Gone to the heels: How to care for the heart
Perhaps one of the first facts that we learn in childhood about the human body - our life depends on the work of the heart: while it beats, we exist. Unfortunately, heart problems may not be so obvious (sometimes we do not suspect them), but they can overtake everyone (even at an early age), often with irreversible consequences. According to WHO, in 2015, the most frequent cause of death in the world was coronary heart disease (almost 9 million cases), and she has been heading this list for many years. On the eve of World Heart Day, which is celebrated on September 29, we talked with Liao Cardiologist, Cardiologist of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Leia Ghukasyan, on how to understand that the heart is not in order, which examinations will help you find the disease and why you should not lean on energy drinks.
How does the heart hurt?
Heart disease is the first thing that comes to mind as soon as pain appears on the left side of the chest. It may indeed indicate a problem, but not all the discomfort in this area indicates a malfunction of the heart - which, by the way, is located not to the left, but in the center of the chest. So, if you inhale or exhale sharply stabbed in the chest, you can talk, for example, about intercostal neuralgia - pain caused by the compression of one of the intercostal nerves. This happens with a sharp muscle spasm, especially in an unusual position - for example, when you looked up unsuccessfully, tying shoelaces. Such pain most often calms down while inhaling or exhaling, and may go away after stretching or movements with shoulders.
Because the lungs are located near the heart, many of the processes associated with them may also respond to chest pain. It is not so difficult to understand what is the matter here, because other symptoms of the disease will also be connected - cough, fever, shortness of breath. But in case of panic attacks, when, however, breathing difficulties are also encountered, it is often more difficult to independently distinguish anxiety from a heart attack - their signs often coincide. However, during panic attacks, pain does not occur in the heart itself, as it may seem to an inexperienced person, but, for example, in the pectoral muscles that are cramped due to stress. It is necessary to seek emergency medical care anyway: a heart attack can be fatal, and panic attacks signal a serious psychological imbalance.
But the typical pain that indicates problems with the heart is a burning, pressing pain behind the sternum, which does not change, no matter how you try to slow down or speed up breathing or stretch muscles. In the chest there is a feeling of load, as if a brick is pressing down from above, or it seems that it burns and squeezes from the inside. Sometimes pain radiates - “gives away” to another area: under the scapula, to the shoulder, to the stomach, or even the fingers. Such pain is called angina pectoris and requires the obligatory treatment of a doctor - it occurs when the load on the heart is too high.
Unfortunately, when atherosclerosis disrupts the normal blood supply to the heart, coronary disease occurs (ischemia is a lack of "nutrition" of the organ) - in this case, the load may be excessive for the heart during sports, but gradually it will become difficult for him to work and at rest. An attack of angina can develop into a myocardial infarction - when a site of necrosis occurs in the heart muscle due to prolonged ischemia. It is deadly, so burning or pressing pain in the chest is a reason to consult a doctor without delay.
Can the heart "freeze"?
Another common heart problem is arrhythmia, that is, a rhythm disorder. In fact, the uniqueness of the heart is that it has a so-called pacemaker - a group of cells that form a heartbeat impulse. Even the signals of the nervous system are not needed for his work - the isolated cardiac muscle in the laboratory will continue to contract by itself. But for various reasons, there may be interruptions in the work of the heart - the problem may lie in the pacemaker itself or in the areas through which the impulse is transmitted further. Tachycardia and bradycardia (too fast or slow heartbeat) are also considered types of arrhythmia. In case of arrhythmia, a person sometimes feels that the heart "stops", feels, as it were, gaps in the heartbeat or simply realizes the heartbeat. It also happens that there is an arrhythmia, but the person does not feel anything.
There are many types of arrhythmias, and only a survey will help determine the real danger. An arrhythmia may not speak about disturbances in the body - from time to time any healthy person may encounter it, depending on the circumstances, and respiratory arrhythmia in children, according to Lia Gukasyan, is a normal age feature. Arrhythmia can be a symptom of various diseases, such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), disorders of the thyroid gland, or the same panic attacks. Acute arrhythmias, including those incompatible with life, may develop, for example, when a heated body is suddenly submerged in cold water.
Unfortunately, on an ordinary electrocardiogram arrhythmia is not always possible to fix - for example, if it occurs only during stress, walking or in a dream. In such cases, a Holter examination is prescribed - the person goes with the sensors and the device for ECG recording for a day or two, and then comes back to the doctor. It sounds difficult, but such an examination can be done at a regular clinic. Whether an arrhythmia will ever develop at all depends on many factors, including hereditary predisposition, current and experienced heart problems and lifestyle. Even energy drinks can provoke an arrhythmia, so it is worth considering whether such doping is necessary, especially in large quantities.
Do I need to be afraid of heart problems?
Although not every heart problem is fatal, it is dangerous to ignore the symptoms - ischemic disease, if left untreated, is likely to lead to myocardial infarction. As cardiologist Alexey Utin writes in his blog, without treatment, myocardial infarction will lead to the death of almost a third of patients - and the younger the age, the higher the risk. If myocardial infarction has already developed, it is extremely important to start treatment urgently, in the very first hours and even minutes. And, of course, it is better to prevent than to treat - coronary heart disease requires constant work on lifestyle and regular medication, but it can save lives. A postponed myocardial infarction always leaves consequences - literally a scar remains on the heart, which prevents it from contracting normally. So statements like "my grandfather survived three heart attacks" should not be misleading - you can really survive them if you are lucky, but your healthy heart will be a thing of the past.
For other cardiac disorders, the same rule applies: prevention is always better than treatment. Even heart defects are quite compatible with life, although this also depends on the specific type. A defect is a change in the anatomical structure of an organ; anomalous structure may be at the valves or partitions between parts of the heart, as well as large vessels. Congenital defects, as follows from the term itself, are those with which a child is born, and acquired defects can appear as a result of rheumatism, syphilis, coronary heart disease or various tumors. In any case, the main function of the heart is under threat - it ceases to adequately supply other organs and tissues with oxygen, "oxygen hunger" and heart failure develop. In severe cases, only surgery will help to preserve and prolong life, while lighter heart defects only impose certain limitations - for example, they require frequent monitoring by a cardiologist and rejection of professional sports.
How to keep track of the heart and not to harm him?
Caring for the heart involves attention to your health in general - it is especially sensitive to bad habits and suffers from them in the first place. It’s worth thinking about the heart early, not considering that its diseases are “senile” - according to some information, cholesterol plaques begin to grow as early as adolescence. It is these plaques that cause atherosclerosis - narrowing of the arteries, and if we are talking about coronary arteries that feed the heart itself, then a lack of blood supply will lead to coronary disease.
Heredity is also important - in the words of Lia Gukasyan, in order to understand what you may have to deal with, it is a good idea to make a genealogical tree of diseases (it is useful not only for heart problems). With it, you can warn that is not always traceable in medical research. For example, prolonged QT syndrome, which can be the cause of sudden death at a young age, is inherited and occurs in boys. If in the family of one of the partners there were such cases, it is worth thinking about a thorough examination of the heart of the sons. A very similar congenital anomaly is Brugada syndrome, which can cause a sudden death; if you know about the presence of this syndrome, its consequences can be successfully prevented.
Examine the heart, if there are no complaints, it is worth once a year. As a rule, it is enough to have a checkup, a conversation with a doctor and a usual ECG - it will not cover all the problems, but it will accurately inform about the important. If the doctor understands that it is not enough, he will prescribe an echocardiography (ultrasound examination of the heart). Without special need, "just in case", it does not make sense to undergo echocardiography annually. It is also necessary to periodically donate blood for analysis of the lipid spectrum, that is, different types of cholesterol. If the figures are higher than normal, it is necessary to adjust them - with a diet or special preparations. Even if everything is in order, no need to get involved in animal fats, as they increase the risk of atherosclerosis. A diet with already developed atherosclerosis is quite strict - it is easier and better to adhere to a balanced diet in advance.
Moderate physical activity will help support the heart in good shape, but this body is rather tormented by professional sport rather than strengthened. Unfortunately, even among young athletes, there are cases of death due to sudden cardiac arrest - this is due to the load on the heart, which can become excessive if its diseases are not diagnosed in time; Of course, in such cases, experiments with prohibited doping agents also play a role. Both cardio training and power loads are useful and recommended, including for heart health, but it is important to observe the so-called target heart rate interval: for a person of 30 years it is 95-162 beats per minute. Now watching the pulse is much easier than before - this is done by fitness trackers. The new model Apple Watch, for example, also notifies the owner of interruptions in the rhythm of the heart and warns of potential problems.
Photo: Supak - stock.adobe.com, benschonewille - stock.adobe.com
