It happens that a person goes to the doctor with a complaint from the heart. The specialist sends him for examination, but it does not reveal pathologies. It is good when a cardiologist recommends a referral to a neurologist. In this case, he may report that the culprit is not heart disease, but osteochondrosis.
It turned out that one of the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis is pain in the mammary gland or heart. This can be pulling, pain and pressure. In some cases, there is a feeling of warmth in the thoracic region and a rhythm disorder. Over time, the pain may worsen. In this case, drugs for the heart do not help.
Features of heart pain in osteochondrosis
Many people have a question: can the heart hurt with osteochondrosis? Yes. Patients often complain of:
- Long-lasting palpitations and chest pain.
- Gradually, with osteochondrosis, there are pains in the heart.
- Pain sensations are dull and oppressive.
- The intensity of pain in the sternum is low.
- Taking nitrates does not relieve chest pain.
- Patients try to move less with their upper limbs, as a result of which pain sensations intensify.
Sometimes cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis appear at the same time, in which case additional pain occurs in the neck. The patient may complain of:
- Shoulder girdle, face and neck pain.
- The discomfort spreads to almost the entire upper chest area, affecting the muscle tissue of the spine.
- An attack can last several hours or even days.
Sometimes the cause of reflected pain is 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 have the desired effect;
- feeling of weakness;
- shortness of breath;
- loss of consciousness;
- facial bleeding.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine and how the heart hurts in women and men do not differ from each other.
What is the effect of osteochondrosis 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. Weakness of the little finger and a decrease in the strength of the muscles of the left hand may be felt.
How to distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis
How to recognize: pain due to heart or osteochondrosis pathologies? It is not easy to solve the problem: in both cases, the cells can produce painful and intense pains, and the discomfort increases during physical exertion.
Although it is quite difficult to distinguish angina pectoris from thoracic osteochondrosis, there are signs that will help determine the true cause of the pain.
Differences of heart pain in osteochondrosis:
- Chronic pain: lasts for weeks and months.
- Seizures occur with sudden lifting, bending and turning of the arms and head, as well as coughing.
- When the body is in a relaxed state, the pain can wax and wane and decrease.
- Many ECG abnormalities are not detected.
- When the chin is bent to the chest, the pain intensifies, this is a sign of an intervertebral hernia.
- With pain, there are no anxiety and fear attacks.
- Staying in one position for a long time (for example, during sleep) can cause a feeling of pain in the heart.
- Glycerol trinitrate does not help to get rid of pain, for this you need to use only analgesics.
- With a sharp change in body position, heart pain in osteochondrosis immediately intensifies, occurs when sneezing, coughing, taking a deep breath, and during sudden head movements.
- When exposed to the spine, the intensity of pain increases.
- Heart pain in the thoracic 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 time;
- not related to physical activity;
- heart medications help stop or reduce pain;
- pain sensations do not change when the load on the back is stable;
- pains have the same intensity;
- pain sensations spread to the arm, chin and under the shoulder blade on the left side;
- pain can cause neuropsychological overstrain;
- cardiogram reflects the presence of pathologies;
- the patient has a fear 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. 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, and the pain intensifies. A short walk helps relieve anxiety.
In addition, there may be pain in the area of the back and shoulder blades. It can get worse when you take a deep breath. The degree of disturbance is affected by changes in temperature (decrease) and atmospheric pressure.
Osteochondrosis and pain in the heart are intensified by turning the torso. This is due to the increased load on the anterior vertebral disc. Often there is a syndrome in this area. When breathing, there may be pain in the intercostal space. Back muscle tension accompanied by unilateral spasms is possible.
Sometimes the heart hurts with osteochondrosis, so it can seem like there are problems with the organs of the chest cavity. The disease can be disguised as intestinal and stomach pain, and in some cases even resembles appendicitis. If no measures are taken, osteochondrosis will not only radiate to the heart, but also pathology of the respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive systems will occur.
The nature of the pain may vary. Exacerbations can be replaced by remission, occur in waves.
Causes of pain in the heart with osteochondrosis
It is not always easy to distinguish a heart attack from osteochondrosis. In the human body, there is a complex complex of impulse transmission 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, there is a connection between the nerve endings located in the spine and the spinal cord. When they are broken, the transmission of impulses is disrupted, the brain reacts incorrectly, and pain spreads to the chest and heart.
Pain in the heart with osteochondrosis appears in the following order:
- Due to injuries, changes occur in the spine.
- The intervertebral disc protrudes, this does not affect the annulus fibrosus, which is prone to protrusion.
- When the annulus fibrosus ruptures, the center of the cartilaginous disc enters the cerebral canal, resulting in a hernia.
- osteophytes are formed.
- The vessels and nerves surrounding the disc begin to straighten.
- Appearance of pain syndrome.
With osteochondrosis, the heartbeat may be frequent and tachycardia may appear. Damage to the spine in different regions can cause different pain symptoms. Neuralgia is affected by the degree of damage:
- only the body of the vertebra;
- intervertebral discs;
- garden equipment;
- paravertebral muscles.
How does osteochondrosis affect the work of the heart? After deformation, the discs compress the nerves of the spine. This causes pain. Osteochondrosis can cause pathologies not only of the heart, but also 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 paroxysmal and increase. When there are problems with the spine, the pains are dull, deep and oppressive, and their characteristic is acute severity. With pain in the chest with osteochondrosis, glycerol trinitrate does not help, because the cause is not in the heart.
To distinguish between thoracic osteochondrosis and pain in the heart, it is necessary to know that sensations of a different nature can occur. For example, they can spread from the affected area to the muscles of the front of the chest, where the fifth to seventh cervical roots attach. In this case, the pain can be 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, EKG does not detect 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 compression of blood vessels. This leads to narrowing of the "channels" through which the blood passes. In order for the organs to continue to receive it in the required amount, the heart must work more actively. This means an increase in the number of contractions 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 cause the appearance of pain in the heart with osteochondrosis of the chest and oxygen starvation of the brain. As a result, the above symptoms occur. 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 results, it becomes difficult to determine whether the heart hurts or thoracic osteochondrosis.
Diagnostics
How to determine if the heart hurts from osteochondrosis? There are special procedures that will help determine the form and extent of the disease. If the disease worsens, it is better to consult a doctor. Doctors may advise you to undergo a differential diagnosis, which will allow you to determine whether the cause of the disease is the heart or the spine. This may include the following procedures:
- Electrocardiogram. When recording the ECG, it will be possible to immediately determine the pathology of the heart. If the results are normal, it will be clear that the cause of the pain is neuralgia or osteochondrosis.
ECG is a mandatory diagnostic procedure for the occurrence of pain in the chest.
- ultrasound. It is performed for patients who are suspected of having infectious lesions of the heart. It is used as an additional method.
- Radiography. X-ray is prescribed for patients suspected of osteochondrosis. Pictures will allow you to determine the destructive destruction of the joints. They will not suffer from heart problems.
- CT and MRI. They can help when X-rays are inconclusive. These methods will identify the lesion more precisely. Magnetic resonance imaging will help determine osteochondrosis and heart pathology.
Treatment
Rest and bed rest will 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 relieve the pain if you put a non-hot heating pad under it.
Thoracic osteochondrosis is treated with 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 frequency currents. This will help start the natural tissue regeneration mechanism.
- Use of ointments with turpentine, snake or bee venom, as well as painkillers. They activate the release of heat in the muscles, improve the condition of nerve roots, expand 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 on the intervertebral joints are made.
- Back massage will not allow you to get the desired effect. The muscles are located around the vertebral discs, it is almost impossible to reach them. The effect is extremely deep and gives acupressure massage. It is recommended to take painkillers before this procedure.
- You can use hot heating pads and warm compresses to reduce muscle tone at home.
Manual therapy and acupressure should only be performed by a qualified orthopedist, neuropathologist or traumatologist who has received special training and certification.
Taking heart medication is usually the first and most powerful treatment for an illness. When used in conjunction with other methods, the results can be greatly improved. Armed with knowledge, it's time to start treatment!
self-treatment errors
Often, patients complaining of thoracic spine disease make a serious mistake during self-treatment - they take medicine when there are contraindications. For example, the older generation likes to use NSAIDs from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives. However, it cannot be used for problems related to the gastric mucosa. They are typical for people over 50 years old.
So, we looked at the difference between the symptoms of angina pectoris and osteochondrosis and what are the differences, 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. Until the patient is released from military service.