Many people over the age of 45 begin to feel pain in the area of the heart. This symptom puts a person in a state of panic, as it is not known what exactly caused this condition.
Often thoughts come to mind that serious heart problems have begun and that urgent help from cardiologists may be required. After taking a cardiogram and getting a completely satisfactory result, one's bewilderment only increases.
What can cause heart pain? And most importantly, what to do in such a situation? The answer is actually simple, although not everyone knows the answer. Heart pain often occurs due to other diseases. This situation occurs in particular with thoracic osteochondrosis. Is it worth paying attention to pain of this nature?
How is osteochondrosis manifested?
The mechanism is quite simple. Throughout life, a person performs a certain physical activity. Most of them "lie" on the spine. To facilitate the vertebrae to cope with the tasks assigned to them, there are intervertebral discs between them. The latter, in turn, act as shock absorbers, preventing the vertebrae from rubbing against each other.
Intervertebral discs tend to wear out. The main reason is the too intense load on the spine. Poor nutrition of cartilage tissue can also cause their gradual destruction.
Microcracks appear on the surface of the cartilage, tissues are destroyed, and as a result of this process, the vertebrae begin to touch. As a result of friction, an inflammatory process occurs, which is quite painful.
In thoracic osteochondrosis, there is active wear of the intervertebral discs in the thoracic spine. As a result of the pathology, the patient not only loses endurance, but is no longer able to perform physical activity in the same volumes. He begins to suffer from pain that gets worse each time.
Specialized treatment is required to alleviate the patient's condition. If the therapeutic course was not carried out on time, the patient may experience a number of health problems. In particular, various pathologies of the cardiac system may occur.
The main symptoms of osteochondrosis
There are certain signs that will help to identify thoracic osteochondrosis against the background of other diseases.
- First of all, it is worth finding out exactly where the source of pain is. In case of thoracic osteochondrosis, the pain comes mainly from the chest. It can be sharp, as if pressing from all sides. Often there is a feeling of difficulty breathing and even shortness of breath with coughing. Sometimes the pain radiates to the area of the shoulder blades, where there is a feeling of dull pain. Unpleasant soreness can "wind up" after physical exertion; it is also felt after sitting in an uncomfortable position;
- Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis can manifest itself in the form of numbness in the arms, legs, shoulders and neck. Often the limbs freeze even in the summer, when there is no reason for it;
- Periodically, headaches and dizziness occur.
These are the main signs of thoracic osteochondrosis that you should pay attention to. All these painful conditions are the result of compression of the blood vessels between the affected vertebrae due to thoracic osteochondrosis. It is believed that in women all these symptoms are more pronounced.
In addition to these three symptoms, which are considered basic, it makes sense to pay attention to the emerging dorsalgia.This is a mild pain syndrome that occurs in the area of the damaged vertebrae.
These pains are not intense, sometimes causing a feeling of muscle stiffness. In this case, there is a feeling that the source of pain is in the stomach, liver or pancreas. In fact, this is a false feeling. Thoracic osteochondrosis has nothing to do with the digestive organs.
Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis develops in parallel with the cervical form. Then it is quite possible to feel a lump in the throat, especially after physical activity.
What are the differences between osteochondrosis and heart pain?
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from heart diseases, if in many ways the symptoms are very similar? There are a number of signs that you should pay special attention to.
The nature of pain
First of all, you should try to analyze the nature of the pain. Many heart diseases also begin with discomfort in the heart area. In osteochondrosis, the pain is compressive.
At the same time, it either grows or recedes, but most often does not let go for a long time and is stable. The pulse often increases, which is even more deceiving. Sometimes there is a feeling of warmth inside the sternum.
With cervico-thoracic osteochondrosis, the patient often complains of pain in the lower part of the cervical vertebrae. Sometimes weakness of the muscles of the left hand is noted, especially the use of the little finger is problematic. The movement of the hands does not bring relief, but only increases the pain.
Sometimes the painful sensation spreads to the left quadrant of the body, affecting not only the chest, but also the neck, the left arm, and sometimes the face. This condition can last quite a long time, from several hours to several days.
In initial angina and heart attack, some pain sensations may be similar in nature. The main difference is that with osteochondrosis, the pain intensifies with inhalation. A tablet of a venodilator from the nitrate group or a vasodilator will relieve pain caused by heart problems. This method will in no way help against osteochondrosis.
But when the anesthetic solution is injected in the area of VI, VII neck vertebrae and I thoracic vertebra, the pain disappears. If distilled water is used instead of anesthetic, a slight tingling sensation occurs in the chest area. This is a clear sign that the cause of the pain is thoracic osteochondrosis.
Duration of pain
This sign also requires a closer look. If you have heart problems, the pain in its area does not last long, usually a few minutes. While the painful sensation caused by thoracic osteochondrosis can last for several days.
But here there is also a trap: if the pain does not disappear for several days and there is obvious weakness in the whole body, immediately consult a doctor.
It is quite possible that the cause of the malaise is an acute myocardial infarction.
Location of pain
Equally important is the location of the pain. In heart diseases, the source of pain is concentrated in the left side of the chest, sometimes the pain radiates to the neck, back of the head and shoulder. While in osteochondrosis the pain syndrome affects the thoracic, lumbar and cervical parts of the spine.
Associated symptoms
Pay attention to accompanying symptoms. Heart pain in most cases does not go away without rapid pulse and breathing. Sometimes neck veins can become swollen, for example with pericarditis.
With osteochondrosis, such a symptom is not observed, but a general stiffness of movements may appear.
Why does tachycardia and arrhythmia appear in osteochondrosis?
Arrhythmia is perhaps the most common consequence of untreated thoracic osteochondrosis. In this disease, compression of the artery running along the entire spine often occurs.
Compression can occur from both bone spurs and hypertonic muscles. As a result, the pressure inside the vessels increases. The body requires more effort to "push" blood through the bend. Against the background of this phenomenon, the heart rate increases.
Arrhythmia can manifest itself in different ways. Alternatively, it can lead to sinus tachycardia. But how to find out what exactly caused the tachycardia - heart disease or thoracic osteochondrosis?
- Tachycardia with spinal problems is a constant phenomenon. The number of beats is approximately 90 per minute. It is observed even in a state of complete rest, while in diseases of the heart system, a rapid pulse appears during increased physical activity;
- Heart rate can accelerate when a person takes an uncomfortable position, especially if the spine at that moment receives increased stress;
- In osteochondrosis, tachycardia maintains a certain rhythm, the interval between contractions does not change, it is the same all the time;
- As soon as targeted treatment of osteochondrosis begins, tachycardia begins to disappear, the problem self-eliminates.
If such a symptom as tachycardia is left unattended and timely treatment is not started, the heart muscle may not be able to cope with the increased load.
As a result of such neglect, extrasystole may develop.
Extrasystole due to thoracic osteochondrosis?
This disease can occur bypassing tachycardia. It occurs much less often than tachycardia and occurs in advanced forms of osteochondrosis. The disease is also a consequence of a disturbed heart rhythm. It is caused by a prematurely accelerated contraction of the heart muscle that immediately follows normal.
One may not feel bad at all. Sometimes you may feel that your heart has stopped for a moment or, conversely, has accelerated. In this case, a very weak pulse is noted. It may not be traceable at all.
If you do not pay attention to these symptoms in time, there is a chance that chronic myocardial hypoxia will develop - this is one of the most serious diseases characterized by insufficient saturation of the heart muscle with oxygen. And this is already fraught with more serious problems.
For example, insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain, which will also lead to a number of serious disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system.
The first signs of extrasystole are observed only during physical activity. At rest, the heart rate normalizes on its own. By what signs can the presence of extrasystole be determined in osteochondrosis?
- Rapid pulse with a barely legible pulse;
- The muscles between the shoulder blades are constantly tense;
- A person often feels light-headed, weak and dizzy;
- Often there is a feeling of increased heat, sweating increases;
- Does not relieve the feeling of internal discomfort;
- The increase in heart rate occurs periodically, is unstable and works on the principle of a wave - sometimes it increases, then it almost subsides;
- The volume of extrasystolic ejection exceeds the norm - this indicator can be determined using a tonometer.
These symptoms can be felt constantly, but most often intensify at night or when the patient is in a horizontal position. Elementary movements of the limbs intensify the symptoms.
This feeling can last for several hours. All attempts to stabilize the heart by taking cardiac drugs did not give a positive result. Trying to identify the causes of heart disease by ECG also does not answer the question.
If attempts to apply anesthesia between the VI and VII vertebrae of the cervical spine and the I thoracic vertebra have given a positive result, there is no doubt. The cause of heart disease in this case is precisely thoracic osteochondrosis.
When trying to palpate the thoracic vertebrae, the pain in the heart also increases.
Hypertension as a consequence
Very often, thoracic osteochondrosis goes hand in hand with high blood pressure. The cause of this duet is compression of the vertebral artery. This can happen due to a muscle spasm, which leads to significant swelling of the muscle tissue. The cause of compression of the artery can also be displacement of the vertebrae - such a disorder also occurs in thoracic osteochondrosis.
For the simple reason that the vertebral artery is responsible for supplying the brain with oxygen and other useful components, the necessary substances for normal functioning are missing. Brain cells are in a state of starvation.
In order to provide the brain with the necessary amount of food and "push" blood flow through the bend, the body is forced to increase the speed of blood flow. In this mode of operation, the body begins to automatically release substances that help increase blood pressure.
This allows proper brain nutrition, but leads to hypertension.
If you do not draw a parallel between osteochondrosis and high blood pressure and start treating hypertension as an independent phenomenon, such treatment is unlikely to give a long-term sustainable result. Such experiments can only worsen the situation, adding additional problems in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
How to determine hypertension caused by osteochondrosis?
- Periodically, the patient experiences dizziness, most often in moments of overtiredness;
- Frequent sleepiness, due to the insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain, the body tries to "save" nutrients in order to keep vital organs in working condition. The state of sleep helps to save energy;
- Constant weakness is also a consequence of the brain not getting enough oxygen;
- Restlessness, confusion;
- The appearance of "floating" in front of the eyes - this symptom is often noted by people with high blood pressure, not knowing that the cause of this pressure is most likely not in the poor condition of the blood vessels, but in osteochondrosis;
- Periodically, all objects begin to see double;
- Deterioration of vision often occurs, the reasons are the same - little oxygen;
- Hearing impairment;
- With significant oxygen starvation, a seizure may occur - this is the body's protective reaction.
Diagnosis
Knowing the signs of diseases is good, but the most accurate diagnosis can only be made by a doctor with the help of modern diagnostic tools. The simplest and most affordable way is to conduct an ECG. This examination will allow us to quickly determine whether the cause of the pain in the area of the heart is a malfunction of the cardiovascular system or whether this disease has another pathology.
If the ECG confirms that the heart is working properly, it makes sense to prescribe an MRI. This method allows you to get a layered image of the entire spine or its parts. These images will allow you to quickly and accurately determine if a person has problems with the spine.
If suspicions of osteochondrosis are confirmed, treatment should begin immediately.