There are many unpleasant situations that may concern a person. In this article I want to talk in more detail about such a problem as pain in the heart: symptoms and possible causes.
Reason 1. Angina pectoris
There are many reasons why heart pain can occur . The symptom may also be different. After all, pain is pressing, aching, sharp, etc. First of all, I want to say that with angina pectoris, unpleasant pain can occur. In this case, the nature of the pain: compressive, compressive. Other symptoms, which can also be observed:
- Burning in the sternum.
- The pain can be "given" under the scapula, in the left hand and even the jaw.
Most often, this condition occurs after physical exertion, during stress, hypothermia, less often - in a state of complete rest. The cause of pain in this case is poor blood supply to the heart muscle. This is mainly due to clogging of the vessel with plaques (which occurs with coronary heart disease). The attack itself lasts about 5 minutes.
How to get rid of angina pain
If the patient has angina with heart pain (symptom: aching and pressing pain), you can cope with the problem by performing the following points:
- First of all, you need to immediately stop any physical activity. We need to sit down, calm down.
- Next, under the tongue, you need to put the tablet "Nitroglycerin".
- Necessarily also the patient needs to provide access to fresh air.
If you follow these recommendations, the pain will go away pretty quickly.
Reason 2. Myocardial infarction
If myocardial infarction causes pain in the heart, the symptom in this case is cutting, pressing or stitching pain. The attack lasts quite a long time - at least 20 minutes. At the same time, a drug such as Nitroglycerin does not help. A special symptomatology that may occur in this case is a sticky cold sweat, as well as an arising feeling of fear. It is worth saying that this disease is very dangerous. Treatment should be started as early as possible. After all, the first hours with this disease are the most important for the patient.
What if the patient has pain associated with myocardial infarction?
If a person has a myocardial infarction, before providing assistance, you still need to call an ambulance. After all, only specialists can do everything necessary to save a person. What measures should also be taken?
- Before the ambulance arrives, the patient needs to put a Nitroglycerin tablet every 15 minutes (however, no more than 8 tablets in a row).
- It is also necessary to chew half an Aspirin tablet.
- The patient needs to be planted so that his legs hang down. In the prone position, it is much more difficult for the heart to work, so a person cannot be put down.
- The patient also needs access to fresh air.
Reason 3. Endocarditis, myocarditis
If the patient has prolonged pain in the heart, this symptom may relate to diseases such as myocarditis or endocarditis (different parts of the heart become inflamed). In this case, the patient will experience the following symptoms:
- Dyspnea.
- Bad feeling.
- Fever (may not be).
- Heart rhythm disturbance.
In this case, the patient is best to immediately seek medical help. After all, the only way to prevent the occurrence of complications and the development of multiple problems.
Other reasons
Pain in the heart can occur with the following diseases:
- Pericarditis. However, in this case, pain only accompanies the initial stage of the disease, when the friction of the leaves of the pericardium occurs.
- With cardiomyopathy, the pain can be completely different. In addition, it can be localized not only in the region of the heart.
- If the patient has mitral valve prolapse, in this case the person will feel a pressing, aching and aching pain that does not go away after taking such a drug as Nitroglycerin.
Nature of pain
Often people are interested in: "How to understand what hurts the heart?" What symptoms does a person feel? Indeed, people often confuse ordinary neuralgia with heart problems. What is worth remembering in this case? There are two types of heart pain:
- Religious pain. They are paroxysmal in nature. Often associated with stressful situations or physical exertion. The nature of the pain: pressing, burning, compressing. Pain can also be felt in the left arm or shoulder. Accompanying symptoms: shortness of breath, respiratory rhythm disturbance.
- Cardialgia. These are stitching and aching pains of a prolonged nature. Often aggravated by deep breathing or coughing. Taking painkillers can ease pain.
- If arterial pressure also increased with pain, this is also a sign that it is the heart that hurts.
Neuralgia and heart pain
Separately, I also want to consider what symptoms of pain in the heart indicate exactly this problem. After all, pain in this area can also indicate neuralgia. You must be able to distinguish between these two problems.
- With neuralgia, the pain can persist for quite some time. If the heart hurts, discomfort disappears after about 10-15 minutes.
- Neuralgic pain can be given in the back, arm, lower back. Heart pains are mainly localized precisely in the sternum.
- The nature of neuralgic pains varies from the depth of inspiration, the position of the human body. For heart pain, this is completely not characteristic.
- If the heart hurts, it also often violates the pulse rate, changes in blood pressure. For neuralgic pains this is completely uncharacteristic.
Traditional medicine
Further we consider such a problem as heart pain: symptoms, treatment. About how to cope with discomfort with the help of medications, it is said above, now I want to say a few words about the effective means of traditional medicine.
- If a person has a heart condition and does not have the Nitroglycerin preparation on hand, he must swallow a clove of garlic.
- For pain in the heart it is very useful to eat figs.
- To get rid of pain in the heart, you need to take spinach leaves 3 times a day, 3 g half an hour before meals, washed down with warm water.
This will help to cope with the pain, but the cause of its occurrence will not eliminate. To treat this problem, it is best to seek medical help.