It happens that a person goes to the doctor with a heart complaint. The specialist sends him for examination, but this does not reveal pathologies. It is good if the cardiologist recommends a consultation with a neurologist. In this case, you can report that it is not heart disease that is to blame, but osteochondrosis.
It turned out that one of the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis is a feeling of pain in the mammary gland or heart. You can pull, hurt and push. In some cases, there is a feeling of warmth in the chest and dysrhythmias. Over time, the pain may get worse. In this case, heart medications will not help.
Features of heart pain in osteochondrosis
Many people have a question: can the heart hurt with osteochondrosis? Yes. Patients often complain of:
- Prolonged presence of palpitations and chest pain.
- Gradually, there are pains in the heart in osteochondrosis.
- The feeling of pain is dull and oppressive.
- The intensity of pain in the sternum is low.
- Taking nitrates does not eliminate chest pain.
- Patients try to make less movement with their upper limbs, as a result of which the feeling of pain intensifies.
Sometimes cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis appear at the same time, in which case additional pain occurs in the neck. The patient may complain of the following:
- Pain in the shoulder girdle, face and neck.
- The discomfort extends almost to the entire upper chest and affects the muscle tissue of the spine.
- The attack can last several hours or even days.
Sometimes the cause of reflected pain lies in compression of the vertebra of the artery. In this case, the following symptoms appear:
- dizziness;
- deterioration of hearing and vision;
- pressing pain in back of head;
- antihypertensive drugs do not give the desired effect;
- feeling weak;
- shortness of breath;
- black out;
- blood rushes to the face.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine and heart pain in women and men do not differ from each other.
What effect does osteochondrosis have on the heart? The disease is accompanied by changes in the spine, especially in the area of the spinous processes of the lower cervical vertebrae. You can feel the weakness of the little finger and the decrease in the strength of the muscles of the left hand.
How to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis
How to recognize: this pain is due to pathologies of the heart or osteochondrosis? The solution to the problem is not easy: in both cases, the cells can emit aching, intense pain, and the discomfort increases during physical exertion.
Although it is quite difficult to distinguish angina pectoris from thoracic osteochondrosis, there are signs that help determine the true cause of the pain.
Differences in heart pain in osteochondrosis:
- Long duration of pain: lasts for weeks and months.
- Seizures occur with sudden lifting, tilting and turning of the arms and head, and coughing.
- The pain may increase, decrease, and decrease when the body is in a comfortable position.
- Multiple ECG violations are not detected.
- When the chin tilts towards the chest, the pain intensifies, this is a sign of intervertebral hernia.
- In case of pain, there is no attack of anxiety and fear.
- Staying in one position for a long time (for example, while sleeping) can lead to a feeling of pain in the heart.
- Glycerin trinitrate does not help to get rid of pain, only pain relievers should be used for this.
- Heartaches in osteochondrosis are immediately intensified by a sharp change in body position, occur during sneezing, coughing, deep breathing and sudden head movements.
- Exposed to the spinal column, the intensity of pain increases.
- Heart pain in the chest region with osteochondrosis is not life-threatening.
Now let's see 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 medicines to help stop or reduce pain;
- the feeling of pain does not change if the load on the spine is constant;
- the pains are of the same intensity;
- the feeling of pain spreads to the arm, the jaw and on the left side under the shoulder blade;
- pain can be caused by neuropsychic overload;
- the cardiogram reflects the presence of pathologies;
- the patient is afraid of death;
- can cause the death of the patient.
The nature of pain in osteochondrosis
Many are interested in how the heart hurts with osteochondrosis. The discomfort is felt not only in the chest, but also in the upper abdomen, ribs and near the spine. Movements are limited by staying in the same position for a long time, while the pain increases. A short walk will help you get rid of discomfort.
In addition, there may be pain in the back and in the area of the shoulder blades. This can get worse if you take a deep breath. The degree of discomfort is affected by temperature (decrease) and changes in atmospheric pressure.
Osteochondrosis and heart pain are aggravated by turning the trunk. This is due to the increased load on the anterior vertebral plate. There is often a syndrome in this area. Pain may occur in the intercostal space when inhaling. Tension of the back muscles is possible, accompanied by unilateral spasms.
Sometimes the heart hurts in osteochondrosis, so it may seem that there are problems with the organs of the chest cavity. The disease can be disguised as intestinal and stomach pain, and in some cases it can even resemble appendicitis. If nothing is done, osteochondrosis not only radiates to the heart, but also pathology of the respiratory system, cardiovascular system and digestive system occurs.
The nature of the pain may change. Exacerbation can be replaced by remission, this 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 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 work. As a result, a connection is created between the nerve endings and the spinal cord, which are located in the spine. If it is violated, the transmission of impulses is violated, the brain reacts incorrectly, pain occurs, which radiates to the chest region and the heart.
Osteochondrosis heart pain appears in the following order:
- As a result of injuries, changes occur in the spinal column.
- The intervertebral disc protrudes, this does not affect the annulus fibrosus, which tends to protrude.
- If the annulus fibrosus ruptures, the center of the disc is pushed into the brain canal, resulting in a herniation.
- osteophytes are formed.
- The blood vessels and nerves surrounding the disc begin to flatten.
- The appearance of pain syndrome.
In case of osteochondrosis, the heartbeat may become more frequent and tachycardia may occur. Spine injuries in different areas can cause different pain symptoms. Neuralgia is affected by the degree of damage:
- only the body of the vertebra;
- intervertebral discs;
- ligament devices;
- paravertebral muscles.
How does osteochondrosis affect the functioning of the heart? After the deformation, the discs compress the spinal nerves. This leads to pain. Osteochondrosis can not only affect the heart, but also cause pathologies of the entire spine. The disease can spread to neighboring departments, leading to the appearance of new symptoms.
Symptoms of heart pain with osteochondrosis
Signs and symptoms of osteochondrosis with heart pain often occur against the background of a completely healthy heart system. They are often stable, but may appear and increase paroxysmally. In the case of spinal problems, the pains are dull, deep and oppressive, characterized by a dull intensity. Glycerin trinitrate does not help with osteochondrosis chest pain, since the cause is not in the heart.
To distinguish heart pain from thoracic osteochondrosis, it is important to know that other types of sensations can also occur. For example, they can spread from the affected area to the muscles of the front of the chest, which are connected to the fifth to seventh cervical roots. In this case, the pain is felt in the upper left part of the body, sometimes it even affects part of the face. At the same time, vascular disorders are not diagnosed, and the ECG does not detect any abnormalities. This happens even at the peak of pain.
How does thoracic osteochondrosis affect the heart and the human body?
One of the manifestations of osteochondrosis is 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 adequate amounts, the heart must work more actively. This means that the number of contractions increases every minute. As a result, blood pressure rises. This is the effect of osteochondrosis on the heart.
Violation of the functioning of the circulatory system leads to the appearance of pain in the heart with thoracic osteochondrosis and oxygen starvation of the brain. As a result, the above symptoms 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.
Due to all these consequences, it is difficult to determine whether the heart hurts or thoracic osteochondrosis.
Diagnostics
How to determine that the heart hurts from osteochondrosis? There are special procedures that help determine the form and extent of the disease. When the disease worsens, it is better to consult a doctor. Doctors may advise you to carry out a differential diagnosis, which will allow you to determine what is the cause of the disease - the heart or the spine. It may include the following procedures:
- Electrocardiogram. When taking an ECG, it is possible to immediately identify the pathology of the heart. If the results are normal, it becomes clear that the cause of the pain is neuralgia or osteochondrosis.
An ECG is a mandatory diagnostic procedure for the development of chest pain.
- ultrasound. It is performed in patients who are suspected of having an infectious heart disease. It is used as a complementary method.
- Radiography. If osteochondrosis is suspected, an X-ray is prescribed. The images make it possible to determine the destructive destruction of the joints. They will not suffer from heart problems.
- CT and MRI. They can help if x-rays are inconclusive. These methods define the lesion more precisely. Magnetic resonance imaging helps diagnose osteochondrosis and heart pathology.
Treatment
Rest and bed rest help relieve pain in osteochondrosis. The surface should not be too soft or hard. The pillow is selected so that the neck does not bend. You can reduce the pain by applying a heating pad that is not hot.
Thoracic osteochondrosis is treated with the following methods:
- Medicines:
- vasodilators;
- neurotropic drugs;
- diuretic drugs;
- pain relievers;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- chondroprotectors;
- sedatives.
- Physiotherapy. The patient undergoes procedures in which the affected area is exposed to an electric field and currents of variable frequency. This helps start the mechanism of natural tissue regeneration.
- Use of turpentine, ointments containing snake or bee venom, as well as pain relievers. They activate the release of heat in the muscles, improve the condition of the nerve roots, and expand the blood vessels.
- Acupuncture. The needles are used to influence energy meridians and active points.
- Manual therapy. Thanks to these, the degenerative processes of the spinal column are corrected and have an effect on the intervertebral joints.
- Back massage does not allow you to achieve the desired effect. The muscles are located around the discs, it is almost impossible to reach them. The effect gives an extremely deep and acupressure massage. It is recommended to take painkillers before the procedure.
- At home, you can reduce muscle tone with warm heating pads and warm compresses.
Manual therapy and acupressure can 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 effective treatment for the disease. When used in conjunction with other methods, the results can be greatly improved. Armed with knowledge, it's time to start treatment!
self-management errors
Often, patients with complaints related to diseases of the thoracic spine make a serious mistake during self-treatment - they take medicines if there are contraindications. For example, the older generation prefers to use NSAIDs from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives. However, it cannot be used for problems with the gastric mucosa. They are typical for people over 50 years of age.
So, we looked at what is the difference and what is the difference between the symptoms of angina pectoris and osteochondrosis, and also got acquainted with the methods of diagnosis and treatment. Work with qualified medical professionals and follow their guidance. Be persistent and consistent and you will be able to beat this painful and dangerous disease! Remember, it can be very dangerous. So much so that the patient can be released from military service.