Pain in the heart or pain around the heart is not always related to its dysfunction. The causes of heart pain are much more varied than is commonly believed. However, due to the awareness of the importance of the heart's role in the body, these pains arouse the greatest concern, often unjustified. Find out what heartache means.

Heart painis often equated with chest pain, especially on the left side of the chest. The heart, on the other hand, lies in the center of the chest, just behind the breastbone, so the pain in this area will usually affect the heart (but maybe other organs as well). Pain elsewhere in the chest is usually associated with improper functioning of other organs, less often with cardiac dysfunction.

Heart pain is defined by patients in different ways. It can be sharp, dull, deaf, stinging, harassing, burning, throbbing or piercing in nature. However, patients most often complain of stinging and crushing pain in the heart. Patients can also determine its strength and violence in its occurrence and build-up, and regression. It is also important to accurately determine the duration and duration of pain symptoms. This information is necessary to determine the cause of heart pain.

Pain in the heart - cardiovascular diseases

  • myocardial infarctionis manifested by crushing pain, angina, located just behind the sternum, often radiating to the lower jaw and left shoulder. It may be accompanied by symptoms such as pallor, sweating, marked weakness, sometimes shortness of breath and wheezing
  • myocarditisin addition to heartache, it is manifested by fever, fatigue and breathing problems
  • pericarditis , inflammation of the sac that contains the heart, can cause sharp, constant pain in the heart that radiates to the shoulders and neck. This pain is worsened when you breathe, swallow, or lie down on your back
  • mitral valve prolapsecharacterized by stabbing pain and palpitations, dizziness on standing up, shortness of breath, fatigue, limb ischemia and hand tremor
  • ischemic heart diseasecauses retrosternal heart pain that radiates to the jaw and hands and is aggravated by rapid temperature changes. It can also appear during exercise, when the heart needs moreoxygen
  • angina (angina pectoris)is characterized by paroxysmal pains located in the area of ​​the heart or sternum. These pains usually occur with exercise

Pain in the heart - diseases of the digestive system

  • hiatal herniaordiaphragmmanifested by a burning-stinging pain in the heart
  • heartburn , or inflammation of the esophagus caused by the regurgitation of acid in the esophagus, is manifested by a burning pain behind the sternum, which usually occurs after a heavy meal and intensifies in the supine position or while bending over
  • overeating- when the stomach is full, it compresses the diaphragm. Consequently, it first shrinks, and when it wants to unwind, there is no room for that. The result is pressure that causes a sharp, stabbing pain in the heart area

Pain in the heart - diseases of the skeletal system

  • diseases of the thoracic spine- when the spine, especially the thoracic spine, becomes overloaded, its vertebrae may shift, which, by putting pressure on the nerves, may not only cause pain around the heart, but also e.g. on the hand. This pain usually worsens when you inhale and may be associated with shortness of breath, high or low blood pressure circulatory disturbance
  • Tietze syndrome , i.e. cartilage inflammation of the sternocostral or sternoclavicular cartilages, is manifested by a strong, diffuse and prolonged pain that intensifies when touching the sternum and sternal attachments -costal

Pain in the heart - nerve damage

If the nerves in the spaces between the ribs are damaged as a result of an injury, exercise overload, or developing inflammation, heart pain may occur.

Pain in the heart - angina

Complication of angina may be an embolism in the blood vessels of the heart, which causes pain by reducing the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle itself. This pain can radiate to the arm, shoulder, jaw, or back.

Pain in the heart - colds

A stabbing pain in the heart may appear during a cold. Usually, it is a dry and tiring cough that causes damage to small nerve fibers and overloads the costal cartilages. As a consequence, inflammation develops, which causes unpleasant ailments.

Pain in the heart - violent emotional experiences

Rapid emotional experience, e.g. sudden death of a loved one, sudden loss of job, heartbreak, may contribute to the appearance of the symptoms of the so-called widow's heart(takotsubo cardiomyopathy). Then the heart stops contracting and the symptoms suggest a heart attack. However, studies do not show any changes in the coronary vessels or any other pathology of the heart, except that it hardly shrinks.

Sensitive people, who are often exposed to emotional experiences, may developheart neurosis(aka Da Costa syndrome). It is a condition of subjectively perceived various functional disorders of the heart, in the form of a strong or excessive heartbeat, pain of a usually stabbing, stabbing nature, most often located in a small space near the apex of the heart. These ailments are usually accompanied by anxiety, rapid fatigue and a feeling of tightness in the throat.

Category:

Cardiology