Post-myocardial cardiosclerosis appears on the background of the inflammatory process, in medicine called myocarditis. Pathology becomes the cause of degradation of muscle tissue, instead of which connective tissue grows. But if the muscles in the normal state are elastic and can contract, the connective tissues are not capable of this, so the functioning of the heart is complicated. Postmyocardial cardiosclerosis is associated with heart failure, arrhythmia.
It is important
Post-myocardial cardiosclerosis is more often observed if myocarditis was triggered by allergies or systemic pathologies. Statistics note an increased incidence of heart rhythm disturbances.
Post-myocardial cardiosclerosis often affects people at a young age.
Classification
It is customary to distinguish two subtypes of the disease:
- focal, when the tissues are partially affected, while the affected areas may differ in format, vastness, location;
- diffuse when all tissues are affected equally.
Features
The diagnosis of post-myocardial cardiosclerosis is made when the disease is identified on the basis of a number of known symptoms. In this medicine, there are cases when even the diagnosis did not oblige to take medical measures. This is due to the fact that in a mild form, the pathology is eliminated by the body on its own, without outside help. As a rule, the presence of clinical manifestations is uncharacteristic for such cases.
But more serious manifestations of the disease already oblige to take various measures to save the health and even the life of the patient. Symptoms inherent in the disease are also characteristic of a number of other cardiac disorders, which significantly complicates the determination of the exact cause of the ailment. An important feature of the pathology under consideration is that its manifestations are usually fixed when the disease has reached a serious stage.
Symptomatology
At the beginning of the formation of pathology note:
- arrhythmia;
- pressure reduction;
- low cardiac conduction;
- heart murmurs.
Symptoms become more noticeable with time, when the volume of affected tissues increases, especially if there is a diffuse change in the myocardium. Postmyocardial cardiosclerosis manifests itself in a number of side effects that worsen the quality of life of the victim:
- dyspnea;
- regular feeling as if there is not enough air;
- weakness;
- fatigue
- heartache;
- cough;
- swelling of the legs, arms, in the abdomen;
- pale skin;
- sensations preceding fainting;
- limbs constantly feel cold.
With the development of pathology, also will be manifested:
- arrhythmias;
- bradycardia;
- tachycardia;
- systolic murmurs.
Diagnostic Features
Postmyocardial cardiosclerosis (ICD code 10 I20.0 — I20.9) is difficult to diagnose precisely because of the similarity of the manifestations of the disease to a number of other cardiac pathologies. As a rule, only an experienced doctor can make the correct diagnosis and choose the appropriate treatment for the situation. In order to identify the disease and determine its form, as well as the extent of the lesion, a number of studies will have to be conducted and tests taken.
If a person notices the manifestations described above, it is urgent to visit a doctor to examine the heart. Most often, electrocardiography is first prescribed. This study is indispensable if the patient has already suffered a viral, infectious disease, which proceeded severely and could provoke heart complications. If a severe form of the disease is detected, treatment is necessary. Post-myocardial cardiosclerosis in adolescents and adults is a dangerous diagnosis.
How to determine?
A patient with a suspected illness is first auditioned by a doctor. This helps to detect the presence of noise and to determine if attenuated tones are present. Also measure the pressure. For pathology, lower values ​​are characteristic, but normal values ​​may be.
Several laboratory, clinical methods for determining the disease and isolating it against the background of other pathologies have been developed. Post-myocardial cardiosclerosis (ICD code 10 I20.0 — I20.9) is detected during radiography and ultrasound. The first study allows us to clarify whether the size of all areas of the heart is normal or something is enlarged. Ultrasound provides a correct assessment of the myocardial wall thickness. They study both the individual elements of the heart, and the whole organ as a whole. Typically, studies show that the cavities are dilated. More often it is observed on the right.
Disease development
At a late stage, post-myocardial cardiosclerosis (ICD 10 I20.0 — I20.9) leads to the fact that communicating cavities are not blocked by valves, even if necessary. In this case, blood can move back. To fix the phenomenon, resort to echocardiography.
An electrocardiogram allows you to determine if the heart pulses are normal, and also to assess deviations in different periods.
Often with the progression of pathology in the ventricle of the heart, diffuse changes are observed on the right. To find scar tissue, they resort to radionuclide diagnostics.
Blood tests rarely show a deviation in the functioning of the heart system from normal. Biochemistry remains normal. However, this allows us to distinguish between the pathology and consequences of heart attack and stroke, which are characterized by an increase in the concentration of cholesterol and lipoproteins.
Important Nuances
At the initial visit to the doctor in order to diagnose pathology, the patient must definitely mention what diseases he had had before. In the case when the anamnesis contains myocarditis, the likelihood of developing disorders increases significantly.
Can postmyocardial cardiosclerosis be cured? Unfortunately, today science does not yet know the ways to reverse the negative process. An exception is the mildest forms of the disease that the body defeats with its resources.
A certain positive effect is produced by the gene therapy being developed now. True, such treatment is expensive and still at an insufficient level.
Electrocardiogram for post-myocardial cardiosclerosis
It is generally accepted that ECG is the most careful method for determining pathology, giving fairly accurate results. As a rule, in a personal medical book the results of the study are recorded as “signs of cardiosclerosis”, which is due to insufficient knowledge of the disease and its manifestations, as well as pathologies associated with it.
Diffuse form: features
Very often there is a diffuse form of pathology provoked by x-ray irradiation. Such an effect on the human body leads to various pathological processes, including the death of normal cells of the heart tissue.
Radiation sickness provokes post-myocardial cardiosclerosis, the treatment of which has not yet been developed to this day, at the same time is not a key factor. If the patient was diagnosed with such a pathology, survival is determined by concomitant acute diseases. The most effective practice for treating a diffuse form is to eliminate the causes that lead to the death of muscle tissue.
How to treat?
Symptoms usually attract the attention of the patient at a time when the pathology has already developed significantly, myocardial tissue has undergone a change over a large area. In such a situation, regression by known medical methods is not possible.
Therapeutic measures are prescribed in such a way as to slow down the death of heart tissue and prevent complications, as well as improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system as a whole.
Where to start?
The first thing that usually begins to treat a disease is to identify the causes that led to the pathology. In some cases, this is provoked by an infection, then antibiotics or antiviral treatment is prescribed, focusing on the specifics of the pathogen.
With systemic failures, measures are taken to combat the main disease that provoked heart complications.
In some cases, the main reason is allergy. Here, the efforts of doctors focus on identifying the allergen and eliminating it.
Additionally, drugs are prescribed that allow you to normalize and stimulate the work of the heart.
What medications help
Drug therapy includes all those drugs that are usually used for heart failure. The most common are:
- antioxidants;
- diuretics;
- vasodilators.
Determination in favor of a particular option occurs when taking into account the specifics of a particular case. To do this:
- daily monitoring of heart function;
- trial therapeutic course.
Additional medical activities
The help of drug therapy has a complex effect on the body: a special diet, restriction of loads. Arrhythmias are compensated by drugs developed for this.
With bradycardia, an implant is additionally installed, which controls the heart contractions through electrical impulses. With aneurysm, surgery is usually done. The most difficult case is when a heart transplant is required.
In recent years, a lot of money has been invested in medical research in this area, which allows us to hope that we will be able to invent a method of regression in pathology with the return of the quality of life to patients. It is assumed that it will be possible to find a method for eliminating the pathology by stem cell transplantation, but the theory is still not well developed.
What to count on?
The most common question of people who have been diagnosed with post-myocardial cardiosclerosis is: “Are they enlisted in the army?” It all depends on the form of the disease and the degree of its development. A mild form will not be an obstacle to service, while complex cases become the cause of disability. Of course, in this case it is impossible to serve in the army.
Disability is prescribed if, as a result of pathology, a person becomes unfit for work. Practice shows that cases of death in pathology are quite common. Many of them are associated with the development of complications: stroke, heart attack.
Prevention
The most effective method of disease prevention is an integrated responsible approach to your health. When diagnosing infectious diseases, they cannot be started, delayed by going to the doctor, and treated strictly in accordance with the doctor’s recommendations, resorting only to traditional medicine.
If the patient does not follow the recommendations of a specialist, there is a high likelihood of complications in the heart, especially post-myocardial cardiosclerosis. Self-medication also leads to this.
An additional measure for the prevention of pathology is vaccination against infections:
If the patient is characterized by frequent colds, it is necessary to take measures to increase immunity. If allergies are common, you should be examined by an immunologist and an allergist. If immunity disorders have been detected, therapy is required:
- antioxidants;
- vitamin
- immunomodulatory.
The most favorable prognosis in cases where cardiosclerosis has affected only small areas of muscle tissue. In this situation, a full recovery is possible. Also, options when there is no arrhythmia are positively evaluated.
If, over time, the processes of substitution of muscle connective tissue continue, the prognosis worsens. Arrhythmia, poor blood circulation and aneurysm also cause additional concerns. It should be remembered that the first stages of the disease are almost impossible to notice, therefore preventive measures are much more effective than treatment.