It happens that a person goes to the doctor with a heart complaint. The specialist sends him for examination, but it does not reveal pathologies. It is good when the cardiologist recommends consultation with a neurologist. In this case, he may report that not heart disease is to blame, but osteochondrosis.
It turns out that one of the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis is a feeling of pain in the mammary gland or heart. It can be pulling, pain and holding. In some cases, there is a feeling of warmth in the chest area and rhythm disturbances. Over time, the pain can get worse and worse. In this case, heart drugs do not help.
Features of heart pain during osteochondrosis
Many people have a question: can my heart hurt during osteochondrosis? Yes. Patients often complain of the following:
- Increased heart rate and chest pain.
- Pains in the heart appear gradually during osteochondrosis.
- Pain sensations are dull and tense.
- The intensity of pain in the chest area is low.
- Taking nitrates does not relieve chest pain.
- Patients try to make less movement with the upper limbs, as a result of which pain sensations intensify.
Sometimes cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis appear simultaneously, in which case additional pain appears in the neck. The patient may complain of the following:
- Pain in the shoulder girdle, face and neck.
- The discomfort spreads almost throughout the upper chest area, affecting the muscle tissue of the spine.
- An attack can last for several hours or even days.
Sometimes the cause of reflected pain is the compression of the vertebral artery. In this case, the following symptoms will appear:
- dizziness;
- Deterioration of hearing and vision;
- pressing pain in the back of the head;
- Antihypertensive drugs do not give the desired effect;
- feeling weak;
- Shortness of breath
- loss of consciousness;
- A stream of blood on the face.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine and how your heart hurts are not different for women and men.
What effect does osteochondrosis have on the heart? The disease is accompanied by changes in the spine, especially in the region of the vertebral processes of the lower cervical spine. Weakness of the little finger and decreased muscle strength of the left hand may be felt.
How to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis
How to recognize: is the pain due to heart pathologies or osteochondrosis? Solving the problem is not easy: in both cases, the cells can produce painful and severe pain, and the discomfort intensifies during physical exertion.
Although it is quite difficult to distinguish angina pectoris from osteochondrosis of the chest, there are signs that can help determine the true cause of the pain.
Differences in heart pain during osteochondrosis:
- Long duration of pain: They last for weeks and months.
- Convulsions are caused by sudden lifting, bending and turning of arms and head, as well as coughing.
- The pain may come and go and subside when the body is in a comfortable position.
- Multiple ECG abnormalities were not detected.
- When the chin is tilted to the chest, the pain intensifies, this is a sign of an intervertebral hernia.
- With pain, there are no attacks of anxiety and fear.
- Staying in one position for a long time (for example, while sleeping) can cause pain in the heart.
- Glycerol trinitrate does not help to relieve pain, only analgesics are needed for this.
- Heart pain during osteochondrosis is instantly intensified by sudden changes in body position, they occur during sneezing, coughing, deep breathing, and sudden head movements.
- The intensity of pain increases when the spinal column is affected.
- Heart pain caused by osteochondrosis in the chest is not life-threatening.
Now let's see how to determine what pain in the heart with angina pectoris. In this case, there will be such pains:
- short duration;
- not related to physical activity;
- Heart medications help stop or reduce pain;
- Pain sensations do not change if the load on the spine is constant;
- Pains have the same intensity;
- Pain sensations spread to the arm, jaw and left side under the shoulder blade;
- Pain can be caused by neuropsychic overload;
- Cardiogram reflects the presence of pathologies;
- The patient has a fear of death;
- May cause death of the patient.
The nature of pain in osteochondrosis
Many people wonder how the heart hurts during osteochondrosis. Discomfort is felt not only in the chest, but also in the upper abdomen, ribs and spine. Movements are limited by staying in the same position for a long time, and the pain intensifies. A short walk helps to relieve discomfort.
In addition, there may be pain in the back and shoulder blades. It can get worse when you take a deep breath. The degree of discomfort is affected by temperature (decrease) and atmospheric pressure changes.
Osteochondrosis and pain in the heart are aggravated by turning the body. This is due to the increased load on the anterior vertebral disc. Often in this area there is a syndrome. When inhaling, pain may be felt in the intercostal space. It is possible to strain the back muscles, accompanied by unilateral spasms.
Sometimes the heart hurts during osteochondrosis so that it may seem that there are problems in the organs of the chest cavity. The disease can turn into pain in the intestines and stomach, and in some cases it can resemble appendicitis. If no action is taken, osteochondrosis will spread not only to the heart, but also pathology of the respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive systems.
The nature of the pain may change. Exacerbations can be replaced by remission, it happens in waves.
Causes of heart pain with osteochondrosis
It is not always easy to distinguish infarction from osteochondrosis. In the human body there is a complex complex of transmission of impulses from various systems and organs to the brain and vice versa. This allows him to collect information about all systems and manage their operation. As a result, a connection is formed between the nerve endings and the spinal cord, which are located in the spine. When they are broken, the transmission of impulses is disturbed, the brain reacts incorrectly, there is pain that radiates to the chest area and the heart.
During osteochondrosis, pain in the heart appears in the following order:
- Changes in the spine occur due to injuries.
- The intervertebral disc protrudes without affecting the annulus fibrosus, which is prone to protrusion.
- In the case of rupture of the fibrous ring, the center of the cartilaginous disc enters the brain canal, as a result of which a hernia is formed.
- Osteophytes are formed.
- The vessels and nerves that surround the disc begin to flatten.
- Appearance of pain syndrome.
During osteochondrosis, heart rate may increase and tachycardia may appear. Injuries in different areas of the spine can cause different pain symptoms. Neuralgia is affected by the degree of damage:
- vertebral body only;
- intervertebral discs;
- apparatus of ligaments;
- Paravertebral muscles.
How does osteochondrosis affect the heart? After deformation, the discs compress the spinal nerves. This causes pain. Osteochondrosis can cause not only the heart, but also cause pathologies of the entire spinal column. The disease can spread to adjacent areas, causing new symptoms.
Symptoms of pain in the heart during osteochondrosis
Signs and symptoms of osteochondrosis with pain in the heart often appear against the background of a completely healthy heart system. Often they are stable, but can appear and increase paroxysmal. In the case of problems with the spine, the pains are dull, deep and tense, their characteristic is not sharp severity. Glycerol trinitrate does not help with chest pain in osteochondrosis, because the cause is not in the heart.
In order to distinguish pain during thoracic osteochondrosis, it is important to know that sensations of a different nature may develop. For example, they can spread from the affected area to the muscles of the front of the chest, which are connected by the fifth to seventh cervical roots. In this case, the pain is felt in the upper left part of the body, and sometimes in the face. At the same time, vascular disorders are not diagnosed, ECG does not detect abnormalities. This happens even at the peak of pain.
How does thoracic osteochondrosis affect the heart and human body?
One of the manifestations of osteochondrosis is compression or stretching of blood vessels. This leads to the narrowing of the "channels" through which the blood passes. In order for the organs to continue to receive it in the right amount, the heart must work more actively. This means that the number of contractions per minute increases. As a result, the blood pressure increases. This is the effect of osteochondrosis on the heart.
Disturbances in the work of the circulatory system cause pain in the case of thoracic osteochondrosis and brain oxygen starvation. As a result, the symptoms listed above appear. Reaction, speed of thought, emotional state, orientation in space and memory depend on the work of the heart, as well as vision or hearing problems.
Because of all these results, it becomes difficult to determine whether you have a heart attack or osteochondrosis of the chest.
diagnosis
How to determine that your heart hurts from osteochondrosis? There are special procedures that can help determine the form and extent of the disease. When the disease worsens, it is better to consult a doctor. Doctors may recommend a differential diagnosis, which allows you to determine what is the cause of the disease - the heart or the spine. It may include the following procedures:
- Electrocardiography. When recording an ECG, it will be possible to immediately identify heart pathology. If the results are normal, then it will become clear that the cause of the pain is neuralgia or osteochondrosis.
ECG is a mandatory diagnostic procedure for the formation of chest pain.
- Ultrasound. It is performed for patients with suspected infectious damage to the heart. It is used as an additional method.
- Radiography. X-ray is prescribed for suspected osteochondrosis patients. Images will allow you to determine the destructive destruction of joints. With heart problems, they do not suffer.
- CT and MRI. They can help if the X-rays are inaccurate. These methods determine the damage more precisely. Magnetic resonance imaging can help diagnose osteochondrosis and heart pathology.
treatment
Rest and bed rest will help relieve the pain of osteochondrosis. The surface should not be too soft or hard. The pillow is selected so that the neck does not bend. You can ease the pain if you put a non-hot heater under it.
Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out by the following means:
- Medicines:
- vasodilators;
- neurotropic drugs;
- diuretic drugs;
- Analgesics;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- chondroprotectors;
- Sedatives.
- Physiotherapy. The patient undergoes procedures in which the affected area is affected by an electric field and alternating currents. This will help start the mechanism of natural tissue regeneration.
- Use of ointments containing turpentine, snake or bee venom, as well as painkillers. They activate the release of heat in the muscles, improve the condition of the nerve roots, expand the blood vessels.
- Acupuncture. With the help of needles, energy meridians and active points are damaged.
- manual therapy. Thanks to them, the degenerative processes of the spine are corrected and it is possible to influence the intervertebral joints.
- Back massage will not allow you to get the desired effect. The muscles are located around the spinal discs, it is almost impossible to reach them. The effect gives an exceptionally deep and acupressure massage. Before this procedure, it is recommended to take painkillers.
- At home, you can use warm heating pads and warm compresses to reduce muscle tone.
Manual therapy and acupressure should be performed only by a qualified orthopedist, neuropathologist or traumatologist who has undergone special training and received the appropriate certificate.
Heart medication is usually the first and most powerful treatment for the condition. When used in combination with other methods, the results can be significantly improved. Armed with knowledge, it's time to start treating!
Self-medication errors
Often, patients with complaints of thoracic spine disease make a serious mistake during self-medication - they take medicines if there are contraindications for them. For example, the older generation likes to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives. However, it cannot be used in case of gastric mucosa problems. They are characteristic of people over 50 years of age.
So, we looked at the difference and what is the difference between the symptoms of angina and osteochondrosis, as well as the methods of diagnosis and treatment. Cooperate with qualified doctors and follow their instructions. Be persistent and consistent and you will be able to overcome this painful and dangerous disease! Remember, this can be very dangerous. So much so that the patient is released from military service.