in blood flow in the large arteries of the back. The heart rate increases as blood must be pumped through a narrower passage.
- Severe destruction of the intervertebral discs. The nerves are compressed, which leads to pain in the heart area. Hypoxia develops gradually. It also covers the functioning of the brain, as a result of which the normal functioning of the internal organs changes.
- Due to the compression of the arteriesand nerve fibers, high pressure may appear. Due to this, painful sensations appear in the heart.
You can distinguish pain in the heart from the manifestations of osteochondrosis with certain symptoms.
Signs of osteochondrosis with painful sensations
Cardiac syndrome - pain in the heart due to osteochondrosis of the chest region - develops in many patients.Symptoms will have the following characteristics:
- pressing, dull pain in heart;
- gradually increasing discomfort, silent, not very pronounced;
- the pain continues for a long time, covers the chest, causes palpitations;
- there is no sharp intensity of pain 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 heart pain from osteochondrosis;
- heart medications (nitrates) do not help relieve pain;
- if a person begins to move the upper limbs, the pain intensifies.
If the cervical spine is involved in the process, then the pain is felt in the vertebral area.
Some patients note that the pain is of a different nature: 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 compression of the vertebral artery occurs, additional symptoms appear: weakness, dizziness, spots, and in severe cases the patient loses consciousness. Also, with pain in the heart, there is a decrease in hearing and vision, and the blood rushes to the face. If a person takes medicines for hypertension, they do not help him.
Differences in pain
There are several ways to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis; the main method is to undergo an 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 continues for a long time. With heart attacks, the symptoms are more severe;
- if you press your chin to your chest, the pain of osteochondrosis will intensify;
- if the pain intensifies with movement and exercise, this is osteochondrosis;
- With pain in the heart, panic, fear and anxiety always arise.
Neuralgia itself is safe, but it can intensify when the body leans in different directions or when making sharp turns. You can relieve the pain with analgesics.
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 diseases, the pain appears very acutely, within 3-5 minutes. Sensations of an urgent nature do not allow breathing, and after nitrates the symptoms go away immediately.
If the risk of myocardial infarction is high, then 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 acute.
But with VSD (dystonia), the symptoms can be similar. But, unlike heart pain with osteochondrosis, with this pathology a person experiences tachycardia, bradycardia, a feeling of fear, gets tired quickly and feels constant weakness. The pain is usually painful and dull, and with osteochondrosis it is compressive.
Palpitations
With osteochondrosis, the heart can not only be injured, but also disturbed by angina pectoris, arrhythmia and tachycardia. This happens due to spasms and compression of the artery.With osteochondrosis, the following characteristics appear:
- increased heart rate at rest, increased pace during exercise;
- smooth rhythm without interruption;
- wave-like heat attacks;
- tachycardia may be accompanied by presyncope.
Symptoms go away if quality treatment of the disease is carried out.
Extrasystole
Extrasystole is a condition in which there is a sensation of a second cardiac arrest. With osteochondrosis, this complication causes real panic. However, this unusual condition is the norm for the human body. True, most people do not notice such a process.
Extrasystole is a kind of "break" in the work of the heart muscle. Surprisingly, such short breaks are vital for the body.
Such "pauses" happen to people, regardless of age, weight and daily physical activity.
Pressure in osteochondrosis
Among the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis is often high blood pressure. But this pathology can have other reasons. With osteochondrosis, the arteries, veins and blood vessels are compressed, and the nutrition of the brain and other organs deteriorates.
Patients start taking medications to solve this problem, as a result of which blood stops flowing to the brain again. Oxygen starvation and lack of nutrients develop. A person suffers from symptoms such as: weakness, drowsiness, pain and dizziness, pale skin, nausea.
Dealing with painful sensations
Once it has become possible to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis, the treatment of diseases must be differentiated. If all the symptoms are associated with damage to the thoracic spine, then medications cannot be taken to relieve feelings of pain in the heart.
Therapy should eliminate the causes of osteochondrosis or minimize them. It has been proven that regular and 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 during an exacerbation:
- The person should not move much, bed rest is recommended.
- To relieve acute pain, NSAIDs or glucocorticosteroids are prescribed.
- Local medications are also used, which are good for relieving pain due to 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 method for restoring the vertebrae, relieving spasms, tension and swelling of the surrounding tissues.
- Exercise therapy and sports are also prescribed, which are useful for osteochondrosis of the thoracic region.
- In addition, you can use folk recipes - baths and compresses - they are very relaxing and have a positive effect on the emotional state of patients.
- An equally important diet in the treatment of osteochondrosis. Adequate amounts of plant foods, healthy fats and protein are essential to repair damaged tissue. A balanced diet also helps you lose excess weight.
The best way to determine whether osteochondrosis or the heart is bothering you is to undergo a medical examination. With the help of X-rays and a simple EKG, you can understand which sensations are associated with a particular disease.