Stitching pain in the heart: causes and treatment

The heart is the most important organ of our body. Without him, there would be no movement of blood through the body. Unfortunately, often a vital organ fails. The heart muscle affects many diseases. Sometimes a harbinger of trouble can be pain, a burning sensation. Also, there is often a stabbing pain in the heart, which may indicate a fairly serious disease of the cardiovascular system. However, this does not always happen. Many experts believe that pain in the heart is not characteristic for serious pathologies. This sign may indicate more likely diseases of the spinal column and central nervous system.

• How to distinguish pain in the heart from pain of a different origin?
• When should I see a doctor?
• Causes of pain in the heart
• Ischemic disease
• Myocarditis
• Pericarditis
• Arrhythmia
• Uremia and diabetes mellitus
• Injury of the heart muscle
• Pain in the heart of a child
• Treatment

More often than not unpleasant sensations arising at people in the field of the left breast, patients them call heart pains. In fact, the vital organ is located in the middle, and the true cardiac pain may appear more behind the sternum. Only in some cases pain gives to the left.

Quite often sharp pains of a thrusting character, not bearing serious danger for a life, patients confuse with intimate or cardiac. However, a frivolous attitude toward such feelings is also dangerous.

How to distinguish pain in the heart from pain of a different origin?

Often patients take pains in the left side of the chest for symptoms of an impending heart attack, swallow a bunch of medications and rush to call an ambulance. Sharp piercing pain makes you panic, because unpleasant sensations in the heart area seriously frighten people. But are such sensations always on the left side of the chest indicative of cardiological problems? After a strong stabbing pain can be a sign and other pathologies. Further in the article, we will try to find out how to distinguish heart pains from non-cardiac pains:

1. Tingling, lumbago are characteristic of pains of non-cardiac origin. Cardiac pains are more pressing, with a feeling of squeezing and burning.
2. Often sharp stitching pain occurs with a deep breath. This symptom is also not characteristic for cardiac pathologies, but may most likely indicate neuralgia or other health problems.
3. Stitching pain in the heart area of ​​a permanent nature is not characteristic for diseases of the heart muscle. Cardiac pain is most often observed in the form of short-term attacks.
4. If the patient experiences uncomfortable sensations in the heart area and a nitroglycerin pill can be taken under the left scapula, if the symptoms do not touch the heart, they will not subside.
5. When the pain is given to the left arm, the area of ​​the scapula and neck, and also has a short-term paroxysmal character, it may well indicate pathologies of a cardiac nature.

Important!When you have painful feelings, do not panic. The patient is recommended to calm down, drink a sedative and take a comfortable position in the bed. Excessive excitement can harm your health.

When should I see a doctor?

The causes of uncomfortable sensations in the chest can be varied. Often they testify to neuralgia, osteochondrosis and other unpleasant diseases. However, there are signs that you should consult a doctor. They include:

• Stitching unpleasant sensations, giving to the area of ​​the left arm, neck, shoulder blade;
• dizziness and nausea;
• a feeling of numbness in the hands;
• a feeling of lack of air;
• excessive sweating;
• weakness.

In the presence of such signs, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance team, as the above symptoms may indicate a risk of myocardial infarction or stroke. The patient is recommended to calm down, take 2 tablets of aspirin, open the window leaf or balcony, remove tight clothes.

Causes of pain in the heart

Heart pain can become signs of the following cardiac diseases:

Ischemic disease

This includes such conditions of the patient as a heart attack, stroke, angina pectoris and others. These pathologies are accompanied by insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle and necrosis of some of its areas. Because of this, a person can feel pain in the left side of the sternum and with inspiration.

Myocarditis

With infectious heart lesions, the patient can develop an inflammatory process of the heart muscle. This can also cause unpleasant sensations in the sternum. With this disease, unpleasant sensations in the heart are dull, aching in nature, but can also be sharp stitching.

Pericarditis

Acute pains in the left part of the chest can testify to such a disease as inflammation of the shell of the heart muscle. Also, the symptoms of the pathology may be swelling of the hands and feet, lack of air, violation of the heart rate.

Arrhythmia

Another disease that causes violation of the heart rate, and often accompanied by painful sensations in the sternum.

Uremia and diabetes mellitus

Pathologies of the heart muscle, accompanied by a violation of the metabolic processes in the heart, as well as coronary artery disease. The disease leads to severe and severe discomfort in the left side of the person's chest.

Injury of the heart muscle

These can be bruises, tears, tremors. Depending on the intensity of damage, the character of discomfort sensations can change. With neoplasms of both benign and malignant character, the pain can be sharp or pressing, while the patient experiences shortage of air and discomfort in the sternum.

Important!When there is a regular paroxysmal pain in the cardiac area, it is extremely important to consult a doctor. Timely diagnosis will help to avoid many complications.

Pain in the heart of a child

Often parents, noticing stabbing pain in the heart of adolescents, write it off to a growing body and excessive excitement. However, often unsettling symptoms can also indicate the following pathologies:

• heart disease;
• pericarditis;
• rheumatic heart disease;
• neurosis;
• myocardial dystrophy.

With the development of pain in the heart of the child does not need to think long, what to do, in such cases it is extremely necessary to write the baby to an appointment with a cardiologist.

Also, often the pain in the left side of the chest occurs during pregnancy. The reasons for this can be intercostal neuralgia, uncomfortable posture, vegetovascular dystonia. In the most cases, this is not dangerous for the baby. However, every expectant mother should visit a women's clinic in a timely manner and inform the doctor about any changes concerning her health. This will help eliminate severe pathologies from the heart and the cardiovascular system.

Treatment

Therapy with the development of uncomfortable sensations in the heart area always depends on the cause of the origin of the painful sensations. To do this, it is necessary to diagnose the disease and find out the nature of its origin. In neuralgia treatment should appoint a neuropathologist, if the cause of unpleasant sensations is osteochondrosis and other pathologies of the spinal column, the choice should be chosen by a vertebrologist or orthopedist. If the cardiological nature of the origin of the pain is confirmed, the patient should undergo a course of therapy according to the appointment of a cardiologist.

Early treatment to a doctor and early diagnosis will help you maintain your health and avoid many complications. Take care of yourself and be well.