Heart problems at 20 years old. Symptoms of heart disease, treatment methods and preventive measures. symptom: pain and discomfort in the chest

Every year, heart disease kills up to 18 million people of all ages. The lion's share of these deaths could be prevented if the impending problem was noticed early and sought medical attention.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Heart failures are often disguised as a slight ailment or body peculiarities. Here is a list of not always obvious symptoms that indicate possible diseases hearts.

People over 60 years of age, as well as those who have excess weight, diabetes, hypertension or high level cholesterol.

Chest discomfort

It is impossible to clearly describe the feeling. Some people feel slight pain, some feel pressure or tightness, others complain of burning or tingling. In any case, if you occasionally feel something unusual in your chest, you need to contact your doctor and get a referral for an electrocardiogram and ultrasound of the heart.

This is how diseases of the vessels supplying our main organ with blood, or a developing heart attack, make themselves known.

If the pain is severe and lasts longer than a few minutes, call an ambulance immediately.

The good news is that 80-90% of chest pain is not related to the heart. But to make sure of this, it is better to visit a doctor as soon as possible.

Loss of appetite, nausea, pain or heaviness in the stomach

Of course, indigestion can occur for many reasons that have nothing to do with the heart. However, sometimes problems with digestion are caused by the fact that digestive system receives less blood than usual. And worsened blood flow is a sign of poor heart function.

If you feel nauseous without visible reasons and especially if you experience chest discomfort and other symptoms from this list, a visit to a therapist is a must!

Pain radiating to left arm

The nerves coming from the heart and the nerves coming from the left arm send signals to the same area of the brain. As a result, the brain does not always correctly understand what exactly hurts - the heart or the limb.

If you overextended your left arm during training, hit it, or simply swung it poorly, the unpleasant sensations are completely predictable. But if severe pain occurs for no apparent reason, this is a cause for concern. Doctors call it a classic symptom of a heart attack.

The American Heart Association recommends calling an ambulance if sudden pain in your left arm does not go away or gets worse within a few minutes.

If the sensation is more temporary but familiar, be sure to visit your doctor.

Pain in the teeth or lower jaw

Another example when the brain is not able to accurately identify what exactly hurts - the heart or the teeth. Fortunately, in most cases, tooth or jaw pain has a relatively benign origin: tooth decay, or you have strained your jaw, or you have been blown away. But if there seems to be no reason, and your teeth ache regularly, you should check with a cardiologist.

In clinical practice, there have been cases where people had tooth after tooth removed in an attempt to relieve them of pain, which was actually a sign of heart problems.

Brief dizziness or a feeling of disorientation

There are many reasons that can cause instant weakness. For example, you haven’t eaten for a long time. Or they got up from the couch too quickly after sitting for a long time.

But if such sensations occur regularly, try to see a doctor as soon as possible. They say that the heart cannot cope with pumping blood to the brain. This may be a symptom of an impending stroke.

Constant fatigue

A weak heart cannot provide adequate blood circulation. Because of this, organs and tissues begin to experience a deficiency of nutrients and oxygen. To survive, the body reduces blood supply to less important organs - primarily the limbs, and directs blood to more important ones - the heart, brain, lungs.

It becomes difficult for you to perform usual actions - for example, you don’t have the strength to take a shower, it’s hard to wash the dishes, it seems incredibly difficult to climb the stairs. And even rest does not bring cheerfulness.

If this situation is familiar to you and has been going on for several days or longer, consult a cardiologist so as not to miss growing heart problems.

Swelling of the legs

Due to impaired blood circulation in the limbs, lymph flow is disrupted - the removal of fluid from tissues. The legs especially suffer from this, fluid accumulates under the skin, and swelling appears.

If swelling of the legs has become your constant problem, consultation on this topic with a therapist or cardiologist is mandatory.

Persistent cough

In most cases, a cough is a common accompaniment of a cold. But if you successfully got rid of it a couple of weeks ago, and this symptom does not go away, this is a clear indication to consult a doctor.

A prolonged cough can be a companion to allergies or bronchitis. But sometimes it is also provoked by heart failure, which impedes the outflow of moisture from the lungs.

A characteristic sign of a “heart” cough is the release of pinkish or white mucus. If you notice something like this, run to a cardiologist!

Unreasonable shortness of breath

Shortness of breath is the first sign that there is little oxygen in the blood. The most common cause is physical activity. Muscles need a lot of oxygen to work, and they literally suck it out of the blood. To compensate for this loss, the brain tells the lungs to breathe faster.

Excess weight, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, and being in a stuffy room can also lead to shortness of breath. But if such a symptom appears for no apparent reason and more often than before, and especially if it is accompanied by constant fatigue, chest discomfort and other signs from our list, it’s definitely time for you to see a cardiologist.

There is a serious possibility that the lack of oxygen is caused by worsened blood circulation, in turn caused by disturbances in the functioning of the heart.

Loud snoring

If you snore too loudly, it could be a sign of apnea - a brief stop in breathing during sleep.

Apnea has a devastating effect on the cardiovascular system. Firstly, it leads to hypoxia of the heart muscle. Secondly, apnea increases the risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), which further impedes the functioning of a person's main organ. As a result, an overloaded cardiovascular system can fail at any time.

Many people first think about their heart only after a heart attack, although paying close attention to worrying heart symptoms could keep them healthy.

According to statistics, diseases of the cardiovascular system rank first among the causes of death among the adult population of Russia and the whole world. The most susceptible to heart disease are men over 30-40 years of age and women over 60 (at the onset of menopause). It takes on special significance in last years sudden death, which is associated with coronary pathology (impaired blood supply to the heart).

However, only rare forms of cardiovascular diseases are asymptomatic. In most cases, the body begins to give alarm signals long before the disaster. The main thing is to recognize them in time and take the necessary measures.

Chest pain cannot be tolerated. When there is an unpleasant feeling in the heart
it is necessary to stop and, if possible, sit down or lie down. To the people
sufferers of coronary heart disease, it is always necessary to have
carry fast-acting nitroglycerin preparations with you
and take a dose of medication when pain occurs.

Sign 1: pain and discomfort in the chest

Chest pain is the most typical sign of cardiac pathology. With insufficient blood supply, the heart muscle experiences ischemia (lack of oxygen), which is accompanied by severe pain. Heart pain has the following characteristics:

occurs or intensifies when the heart experiences the greatest load: when physical activity(jogging, walking, climbing stairs), anxiety, increased blood pressure;
the pain quickly goes away with rest, in a sitting or standing position, and stops within a few minutes after taking nitrates (nitroglycerin, nitrospray, isoket-spray, nitromint, nitrocor and others);
the pain is localized in the heart area, behind the sternum, and can spread (give) to the left shoulder blade, left jaw, left arm;
the nature of the pain is intense, pressing, in more severe cases - sharp, burning.

The described pain forces you to interrupt activities, stop physical work, sit down or lie down. The load on the heart decreases, the pain subsides.

Much more dangerous are the atypical manifestations of cardiac pain syndrome, which people often do not pay attention to, hoping to endure:

unpleasant sensations in the heart area, especially associated with physical activity or excitement: a feeling of constriction, the heart “like in a trap,” tingling behind the sternum; such sensations are often accompanied by the appearance of fear of death, inexplicable excitement;
heart pain can imitate toothache, pain in the lower jaw, exacerbation of osteochondrosis, myositis of the pectoral and subscapular muscles, heartburn with gastritis, an attack of peritonitis with the appearance of intense abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

Sign 2: shortness of breath on exertion

Shortness of breath is a feeling of lack of air. During active physical activity, shortness of breath is a physiological mechanism that allows one to compensate for the excess consumption of oxygen by working muscles.

However, if shortness of breath occurs with little activity, this indicates a high probability of cardiac pathology. Shortness of breath due to heart pathology is often the equivalent of heart pain.

You should be alarmed by shortness of breath, which does not allow you to climb to the 3rd or 4th floor without stopping; it occurs when walking calmly at your usual pace.

Dyspnea that worsens at rest, especially when lying down, often indicates pulmonary (respiratory) failure. In addition, shortness of breath is a companion to diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract (bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, pneumothorax).

Sign 3: arrhythmia

Episodes of sudden fastening (tachycardia) or slowing (bradycardia) of the heart, or a feeling like your heart is jumping out of your chest, can also be signs of heart disease.

Most often, myocardial ischemia is accompanied by atrial fibrillation. A person feels discomfort in the chest, dizziness, and weakness. When palpated, the pulse is weakly filled, the heartbeats are felt as irregular, sometimes quickening, sometimes slowing down without any system. If the heart rate is not higher than 80-90 beats per minute, a person may not feel any interruptions on his own.

If chest pain or shortness of breath does not improve with rest or go away
within 3-5 minutes after taking nitrates, there is a high risk of irreversible
ischemic heart disease - myocardial infarction. In such a situation it is necessary
call ambulance and take half an aspirin tablet yourself.
Depending on how quickly it will be provided health care, depends
further prognosis for the health and life of the patient.

Sign 5: swelling

Swelling or pasty tissue may indicate heart problems. If the contractile function of the myocardium is impaired, the heart does not have time to pump blood, which is accompanied by a slowdown in its flow through the vessels. Some of the fluid moves from the general bloodstream into the surrounding tissues, causing an increase in the volume of soft tissues.

Cardiac edema can be observed throughout the body, but is more pronounced in the lower part of the body, where the rate of blood return to the heart is minimal, most often in the evening. You should pay attention to the appearance of marks from socks or stockings, an increase in the girth of the ankles, shins, rounding of the contours of the legs, difficulties when trying to clench your fingers into fists, or remove the ring from your finger.

Expert: Olga Karaseva, Candidate of Medical Sciences, cardiologist
Natalya Dolgopolova, general practitioner

Photos used in this material belong to shutterstock.com

Health

Don't ignore these signs. They may indicate that your heart is not working properly.

Heart disease is one of the most common diseases in the world and one of the leading causes of death.

Very often the body gives signals that something is wrong with some organ. It is important not to miss clues indicating heart problems.

A weak heart is a heart that does not pump blood as efficiently. Unfortunately, a person may not notice symptoms for a long time, and discovers the problem too late.

What signs may indicate heart weakness or heart failure?

Symptoms of heart failure

One of the most common signs of heart failure is fatigue.

If you have a weak heart, we may feel tired even when relaxing at home. As you walk and do daily activities, you may feel even more exhausted.

One of the reasons why people with heart failure feel constantly tired is problems with blood circulation.

A weak heart cannot pump blood effectively to all the organs and muscles of the body. They do not receive enough nutrition and oxygen, hence the fatigue.

The average person can walk at a brisk pace for 20 minutes without taking a breath.

Someone with a weak heart can walk without being out of breath for less than 10 minutes.

Shortness of breath, especially if you wake up in the middle of the night, should alert you. In medicine this phenomenon is called paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea and is a classic symptom of a weak heart.

When a person has a weak heart, blood circulation to the peripheries of the body is impaired. Fluids begin to seep and accumulate under the skin, especially noticeable on the legs. This happens because gravity pulls the liquid down.

Swelling is usually observed in both legs. It may disappear in the morning and reappear in the evening.

A slight swelling of the legs in itself is not dangerous. But if the condition worsens and the swelling increases, you may have difficulty walking. Edema is usually treated with diuretics, which remove excess fluid from the body.

Fluid accumulation may not be limited to just the legs. Fluid can also accumulate in the lungs, which can cause difficulty breathing and coughing.

This cough can be persistent and annoying. Some people notice that the cough lasts throughout the day, while for others it occurs only when lying down.

Sometimes the cough may be accompanied by the discharge of pink, frothy mucus. It is also worth paying attention to wheezing, which is often mistaken for an allergic cough.

In any case, if you have a long, persistent cough, this is already a reason to consult a doctor.

Signs of heart failure

A person with a weak heart often loses appetite or interest in food. The explanation may be due to the fact that fluid in the stomach gives a feeling of fullness and interferes with normal digestion.

It is worth noting that loss of appetite does not always indicate a weak heart and there are many other diseases that are characterized by weak appetite.

When the heart does not work properly, men most often experience pain in the left arm, while women may experience pain in one or both arms. Moreover, many women reported unusual shoulder pain shortly before their heart attack.

This is because heart pain travels through the spinal cord, where pain receptors and many other nerve endings are located. The brain may confuse these sensations and cause pain in one or both arms.

Several studies have shown that people suffering from anxiety with early age, are more susceptible to developing coronary heart disease.

Anxiety itself can be a symptom of many diseases and arise due to stress, frequent panic attacks, severe phobias and other disorders.

Constant anxiety can lead to tachycardia and increased blood pressure, which over time leads to coronary heart disease.

It is worth noting that people who are born with pale skin do not necessarily suffer from heart disease.

However, if the skin becomes unusually pale, it may indicate decreased blood flow due to a weak heart that is unable to pump blood properly throughout the body. Tissues, not receiving sufficient blood supply, lose color.

Often a person may turn pale due to shock, which occurs when there is insufficient blood circulation. It is for this reason that people suffering from a heart attack or heart failure turn pale.

People who suffer from eczema or shingles have an increased risk of developing heart disease.

Thus, researchers found that patients with eczema suffered from hypertension in 48% of cases, and high cholesterol in 29% of cases. At the same time, shingles increases the risk of heart attack by 59%.

An elevated heart rate often indicates a weak heart. This is because the heart is working as hard as it can, which further wears out the heart muscle.

Imagine a horse pulling a cart. If the horse is weak and fragile, it will be able to pull the cart to the maximum of its capabilities, but for a short distance, and after that its strength will run out.

The same can happen with a weak heart, which is why it is so important to consult a doctor in time for timely treatment.

Check how your heart works

According to WHO statistics, 17 million people die from heart disease every year in the world. Moreover, diseases are getting younger every year. Today it is not uncommon for a heart attack to strike men barely over 30.

But after 50 years, women get sick even more often than men.

10 signs of a bad heart

Symptoms of a heart attack - chest pain, abnormal heart rate, high blood pressure, severe shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, and sometimes even loss of consciousness. But there are a number of signs of heart pathology that begin to appear several months or even years before a heart attack.

1.Pain. It happens not only in the chest, but also in the upper abdomen or neck, radiating to the shoulder, arm, back, jaw. It can occur suddenly or recur day after day for weeks. It is often confused with toothache, muscle pain, heartburn, intercostal neuralgia, and pinched nerves. It’s easy to check: if painful symptoms are noticeably relieved when taking nitroglycerin, it means they are associated with heart pathology.

2.Lack of air. Even mild shortness of breath should be a cause for alarm: this symptom accompanies heart disease in 90% of cases. And without physical activity, in a supine position. A few days before an attack, it often becomes more comfortable for a person to sleep while sitting.

3.Excessive fatigue. Fatigue can be associated with increased workload and stress, but these symptoms are also possible with the development of heart failure. If there really is a problem with the heart, the person feels more and more frustrated over time.

4. Edema. If the heart does not work at full strength, the blood does not have time to remove all the fluid, and swelling occurs. They are easy to spot by their rings and shoes.

5. Increased heart rate. If the increase in heart rate is frequent and prolonged, we can talk about serious cardiac problems.

6. Snoring and sleep disordered breathing. All this triples the risk of developing a heart attack within 5 years.

7. Sudden dizziness or loss of balance. In case of heart disease, they can signal vascular pathology and heart failure.

8. Fainting. A serious reason to visit a cardiologist.

9. Periodontitis and gingivitis. Inflammation and bleeding of the gums can also be associated with heart disease: with vascular and heart diseases, blood supply deteriorates and small arteries begin to suffer first.

10.Sexual problems. 65% of men who were diagnosed with ischemia had problems with erection for several years. This is also due to deterioration of blood supply due to pathologies with blood vessels.

Risk factors

Age - for men over 40 years old, for women - postmenopausal;

High blood pressure (more than 140/90 mm Hg) and high cholesterol in the blood (more than 5 mmol/l, or 200 mg/dl);

Heredity;

Smoking (one of the most significant risk factors), alcohol and drugs;

Obesity, unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle;

Excessive emotional stress;

Diabetes.

How can heart patients protect themselves from the heat?

Cardiologists advise those suffering from cardiovascular diseases not to go outside in the heat without medication, monitor their blood pressure, avoid the sun, drink more fluids and go to the doctor more often. Stay in cool rooms during the day and shower more often.

In the heat, a person's need for fluid increases, as does excessive sweating. As a result, the required content of potassium and magnesium in the blood decreases, and this can provoke heart rhythm disturbances. In older people, potassium levels are often already reduced, so cardiologists additionally prescribe potassium-containing medications during hot weather.

Dehydration leads to serious consequences in the heat, especially in the elderly: the blood thickens and there is a risk of blood clots. Thrombus - most common reason stroke or myocardial infarction. Cardiac aspirin is widely used throughout the world to reduce blood clotting. It's inexpensive.

In hot weather, do not drink tea, coffee, soda, and especially beer. Heart patients need to drink water, but not more than 1 liter per day if their weight is 60 - 80 kg. When going outside, don't forget to take a bottle of water with you.

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels lead to disruption of the blood supply to organs and tissues, which entails disruptions in the functioning of the body, deterioration of well-being, and a decrease in working capacity and standard of living. Every year, more than 17 million people on our planet die from pathologies of this kind.

The danger of cardiovascular diseases is that they can develop asymptomatically for a long time. Contrary to popular belief, such conditions do not always manifest themselves as chest pain, heart rhythm disturbances and other obvious signs. Often, a person who feels generally well already has cardiovascular pathology without knowing it. Considering that illnesses of this kind are increasingly affecting young people who are not inclined to spend time visiting doctors, mortality from diseases such as acute heart failure, ischemic disease heart disease, angina pectoris, stroke and myocardial infarction is constantly increasing.

However, you can significantly reduce your personal risks by choosing healthy image life, reasonable physical activity and control of your health. Therefore, it is very important to know what signs should prompt a visit to a specialist and examination.

The consequence of malfunctioning of the heart is insufficient blood supply to the peripheral vessels (capillaries). The power of the “pump” is simply not enough to push blood into them. The mucous membranes are the first to suffer from a lack of oxygen and nutrients. They become very susceptible to minor injuries and susceptible to pathogens.

If a person experiences bleeding gums, loose teeth, or pustules on the oral mucosa, this may indicate heart failure.

Source: depositphotos.com

Angina pectoris is a disease that occurs due to a discrepancy between the need of the coronary vessels for blood flow and its actual supply. The main symptom is attacks of heart pain during physical or nervous stress. Unpleasant sensations can last from 1 to 15 minutes, and the pain increases gradually, but quickly passes when the load is stopped (for example, a person who walks quickly sometimes only needs to stop to relieve the attack).

Pain during angina appears behind the sternum and radiates to the left arm and shoulder, lower jaw and teeth on the left. Such sensations, which occur periodically under severe stress and go away at rest, are a diagnostic sign of the disease.

Source: depositphotos.com

People suffering from heart failure experience seasonal infections very difficult. Phenomena such as elevated temperature body and difficulty breathing, create an increased need for oxygen in the body, and the intensity of the heart increases. Fine acute symptoms influenza or ARVI bother a person for no more than 5 days, but in a heart patient they can be observed for 10 days or even longer. In addition, these patients are at high risk of developing flu complications such as pneumonia, which in turn can cause heart attacks. According to experts, more than half of the people who die from influenza in European countries are heart patients.

Source: depositphotos.com

Snore

Difficulty breathing during sleep and heart failure are closely related. On the one hand, it has been established that apnea is a risk factor for the development of cardiac disorders. Thus, for people who periodically stop breathing during sleep, the likelihood of a myocardial infarction increases approximately threefold. On the other hand, the presence of night snoring indicates that the body is experiencing a lack of oxygen, possibly caused by malfunctions of the heart.