Unstable angina pectoris: symptoms and treatment

Unstable angina pectoris is a symptom that clearly indicates the development of ischemic heart muscle disease. It occurs in 10% of cases of all pathologies of the organ. An unstable form is a borderline state after which a heart attack already occurs. Its severity lies in the fact that it is unpredictable. Such angina pectoris is more often fatal.

General Description of the Disease

The presented pathology is more often observed in elderly men, although it is often diagnosed in young people. To start timely treatment, you need to contact a cardiologist if you have the first heart problems.

Due to ischemic damage, which is often accompanied by a worsening of the lumen of blood vessels, blood circulation in the body worsens. Coronary arteries are considered to be most sensitive to this process. If a person is at rest, then he does not feel any discomfort.

The situation develops differently if blood flow accelerates during psychological or physical exertion. Since vascular patency is impaired, hypoxia of the heart, as well as other tissues and organs, appears.

The amount of decay products in the circulatory system is increasing. This leads to poisoning of the heart muscle. The patient has a pain syndrome. An attack of unstable angina pectoris is an indication for immediate hospitalization. Pathology is protracted and difficult to treat.

If a patient suffers from a large number of blood vessels, he develops an unfavorable prognosis for life.

Causes of occurrence

Treatment of unstable angina pectoris is carried out comprehensively, after the reasons for its development are clarified. These include:

• Atherosclerosis of the blood vessels through which the heart feeds.
• Drop in blood pressure.
• Blockage of the coronary vessel by a thrombus (while the lumen remains partially open).
• Decreased antithrombotic properties of the endothelium.
• Excess body weight, in which the circulatory system experiences a high load.
• Age-related dystrophic changes in the tissues. They lose their tone, become more subtle.
• Diabetes. With this disease, the walls of the vessels seriously suffer.

The risk group includes patients with excessive body weight, high cholesterol, hypertension, exacerbation of chronic processes, blood clotting. Diabetes mellitus, smoking, alcohol abuse, heavy junk food, excessive physical exertion can provoke an attack. The risk of getting angina pectoris rises after 45 years.

Classification

The classification of unstable angina is as follows:

1. Emerging for the first time. She is characterized by the onset of attacks less than 28 days ago. This is angina pectoris of rest or tension.
2. Variant. This form is considered the most dangerous, since it precedes a heart muscle infarction.
3. Progressive. It requires the constant use of maintenance drugs.
4. Post-infarction. It develops within 14 days after an attack. This type of pathology does not respond well to drug therapy. Significantly increases the risk of death.
5. Spontaneous. Such an attack is severe and lasts 15-20 minutes.

Whatever type of illness the patient has, it poses a danger to his life, so you can not hesitate with treatment. Angina pectoris tends to progress, so it requires constant monitoring by doctors.

Symptoms of pathology

The presented pathology is characterized by vivid manifestations that cannot be ignored. Symptoms of unstable angina are as follows:

• Long-term pain syndrome, which has a compressive, compressive character and high intensity. He is able to give to the arm, shoulder blade, neck, lower jaw.
• Increased sweating.
• Dizziness and fainting.
• Increased anxiety and fear of death.
• Shortness of breath at rest and during physical exertion, feeling of lack of air.
• Heart rate increase.

IHD in unstable angina pectoris - a clinical syndrome, pain in the area of ​​the affected organ. Its duration and intensity increases. Often it takes on a wave-like character. It becomes more difficult for a person to do physical work. Medicines relieve the condition only for a short time. Unstable angina pectoris requires an increased dosage of cardiac drugs prescribed by your doctor.

The disease needs to be kept under control all the time, but sometimes you need to urgently seek medical help. An ambulance should be called if the patient has nausea and indomitable vomiting, severe weakness, cold sweat and pallor of the skin.

Diagnostic Features

According to the ICD, unstable angina pectoris has a code of І20. Before starting treatment, the patient is subjected to a comprehensive examination. To begin with, the doctor records the patient's complaints, collects an anamnesis. Additional information for unstable angina pectoris is given by the medical history. The genetic factor in the development of pathology is evaluated.

The following diagnostic methods are informative:

1. Palpation in the area of ​​the heart, listening to the respiratory system.
2. Biochemical and general blood test.
3. Ultrasound examination of the organ. It allows you to consider changes in its structure, the expansion of the size of the cameras.
4. ECG. This study is conducted regularly.
5. Daily monitoring of heart functionality. It is carried out within 24-72 hours. The study allows you to determine the presence of cardiac ischemia.
6. Myocardial scintigraphy. The state of the walls of the organ, as well as its cavities, is determined. Research reveals necrotic areas in the heart.
7. Coronary angiography. It makes it possible to determine the degree of patency of the arteries and consider the feasibility of their expansion due to stenting.

Only a thorough examination will determine the cause of the development of the pathology and eliminate it. If the patient has pain, but there are no changes on the cardiogram, he will still be hospitalized. Indicators may be somewhat late.

Diagnosis must be differential, since the presented pathology can be confused with a heart attack or blockage of the pulmonary artery. Here, blood testing for proteins is important.

Urgent Care

Unstable angina pectoris requires immediate medical attention. If the attack happened at home, then a person should be given emergency care:

• Put the victim on any surface (even on the ground).
• Unfasten buttons, ties, collar, remove excess clothing. It is necessary to provide free access of air.
• Stay close to the patient, talk to him all the time, so as not to let him lose consciousness.

You can’t give any heart remedies on your own, because the symptoms may be blurry or the person will become worse. After the doctors arrive, they need to explain the situation in detail.

Specialists at the site are required to prevent the death of the patient, to facilitate and stabilize his condition. In the future, he is hospitalized.

Traditional treatment

If the code for unstable angina according to ICD 10 is known, then now the treatment regimen for the disease should be considered. It is advisable to contact a cardiologist as soon as possible. Usually, therapy is carried out in a hospital, where it is possible to establish a round-the-clock observation of the victim and, if necessary, perform an operation.

Treatment of unstable angina is carried out with medications. The following drugs are prescribed to the patient:

1. Anticoagulants: Heparin. They avoid the formation of blood clots that block the lumen of the vessel.
2. Diuretics They are necessary if the patient has congestive heart failure, as well as edema of the respiratory system.
3. Blood thinners: Cardiomagnyl, Aspirin, if acetylsalicylic acid cannot be used.
4. Pain Relieving Medicines: Nitroglycerin.
5. Calcium Antagonists: Nifedipine. Means of this type are prescribed for bradycardia, the development of severe systemic pathologies. The presented drugs are actively used in the advanced form of atherosclerosis.
6. Beta-blockers: Anaprilin, Betalok. Drugs of this type eliminate ischemia of the heart muscle, have an antiarrhythmic effect.
7. Medicines that improve metabolic processes in the tissues of the myocardium: Preductal, Trimetazidine.
8. Lipid-lowering drugs: "Crestor."
9. Narcotic analgesics or antipsychotics. They are required only when pain cannot be removed by other means.

After stabilization of the patient's condition, therapy continues. It includes taking Aspirin and nitrates, as well as beta blockers.

After 2-3 weeks of treatment, the patient undergoes a study on the treadmill. This determines the body's resistance to physical activity.

In the period of exacerbation, the patient needs complete rest. Even minimal physical activity is contraindicated. Effective is a specialized spa treatment. It is not cheap, but can reduce the number of relapses.

The patient needs the use of sedatives, as well as the help of a psychotherapist.

Surgical intervention

Unstable angina pectoris - a difficult diagnosis. The patient has an increased risk of death. Often the patient is prescribed surgery. The most common procedure is coronary artery bypass grafting. Its goal is to improve blood flow to the myocardium. The prognosis in humans becomes more favorable.

The operation is prescribed by the attending physician if there are such indications:

• Medicines do not give a positive effect for a long time.
• Coronary vessels are too affected.

Factors of operational risk should also be taken into account: the clinical form of the disease, especially the lesions of the coronary bed, index of left ventricular myocardial dysfunction.

In addition to shunting, other operations are assigned to a person:

• Angioplasty with an expanding balloon. The procedure is performed through a catheter.
• Stenting. A stent is inserted into the lumen of the vessel, which prevents its narrowing.

Such an intervention is prescribed if in a person the main trunk of the left coronary artery is half closed.

The use of folk remedies

The effectiveness of drug therapy can be increased if recipes of alternative medicine are additionally used. But this can only be done with the permission of the attending physician. Only folk remedies can not be used.

Such recipes will be useful:

1. Before each meal, you need to eat a slice of lemon peel. It produces an antithrombolytic effect. 2 peels should be consumed per day. Significant improvement occurs within a week.
2. Take equal amounts of aloe, lemon and honey juices. This should be done in a glass vessel. The mixture is refrigerated for 24 hours. Drink the drug should be 1 tbsp. thrice a day. This is done 30 minutes before a meal. The course of treatment is a month.
3. Rub fir oil into the chest area every day. The product must be preheated. Only 6-7 drops of oil are enough. The course of therapy is a month. The frequency of application of the procedure is once a day.
4. Mix half a liter of vodka and fresh honey. Further, the mixture is heated and stirred until smooth. Separately, it is necessary to prepare a collection of equal amounts (1 tsp) of motherwort, dried cinnamon, chamomile, valerian root, knotweed, soak 1 liter of boiling water. The liquid is infused and mixed with honey and vodka. It is necessary to take the drug for 1 tbsp. l., twice a day, until it ends.

Folk remedies are not a panacea, but they can improve the effect of drug treatment.

Possible complications and prevention

In the presence of unstable angina, the history of the disease allows you to trace the dynamics of the development of pathology. Incorrectly prescribed treatment contributes to the development of complications. They pose a danger not only to health, but also to life.

Complications may be:

• Myocardial infarction, which often provokes a fatal outcome.
• Tachyarrhythmia or bradyarrhythmia.
• Lack of heart functionality (decompensated).
• Extrasystole.
• Sudden death.

In the presence of unstable angina, the recommendations of doctors must be strictly followed.

To prevent the development of pathology, the following preventive measures should be observed:

1. Eat right with low-calorie foods. You can’t overeat. It is worth abandoning fatty and smoked foods, fried foods, canned and sausages, spices and salt. The diet should contain vegetables and fruits. Animal fats, fast food, carbonated drinks are excluded.
2. Refuse alcohol and smoking. Alcohol and nicotine negatively affect not only the circulatory system, but also on the nerve endings.
3. Protect the nervous system from stress, nervous shocks, strong emotional outbursts. The instability of the central nervous system only exacerbates the situation, makes the heart work faster, more intensively.
4. Stabilize body weight. If necessary, the patient will have to lose weight, as the heart will not be able to provide normal blood circulation. But on strict diets it is better not to sit abruptly. The body must receive sufficient nutrients.
5. Use anticoagulants prescribed by your doctor for preventive purposes. It is forbidden to use them independently or change the dosage without the knowledge of a doctor.
6. Monitor blood pressure. Hypertension negatively affects the circulatory system and heart.
7. To do physical exercises. The load should be adequate and regular. But playing sports intensively will not work.
8. The correct daily routine, adequate rest and a good sleep is the key to health.

Symptoms and treatment of unstable angina should be known to every patient who has this problem. Proper behavior can one day save his life.

The presented pathology can significantly reduce the life of even a young person, so you need to carefully monitor your health. At the first problems with the heart, you should consult a cardiologist.