Diseases of the cardiovascular system always require a qualified approach to treatment. Otherwise, the probability of death increases. In this article we will present a detailed answer on the topic "Myocardial cardiosclerosis: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment." This is one of the most common diseases of this nature at present. What is the difference between this ailment? What are its primary symptoms?
Disease Description
Heart diseases always cause a lot of anxiety, since the future life of a person actually depends on the correct and timely treatment. That is why in modern medicine a lot of attention is paid to this issue.
What is cardiosclerosis of the heart? This is a special pathological condition due to which the muscle tissue of the heart is replaced by connective due to the action of some factors. As a result, the muscle loses its primary functions, that is, it ceases to independently conduct impulses and even intensively contract.
In addition, often there is a restructuring of the unaffected areas of the organs. These cells take on the excessive burden associated directly with contraction. That is why hypertrophy initially develops, the organ chambers expand, the normal operation of the valves themselves is disrupted. According to experts, this is the reason for the formation of the main manifestations with such a pathology.
To have the most detailed information on this disease, you need to know what specifically differs cardiosclerosis of the heart (treatment, symptoms and signs).
Reasons and types
First of all, it must be noted that this pathology occurs in people of completely different ages. However, its causes differ and depend immediately on several factors, including age.
Cardiosclerosis in young children, as a rule, develops as a result of inflammatory processes directly in the myocardium. In adults, the cause most often lies in previously transferred cardiac pathologies. Metabolic dysfunction plays an important role in this matter.
Thus, the pathological process in the myocardium can develop due to the action of the following factors:
- inflammation of the heart muscle;
- coronary artery disease;
- cardiodystrophy;
- abnormal blood flow can also provoke cardiosclerosis of the heart.
Symptoms of a dystrophic variant of the pathology, as a rule, appear for the following reasons:
- excessive regular exercise;
- severe anemia;
- intoxication of the body;
- various kinds of disorders at the endocrine level (diabetes, obesity, thyroid disease);
- lack of vitamins in the body;
- amyloidosis.
Classification
According to the degree of spread of the pathological process, experts distinguish two types of disease:
- Focal cardiosclerosis of the heart. Symptoms in this case are unlikely, however, if the scar is localized in the conducting system of the organ, arrhythmia may appear.
- Diffuse cardiosclerosis is characterized by complications in the form of heart failure.
In addition, this disease is conditionally divided into several forms, namely:
- primary (appears against the background of systemic ailments of the connective tissue itself);
- myocarditis (develops as a result of the inflammatory process in the muscle, but the blood vessels of the heart themselves are not damaged);
- post-infarction;
- replacement (in place of "starving" cells, scars gradually form).
Manifestation of the disease
According to experts, the signs of the pathological process largely depend on the form to which cardiosclerosis belongs. Symptoms are also determined by the degree of disruption of this organ and the involvement of surrounding tissues, which can take on some “functions”.
In the case of diffuse cardiosclerosis, a fairly common heart failure is considered the main symptom. It manifests itself with the following symptoms:
- constant shortness of breath and a feeling of lack of air;
- heart palpitations ;
- swelling of the lower extremities;
- pain in the chest area during exercise;
- general weakness.
Focal cardiosclerosis of the heart is manifested somewhat differently. Symptoms in the initial stages practically do not bother patients. The primary signs of the disease, as a rule, arise with a significant amount of muscle cell replacement, as well as when the conductive system itself is involved in the pathological process. In the latter embodiment, a variety of arrhythmias most often develop (atrioventrucular blockade, ventricular tachycardia), often leading to death.
Course of the disease
Considering this disease, one should not ignore the question of how cardiosclerosis of the heart develops. The reasons that were listed above gradually lead to a deficiency of oxygen in the tissues of the organ. So, normal muscles are successively replaced by connective tissue. She is not able to carry any functional load. As a result, neighboring, healthy tissue sites take over the main work of the heart.
As a result of such a process, the normal areas on which double work was laid down are subsequently hypertrophied. This means that due to vigorous activity, they begin to increase in size. Such a rather heavy load the heart simply can not withstand, as a result, the "tired" muscles are again replaced by connective tissue. It stretches, the myocardial cavity is expanding rapidly, disrupting the usual circulation. All this together entails the development of heart failure.
How to confirm the presence of the disease?
It should be noted that the primary symptoms and diagnosis of cardiosclerosis of the heart are a direct component of competent treatment. The thing is that initially the doctor should listen to all the patient's complaints, collect a detailed medical history, and only after that an additional examination should be prescribed. It implies the following activities:
- Ultrasound of the heart (its structure, size is evaluated);
- ECG (shows the presence / absence of early heart attacks, localization);
- MRI
- heart biopsy (a rather traumatic and at the same time informative diagnostic method);
- dopplerography of blood vessels.
If the doctor has doubts about the primary cause of the disease, additional studies are prescribed (blood test, constant pressure monitoring).
Therapy
Doctors today offer two options for treating this ailment: medication and surgery. According to experts, it is important to focus on the root cause or the main disease, which provoked the development of such a problem as cardiosclerosis of the heart.
Treatment with drugs involves taking the following drugs:
- ACE inhibitors (prevent self-expansion of the heart chambers);
- preparations for the normalization of heart rhythm ("Cordaron", "Amiodarone", "Rhythmorm");
- medicines to improve metabolic processes directly in the myocardium ("Simdax", "Actovegin", "Korglikon");
- statins (lower blood cholesterol);
In the case of surgical treatment, as a rule, the following procedures are possible:
- Coronary artery bypass grafting (restoration of normal blood flow through the arteries).
- Implantation of a pacemaker.
- Resection of the aneurysm of the heart (myocardial contractility improves).
- Organ transplantation (assigned only in extremely severe cases).
What complications can myocardial cardiosclerosis lead to?
Treatment, symptoms, diagnosis of the disease are important issues and require an exclusively qualified approach. Otherwise, if the patient neglects therapy or untimely seeks medical advice, the risk of complications will increase. These include the following:
- atrial fibrillation (inconsistency of contractions of the heart muscle at a relatively high frequency of beats per minute);
- extrasystole (can occur even in a healthy person, characterized by extraordinary organ contractions);
- heart block;
- aneurysm (when it breaks, death immediately occurs);
- chronic heart failure.
Prevention
Cardiosclerosis and its consequences can often be prevented if you follow all the recommendations below. To prevent this disease, doctors often prescribe the so-called antiarrhythmic drugs, which directly strengthen the heart muscle itself, as well as vitamin complexes. It is extremely important to regularly undergo a routine examination, including for monitoring the condition of the heart.
For the normal functioning of this body, it is recommended to observe the correct sleep-rest regimen, eat right, try to avoid stressful situations and excessive loads, monitor the pressure.
Conclusion
In this article, we touched on a rather serious topic about what cardiosclerosis is (symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for the future). In fact, this disease always requires qualified therapy. An exceptionally competent approach to treatment and timely treatment to a doctor - all this can help to cope with this pathology.