What are the most common signs of heart disease?

Cough as one of the heart problems

Most often, a cough is a sign of a cold. But if the functioning of the heart is disrupted, it can also manifest itself, while cough medications, whether expectorants or thinners, do not provide any benefit.

Particular attention should be paid if coughing begins while lying down.

Your heart rate is racing

If your heart beats too fast or erratically, it may be because you have a problem with your cardiovascular system. Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat, a condition that can later lead to serious heart disease if left untreated. If your heart is truly weakened, you may notice irregularities in the rhythm. An accelerated heartbeat or irregular rhythm indicates that you have problems with the valves. When you constantly experience these symptoms, you should visit a doctor - an ECG will help analyze your heart rhythm and the electrical activity of your heart. You might also want to take a look at your stress levels. Timely diagnosis will help prevent serious consequences.

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Weakness and paleness are signs of heart problems

With heart problems, a disorder of the nervous system is observed, in other words: absent-mindedness, fatigue, trembling in the arms and legs.

Pallor may be observed with anemia or inflamed heart disease. The color of the lips, cheeks, and earlobes may change and turn blue.

It is worth noting that inflammatory processes, as well as myocardial infarction, do not go away without elevated temperature, and sometimes a feverish state.

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The “flaming motor” of our body does not stop for a moment. The working shift of the human heart is about 100 thousand contractions per day. Together with preventive medicine specialist Ekaterina Stepanova, Sputnik figured out how to keep the heart healthy.

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Despite all the accumulated experience and treatment protocols, no one can predict when a particular person’s heart will stop.

Heart disease always stands apart in the list of human ailments.

The heart is a self-governing organ. This is easy to verify. For example, we can hold our breath, urinate, or defecate through simple effort. But, fortunately, we cannot stop the heartbeat. Nature saved us from this.

How the heart works

No matter what we do: fall in love, sleep, run, work - the heart still beats. His work shift is approximately 100 thousand blows per day.

The heart muscle consists of special muscle fibers that have no analogue in the body. Cardiac fibers have an internal automaticity; if they are separated and placed in a physiological environment, they will continue to contract for some time.

The heart has two sections: right and left - and four valves that control the movement of blood in a given direction. They don't let her come back and mix.

Right department. It consists of the right atrium, where blood from all veins (venous dark brown) enters; with the next contraction, the blood enters the right ventricle and then into the lungs. There it is enriched with oxygen and becomes arterial (bright red). This is a pulmonary circulation in which venous blood, rich in carbon dioxide, is converted into arterial blood, rich in oxygen.

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Left department. From the pulmonary artery, blood returns to the left atrium and, with subsequent contraction, enters the left ventricle. The left ventricle has the thickest muscle wall, because the release of blood must be of such force and pressure that arterial blood can be distributed throughout the body and supply all cells with oxygen. The systemic circulation is responsible for distributing oxygen-rich blood from the heart throughout the body.

In our body there are two circles of blood circulation (small and large), and venous blood never mixes with arterial blood.

The heart also has its own nervous system, which has two pacemakers so that all the heart cells contract at the same time and there is no failure. They can replace each other in case of failure. The heart's own blood supply system, the right and left coronary arteries, is responsible for the blood supply to the heart.

They are called so because they look like a crown - they envelop the apex of the heart and descend with branches over the entire area of the heart muscle, supplying it with blood.

How blood quality affects heart function

We usually associate diseases of the cardiovascular system with the heart. But in fact, pain in the heart area can be influenced by three systems at once. These are changes in the heart muscle (lack of nutrition, blood supply and innervation), problems with the vessels delivering blood to and from the heart, and disturbances in the hematopoietic system, which is responsible for the quality and condition of the blood.

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Quite a lot of heart and vascular diseases begin with the quality of blood.

The average blood volume of an adult is approximately 5.5 liters. With this quantity, the blood is liquid and it is easy for the heart to pump it right down to the smallest capillaries. During the day, a person sweats, goes to the toilet, and breathes. All this leads to natural loss of moisture. If it is not replenished with regular drinking water throughout the day, the body begins to redistribute the fluid. First of all, the blood will suffer - it will thicken, and then other physiological changes will begin.

If the blood is thick, it is less enriched with oxygen, transports nutrients less well, and it is difficult for the heart to push it through the vessels. This makes the heart wear out faster. Due to a lack of oxygen, headaches, problems with the bladder and kidneys may appear, since these are flushed organs, they suffer from stagnation.

Heart surgery

In this situation, the body will increase pressure and force the heart to contract more often so that sufficient oxygen enters the brain.

Blood becomes viscous when it contains large amounts of protein or other substances. In this condition, red blood cells stick together and the blood becomes like jelly.

When there are a lot of lipoproteins in the blood, it is called “fat”.

With any changes in blood quality, the blood vessels and, ultimately, the heart will suffer and wear out.

This important feature is rarely taken into account in the early stages of disease development.

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What are the diseases of blood vessels?

Another important factor in the formation and development of heart disease is vascular problems.

The main problem of blood vessels that affects the functioning of the heart is the narrowing of their lumen. If the quality of the blood is also unsatisfactory, then the heart rate and wear and tear of blood vessels increase significantly.

The lumen of the vessel may narrow due to the appearance of a cholesterol plaque on its wall. It can form due to an increase in lipoproteins in the blood and a decrease in blood pH (normal blood pH is 7.43).

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to consume more polyunsaturated fatty acids and foods that alkalize the body. Any housewife knows that if you marinate fatty meat in vinegar without onions and spices, a layer of fat will stick to the walls of the pan. The same thing happens on the walls of our blood vessels with excessive consumption of saturated fats. In an alkaline environment, fat is in a liquid state and does not cause much harm.

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A plaque on a vessel can be not only cholesterol, but also chlamydia.

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American scientists conducted a study of the bodies of people who died from myocardial infarction, and were amazed that the great vessels and vessels of the heart were clogged with chlamydia plaques. Chlamydia are cholesterol-containing bacteria, and if a person is sick with chlamydia and a cholesterol plaque begins to form somewhere on a vessel, chlamydia colonies are directed there and successfully multiply there, blocking the lumen of the blood vessels irrevocably. Often this problem begins to develop at a young age, so it is necessary to periodically take an ELISA blood test for chlamydia.

Excess salt in the body retains water, which can cause swelling of the mucous membrane of the vessel and narrow the lumen.

With age, blood vessels become narrow and inelastic. It is necessary to monitor nutrition, hormone levels and medications.

What ails the heart

Heart diseases can be divided into two groups:

Diseases associated with impaired blood supply to the myocardium (the muscle itself) due to problems and narrowing of the lumen of the coronary vessels that supply the heart. It does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, resulting in angina or myocardial infarction.
Diseases associated with weakness (exhaustion) of the heart muscle itself, when the heart does not have enough strength to fully push blood, for example, into the aorta.

With angina pectoris, a person clearly points to the location of the pain; as a rule, it is a compressive pain behind the sternum. It appears or intensifies with load and can radiate (radiate) to the lower jaw and left arm.

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With myocardial infarction, pain appears and can intensify at rest.

Prevention is not an empty word

Depending on the cause of the disease, it is necessary to engage in prevention.

Strictly monitor your diet; it should be rich in vitamins (A, E, C), minerals (zinc, selenium, magnesium, potassium, calcium in chelated form), amino acids (proteins), enzymes, polyunsaturated fatty acids and fiber.

Mandatory adherence to water and drinking balance, physical activity at least in the form of walking, swimming to improve blood microcirculation.

Our calf muscles are called our “second heart,” so always wiggle your toes or roll from heel to toe to help your heart and blood vessels pump blood.

After training, when the body is very hot, do not drink very cold water, it is especially not recommended for older people, this contributes to hypothermia of the heart and can cause a sudden stop.

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Every three years, a complete renewal of myocardial cells occurs, and it depends on us how healthy the cells of our heart will be.

Heart disease is inherited.

Find out how relevant heart problems are in your family, whether your close relatives (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather) suffered from heart disease. If this is the case, think about how to improve your lifestyle compared to the lifestyle of your relatives.

When is it time to have your heart examined?

Heart pain cannot be tolerated. For minor symptoms, contact your doctor and get tested. In case of severe pain, call an ambulance.

ECG, ultrasound of the heart, MRI, CT, coronary angiography are the main instrumental methods for studying the heart.

Why is going to the doctor necessary? There are atypical pains or manifestations in the body that are harbingers of serious heart disease. For example, the little finger constantly hurts, there is sudden shortness of breath or lethargy, and the legs become swollen for no reason (more often in women). All this cannot be ignored so as not to miss myocardial infarction!

If an obstacle to the passage of blood has formed in the heart, then the entire tissue pool that is located behind this obstacle, without receiving oxygen, will die and necrosis will form - an area of dead tissue. The viability of the heart will depend on the area of necrosis.

It is very important not to miss the symptoms that are warning signs of a heart attack:

chest pain or feeling that it is being squeezed, sudden fear of death;
pain or discomfort in one or both arms, shoulders, neck, back, jaw;
feeling of constant lack of air;
sudden, possibly recurring dizziness;
profuse sweat, possibly cold;
nausea, vomiting or stomach pain;
feeling of immense fatigue;
Repeated daytime naps of more than 40 minutes.

It is very important not to miss these symptoms. Doctors say that there is a “golden hour” after a heart attack, when the patient can be saved with virtually no consequences.

In men, heart disease can occur differently. For example, there may be no pain because they produce the hormone testosterone, which is a partial natural pain reliever.

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Complete or partial loss of potency may be a sign of a future heart attack. In addition, the vessels of the penis are very thin, and they are primarily damaged by cholesterol plaques. This prevents good blood supply to the penis, therefore, there is active formation of plaques on the aorta, the main vessel of the heart. Established by evidence-based medicine.

Apnea - stopping breathing during sleep - also contributes to myocardial infarction, since during respiratory arrest the blood is not enriched with oxygen and the heart cells are in a state of oxygen starvation and can die.

Frequent periodontitis and periodontal disease mirror the condition of the heart vessels. See your dentist more often.

There are diseases that can be associated with heart pain: dry pleurisy, pneumonia, inflammation of the sternocostal junction, rheumatism of the sternum, neuralgia and myalgia, osteochondrosis (cervical and thoracic), pain associated with eating (esophageal diverticulum), bloating (since it is next to the heart, they are separated by the diaphragm), inflammation of the tail of the pancreas, pain with fever (shingles in the first days before the rash), reflux, hormonal changes.

Our heart is a truly unique organ! He is most susceptible to various types of aggression and therefore needs special protection. The heart allows us to live and appreciate life. The pre-infarction state is accompanied by fear of death, and a revaluation of values occurs.

Take care of your and other people’s hearts, the hearts of your loved ones, children and friends! It’s not for nothing that they say that the soul and love live in the heart!

Blood pressure and body swelling can indicate heart problems

Every year, about 40 thousand people die due to cerebral hemorrhage, which was caused by high blood pressure. Experts note that an increase in blood pressure above 140/90 is one of the main factors for concern. The number of heart beats also plays an important role; if less than 50, or more than 90-100, or a broken rhythm, then these are also signs of heart problems.

Many people experience body swelling at the end of the day, which can be caused by:

accumulation of salt in the body;
renal failure;
heart problems.

Skin rashes

Eczema and shingles are risk factors for the development of heart pathologies. People with eczema are twice as likely to have high blood pressure. And those who suffer from shingles are 60% more likely to have a heart attack.

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These signs are not a reason to panic, but you shouldn’t brush them off either—it’s important to see a doctor in time. This way you can save your life!

Chest pain should not be ignored; it is an important sign of heart disease.

The first symptoms of heart problems are:

burning sensation in the chest;
tightness;
dull, but at the same time severe pain.

During spasms, the pain is sharp and burning, which is one of the signs of angina pectoris, which in turn portends a heart attack.

Prolonged pain, which can radiate to the left side or neck, may be characteristic of a developing heart attack. The pain may be so severe that the person may lose consciousness.

Chest pain that radiates to the back or groin area is a sign of an aortic aneurysm or dissection.

Constant headache

Another sign of heart problems can be severe and frequent headaches. Throbbing pain in the temples, especially concentrated in the morning, can cause high blood pressure. You should not think that hypertension is a harmless deviation from the norm. It is high blood pressure that can lead to a number of diseases and complications, including apoplexy and myocardial infarction. People with blood pressure problems need to have a blood pressure monitor. If your blood pressure is really elevated, or there is a hypertensive crisis, you should give up bad habits and coffee, and limit animal fats and fatty meats in your diet.