It happens that a person goes to the doctor with a complaint about the heart. The specialist sends him for examination, but he does not reveal any pathologies. It's good when a cardiologist recommends seeing a neurologist. In this case, he can report that it is not heart disease that is to blame, but osteochondrosis.
It turns out that one of the symptoms of chest osteochondrosis is a feeling of pain in the mammary gland or heart. It can be pulling, painful and pressing. In some cases, there is a feeling of warmth in the chest region and a rhythm disturbance. Over time, the pain may get worse. In this case, heart medications do not help.
Features of heart pain in osteochondrosis
Many people have a question: can the heart suffer from osteochondrosis? Yes. Patients often complain of the following:
- Prolonged persistence of heartbeat and chest pain.
- Gradually there are pains in the heart with osteochondrosis.
- Pain sensations are dull and pressing.
- The intensity of pain in the sternum is weak.
- The reception of nitrates does not remove the pain in the chest.
- Patients try to make less movement with their upper limbs, which intensifies pain sensations.
Sometimes cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis appear simultaneously, in this case additional pain occurs in the neck. The patient may complain of the following:
- Pain in the shoulder girdle, face and neck.
- Discomfort extends to almost the entire upper part of the chest, affects the muscle tissue of the spine.
- An attack can last several hours or even days.
Sometimes the cause of reflected pain lies in the compression of the vertebral artery. In this case, the following symptoms 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;
- dyspnea;
- loss of consciousness;
- rush of blood to the face.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine and how the heart hurts in women and men do not differ.
What is the effect of osteochondrosis on the heart? The disease is accompanied by changes in the spine, especially in the spinous processes of the lower cervical vertebrae. Little finger weakness and decreased muscle strength in the left hand may be experienced.
How to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis
How to recognize: is it pain due to pathologies of the heart or osteochondrosis? Solving the problem is not easy: in each of the two cases, the cells can emit painful and intense pain, and during physical exertion, the discomfort intensifies.
Although it is quite difficult to distinguish angina from thoracic osteochondrosis, there are signs that will help determine the true cause of the pain.
Heart Pain Differences in Osteochondrosis:
- Long-lasting pain: it lasts for weeks and months.
- Seizures occur with sudden lifting of the arms and head, tilting and turning, and coughing.
- The pain can wax and wane and subside when the body is in a comfortable position.
- With multiple violations ECG is 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.
- Prolonged stay in one position (for example, during sleep) can lead to a feeling of pain in the heart.
- Glycerol trinitrate does not help get rid of pain, for this you need to use only painkillers.
- Heart pains in osteochondrosis with a sharp change in the position of the body instantly intensify, they occur when sneezing, coughing, deep breathing and sudden movements of the head.
- When exposed to the spine, the intensity of pain increases.
- Heart pain in the chest region with osteochondrosis is not life-threatening.
Now let's figure out how to determine what hurts the heart with angina. 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;
- the pains have the same intensity;
- pain sensations spread to the arm, jaw and under the shoulder blade on the left side;
- pain can be caused by neuropsychic overstrain;
- the cardiogram reflects the presence of pathologies;
- the patient is afraid of death;
- may result in the death of the patient.
The nature of pain in osteochondrosis
Many are interested in how the heart hurts with osteochondrosis. Discomfort is felt not only in the chest, but also in the upper abdomen, in the ribs and near the spine. Movements are constrained with a long stay in the same position, while the pain intensifies. A short walk helps get rid of discomfort.
In addition, there may be pain in the back and in the region of the shoulder blades. It can get worse when you breathe deeply. The degree of discomfort is influenced by temperature (decrease) and changes in atmospheric pressure.
Osteochondrosis and heart pain are aggravated by rotation of the torso. This is due to the increased load on the anterior spinal disc. There is often a syndrome in this area. When inhaling, pain may occur in the intercostal space. Tension of the back muscles is possible, accompanied by unilateral spasms.
Sometimes the heart suffers from osteochondrosis, so it may seem that there are problems in the organs of the chest cavity. The disease can pass for intestinal and gastric pain and, in some cases, can even resemble appendicitis. If no action is taken, osteochondrosis will not only radiate to the heart, but pathology of the respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive systems will also occur.
The nature of the pain can change. Exacerbations can be replaced by remission, it happens in waves.
Causes of pain in the heart with osteochondrosis
Distinguishing a heart attack from osteochondrosis is not always easy. In the human body there is a complex complex of transmitting impulses from various systems and organs to the brain and vice versa. This allows it to collect information about all systems and manage their work. As a result, a connection is formed between the nerve endings and the spinal cord, which are located in the spine. When they are violated, the transmission of impulses occurs with a violation, the brain reacts incorrectly, pain appears that radiates to the chest region and the heart.
Pain in the heart with osteochondrosis appears in the following order:
- Changes occur in the spine due to injuries.
- The intervertebral disc protrudes, this does not affect the annulus fibrosis, which is prone to protrusion.
- In the event of a rupture of the fibrous ring, the center of the cartilaginous disc enters the cerebral canal, resulting in a herniation.
- osteophytes are formed.
- The vessels and nerves surrounding the disc begin to flatten.
- The appearance of the pain syndrome.
With osteochondrosis, heartbeats may become more frequent, and tachycardia may appear. Spinal injuries in different areas can give different pain symptoms. Neuralgia is affected by the degree of damage:
- only the body of the vertebra;
- intervertebral discs;
- ligament apparatus;
- paravertebral muscles.
How does osteochondrosis affect the functioning of the heart? After deformation, the discs compress the spinal nerves. This leads to pain. Osteochondrosis can give not only to the heart, but also cause pathologies of the entire spine. The disease can spread to adjacent departments, which leads to the appearance of new symptoms.
Symptoms of pain in the heart with osteochondrosis
Signs and symptoms of osteochondrosis with pain in the heart often occur against the background of a completely healthy heart system. Often they are stable, but can appear and increase paroxysmal. When there are problems with the spine, the pains are dull, deep and pressing, their feature is indistinct severity. In case of pain in the chest region with osteochondrosis, glycerol trinitrate does not help, since the cause is not in the heart.
To distinguish heart pain from chest osteochondrosis, it is important to know that sensations of a different nature can occur. For example, they can spread from the affected area to the muscles of the anterior part of the chest, to which the fifth-seventh cervical roots are connected. In this case, pain can be felt in the upper left part of the body, sometimes even affecting part of the face. At the same time, vascular disorders are not diagnosed, the ECG does not detect abnormalities. This happens even at the height of the pain.
How does thoracic osteochondrosis affect the heart and the human body?
One of the manifestations of osteochondrosis is the compression or pinching of blood vessels. This leads to a narrowing of the "channels" through which the blood passes. In order for the organs to continue to receive the right amount, the heart must work more actively. This means that the number of contractions increases per minute. As a result, blood pressure rises. This is the effect of osteochondrosis on the heart.
Violations in the work of the circulatory system lead to the appearance of pain in the heart with thoracic osteochondrosis and oxygen starvation of the brain. As a result, the above symptoms occur. The reaction, speed of thought, emotional state, orientation in space and memory depend on the work of the heart, as well as problems with vision or hearing.
Due to all these consequences, it becomes difficult to determine whether the heart hurts or whether it is thoracic osteochondrosis.
Diagnostic
How to determine that the heart hurts due to osteochondrosis? There are special procedures that will help determine the form and extent of the disease. When the disease worsens, it is better to consult a doctor. Doctors can advise you to undergo differential diagnosis, which allows you to determine what the cause of the disease is - the heart or the spine. It may include the following procedures:
- Electrocardiogram. When recording an ECG, it will be possible to immediately identify cardiac pathology. If the results are normal, it will become clear that the cause of the pain is neuralgia or osteochondrosis.
An ECG is a mandatory diagnostic procedure for the formation of pain in the chest.
- ultrasound. It is performed in patients suspected of infectious lesions of the heart. It is used as an additional method.
- X-ray. X-ray is prescribed for patients with suspected osteochondrosis. Images will make it possible to determine the destructive destruction of the joints. With heart problems, they will not suffer.
- CT and MRI. They can help if X-rays are inconclusive. These methods will more accurately determine the lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging will help diagnose osteochondrosis and heart pathology.
Treatment
Rest and bed rest will help relieve the pain of osteochondrosis. The surface should not be very soft or hard. The pillow is chosen so that the neck does not bend. You can ease the pain if you place a non-hot heating pad underneath.
Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out by such means:
- Medications :
- vasodilators;
- neurotropic drugs;
- diuretic drugs;
- painkillers;
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- chondroprotectors;
- sedatives.
- Physiotherapy. The patient undergoes procedures in which the affected area is affected by an electric field and variable frequency currents. This will help start the natural tissue regeneration mechanism.
- The use of turpentine, ointments containing 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 affected.
- Manual therapy. Thanks to them, degenerative processes in the spine are corrected, and effects are produced on the intervertebral joints.
- Back massage will not allow you to achieve the desired effect. The muscles are located around the vertebral 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 hot heating pads and hot compresses to reduce muscle tone.
Manual therapy and acupressure should only be performed by a qualified orthopedist, neuropathologist or traumatologist who has undergone special training and received the appropriate certificate.
Taking heart medications is usually the first and most powerful treatment for an illness. When used with other methods, results can be greatly improved. Armed with knowledge, it's time to start treatment!
self-processing errors
Often, patients who complain of a disease of the thoracic spine make a serious mistake when self-treating - they take medications if there are contraindications. For example, the older generation likes to use NSAIDs from the group of derivatives of phenylacetic acid. However, it cannot be used for gastric mucosal problems. They are typical for people over 50.
So, we considered the difference and what are the differences between the symptoms of angina and osteochondrosis, and also got acquainted with the methods of diagnosis and treatment. Collaborate with qualified doctors and follow their advice. Be persistent and consistent, and you can overcome this painful and dangerous disease! Remember that this can be very dangerous. So much so that the patient can be discharged from military service.