If your heart hurts from the back. Can back pain radiate to the heart area and cause sweating? Pathology of coronary vessels

In any case, only a doctor can recognize this with the help of instrumental studies.

However, every person who encounters such a symptom is looking for an answer to the question: “How to understand that the heart hurts?” You need to know this so as not to miss the moment and seek help in time, for example, in case of myocardial infarction. It is important to understand how the heart hurts; the symptoms can be different. It is necessary to learn to distinguish cardiac pain from non-cardiac pain. To do this, you need to have an idea of ​​the nature, intensity and duration of pain, as well as other manifestations of certain diseases characterized by unpleasant sensations in the chest area.

Early signs of a heart attack

As already mentioned, chest discomfort can have various causes. Heart diseases are identified by certain characteristic signs. You should know that the “core” often does not experience any discomfort. At the same time, a person with other pathologies may complain that it is difficult for him to breathe or his heart hurts. However, these symptoms will have nothing to do with cardiac diseases.

The very first signals indicating that a major organ is not in order usually arrive several months or years before a heart attack. All people need to have an idea of ​​how the heart hurts. Symptoms of the onset of the disease are usually the following:

1. Compressive, pressing pain behind the sternum, radiating to the back, arm, neck, jaw, especially to the left side. Accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, nausea.

2. Pain occurs after exertion, physical or psychological, and goes away with rest and after taking nitroglycerin.

3. Shortness of breath occurs during exertion, even during everyday work that is not too hard, while eating, or while lying down. On the eve of an attack, a person may sleep sitting or suffer from insomnia.

4. Increased fatigue from normal work can haunt a person for several months before the attack.

5. Men may suffer from erectile dysfunction for several years before being diagnosed with coronary artery disease.

6. Edema is one of the characteristic signs of cardiac dysfunction. At first they are insignificant, but gradually become more noticeable, especially visible in the rings on the fingers and on the shoes. If edema appears, it is necessary to undergo examination by a cardiologist or therapist.

7. Sleep apnea, or stopping breathing during sleep, and snoring can signal a predisposition to a heart attack.

How does your heart hurt? Symptoms of coronary diseases

Signs of a heart attack may vary. The classic clinical picture of a heart attack usually unfolds as follows:

a feeling of heaviness, pressing or squeezing pain in the center of the chest, behind the sternum and in the arm;

irradiation of pain into left hand, neck, lower teeth, throat, back;

dizziness, sweating, pale skin, nausea, sometimes vomiting;

a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, a burning sensation in the chest, reminiscent of heartburn;

fear of death, anxiety, severe weakness;

unstable and rapid pulse.

A heart attack can occur in another way. There may be no symptoms, which is the insidiousness of the disease. A person may complain of discomfort in the chest area, or may not experience any sensations - this is a silent heart attack. An extensive heart attack in its symptoms resembles acute heart failure: shortness of breath, suffocation, blue lips and fingertips, loss of consciousness.

A heart attack lasts about half an hour and cannot be stopped with nitroglycerin.

Coronary artery disease is manifested by attacks of angina pectoris. In this case, how does the heart hurt? Symptoms are usually the following:

interruptions in heart function;

With cardiac ischemia, patients complain of discomfort in the chest: pressure, heaviness, fullness, burning. The pain can radiate to the shoulders, shoulder blade, arms, neck, lower jaw, throat. It usually occurs during physical and emotional stress and goes away with rest.

With angina at rest, pain can occur at any time. Often in this case, the heart hurts at night. This form is unfavorable.

Inflammatory heart diseases

Pain is the main symptom of pericarditis, or inflammation. outer shell hearts. It is felt in the middle of the chest, sometimes radiates to the back, neck, arm, and intensifies when swallowing, inhaling, coughing, and also in a lying position. IN sitting position or when bending forward there is some relief. Patients' breathing is usually shallow. As a rule, this is a dull or aching pain in the heart area, but sometimes it can be sharp and cutting. With pericarditis, low-grade fever and rapid heartbeat are observed.

With inflammation of the heart muscle, up to 90% of patients complain of pain. This is a stabbing, pressing or aching pain in the region of the heart, which does not depend on physical activity, but may intensify a day after the load. It does not go away with nitroglycerin.

Heart valve diseases

With valve pathologies, the symptoms do not in any way reflect the severity of the disease. A person may not have any complaints, but still be seriously ill. Signs may be as follows:

difficulty breathing, shortness of breath during daily activities and during exertion, as well as when lying down;

discomfort (heaviness, pressure) in the chest during exercise, inhaling cold air;

dizziness, general weakness;

rhythm disturbances: irregular pulse, rapid heartbeat, interruptions in heart function.

With valve diseases, heart failure can develop with characteristic symptoms: swelling of the legs, bloating, weight gain.

Cardiomyopathy

Almost all patients with this diagnosis have pain. It is especially pronounced when hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Pain changes as the disease progresses. At first it is long-lasting, has nothing to do with physical activity, does not stop with nitroglycerin, and is localized in different places. Subsequently, spontaneous pain or attacks are observed after exercise, which are relieved by nitroglycerin, although not always. The nature of the pain varies. It has a specific localization or occupies a large area, is present constantly or only during exercise, goes away from nitroglycerin, but may not go away.

Arrhythmia

There are many types of arrhythmias characterized by disturbances in heart rhythm. In some of them, pain in the heart is noted, which radiates to the left side of the body and to the arm.

Heart defects

Heart defects, congenital or acquired, may not manifest themselves for years, but may be accompanied by pain. As a rule, these are constant aching, stabbing or cutting pains, which are accompanied by swelling of the legs and increased blood pressure.

Mitral valve prolapse

The pain usually occurs in the left side of the chest and is not associated with stress. It is pressing, pinching or aching in nature and does not go away with nitroglycerin. In addition, night and morning headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, rapid heartbeat, and a feeling of lack of air are possible.

Aortic stenosis

With this pathology, there is a feeling of tightness in the chest, shortness of breath during exercise, muscle weakness, fast fatiguability, heartbeat. With development coronary insufficiency shortness of breath at night, dizziness, fainting with a sudden change in body position, attacks of cardiac asthma and angina pectoris.

This dangerous condition requires urgent help. Severe pain in the heart area, which intensifies with inspiration, is an early sign of pulmonary embolism. Unlike angina, the pain does not radiate to other places. The patient develops cyanotic skin, a sharp drop in blood pressure, and suffers from severe shortness of breath and palpitations. Nitroglycerin will not help in this case.

Aortic diseases

Excruciating, sudden, bursting chest pain - aortic dissection. Intense pain can lead to loss of consciousness. The patient requires urgent medical attention.

With a thoracic aortic aneurysm, mild, less often severe, throbbing or aching pain in the chest and back is noted. When an aneurysm ruptures, the patient experiences unbearable tearing pain, shock and death are possible if help is not provided in time.

Non-heart diseases

1. Intercostal neuralgia. It is often mistaken for heart pain, but in reality there are significant differences. With intercostal neuralgia, the pain is stabbing, sharp, intensifying with deep inhalation and exhalation, turning the body, sudden movements, coughing, laughing, sneezing. It may go away after a few minutes, but can last up to several hours or days. The person accurately indicates the location of the pain, its localization is pinpoint, in the left or right side chest between the ribs. With angina, it is burning, aching, but not sharp, does not depend on the position of the body, the exact location cannot be indicated, it is usually shown on the entire chest.

2. Thoracic and cervical osteochondrosis. It is easily confused with angina pectoris. It seems to a person that his heart hurts, his arm, usually the left, and the area between the shoulder blades go numb, the pain radiates to the back, upper abdomen, and intensifies with breathing and movement. It especially resembles a heart attack if it occurs at night, and the person experiences fear. The main difference from angina pectoris is that nitroglycerin does not help.

3. Diseases of the central nervous system. In this case, patients complain that their heart often hurts. As a rule, patients describe their condition differently. The pain can be constant and short-term, aching and sharp. With neuroses there are usually various autonomic disorders: irritability, anxiety, insomnia or drowsiness, heat or chilliness in the extremities, dryness or increased moisture of the skin, muscle pain, stomach pain, headache. Usually people with neuroses very colorfully and in detail describe numerous symptoms that objectively do not correspond to the true state of the person. At the same time, “core people” are very stingy in describing their feelings. It can be difficult to distinguish cardioneurosis from cardiac ischemia, since there are no changes on the ECG.

4. Disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract. Pain caused by pathologies of the digestive system, longer lasting than heart pain, is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and depends on food intake. Acute pancreatitis is sometimes mistaken for a heart attack: severe pain with nausea and vomiting. Pain from spasms of the gallbladder and ducts can radiate to the left side of the chest, so it seems that the heart hurts. What to drink to find out for sure? If antispasmodics helped, then problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

5. Lung diseases. Pneumonia may cause heart-like pain. When pleurisy occurs sharp pain, it is limited, intensifies when coughing and inhaling.

What to do?

This is the first question that comes to mind when someone feels chest pain. If there is a suspicion that your heart still hurts, that is, an attack of angina or a heart attack, you need to act as follows:

First of all, you need to calm down and sit down. Panic will only make the condition worse.

Try changing your body position. If it feels better, it may not be your heart that hurts. If the pain has not subsided, but continues to increase and is of a squeezing or pressing nature, it is possible that this is angina pectoris.

You need to open the window in the room to let fresh air in.

Nothing should restrict breathing, so the collar of clothing must be unbuttoned or undressed to the waist.

Place one nitroglycerin tablet under your tongue; if you have angina, the pain should subside fairly quickly. If it does not go away after 15 minutes, take another tablet and call ambulance. If it is a heart attack, nitroglycerin will not help.

Conclusion

Even if the attack was stopped, the next day you need to go to the hospital for examination. And, of course, there is no need to self-medicate.

How to distinguish pain in the heart?

Chest pain is a symptom of many diseases, not necessarily heart diseases. Thus, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, respiratory and digestive organs, neurological disorders, and injuries may manifest themselves. However, you need to know how to determine if your heart is hurting, since this is where immediate help may be needed. It is especially important not to miss dangerous condition, for example myocardial infarction.

Only a doctor can make a diagnosis, but some specific signs will help you understand that your heart is hurting.

The nature of pain in cardiac diseases

Angina attack

The pain occurs behind the sternum, it can be squeezing, squeezing, sometimes cutting, but never sharp, but always dull. It arises exactly where the heart is. The person cannot pinpoint exactly where it hurts and puts his hands all over his chest. The pain radiates to the area between the shoulder blades, to the left arm, jaw, and neck. Usually appears during emotional stress, physical exertion, when leaving a warm room in the cold, while eating, at night. When your heart hurts, the discomfort lasts from a few seconds to twenty minutes. Usually the patient freezes in place, he develops shortness of breath, a feeling of lack of air, and a feeling of fear of death. Significant relief or complete relief of the attack occurs immediately after taking nitroglycerin. Pain in the heart does not depend on the position of the body, inhalation or exhalation.

Myocardial infarction

Sudden sharp pain behind the sternum of a pressing or burning nature, radiating to the left side of the chest and back. The patient feels as if there is a very heavy burden on his heart. A person experiences a feeling of fear of death. During a heart attack, breathing quickens, and the patient cannot lie down; he tries to sit up. Unlike angina, pain during a heart attack is very sharp and can be aggravated by movement. They cannot be removed with the usual medications for the core.

Inflammatory heart diseases

Heart pain occurs when inflammatory processes such as myocarditis and pericarditis.

With myocarditis, the sensations are almost the same as with angina pectoris. The main signs are aching or stabbing pain, radiating to left shoulder and neck, a feeling of pressure behind the sternum, usually a little to the left. They are almost continuous and long-lasting, and can intensify with physical activity. After taking nitroglycerin, do not release it. Patients suffer from attacks of suffocation and shortness of breath during physical work and at night, swelling and pain in the joints are possible.

Signs of pericarditis are moderate, dull, monotonous pain and fever. Painful sensations can be localized in the left side of the chest, usually above the heart, as well as in the upper left part of the abdomen, the left shoulder blade. They intensify when coughing, when changing body position, when breathing deeply, or when lying down.

Aortic diseases

Aortic aneurysm is expressed by pain in the upper chest, which lasts several days and is associated with physical effort. It does not spread to other parts of the body and does not go away after nitroglycerin.

Dissecting aortic aneurysm is characterized by severe bursting pain behind the sternum, which may be followed by loss of consciousness. Emergency assistance required.

Pulmonary embolism

An early sign of this serious disease is severe chest pain that gets worse when you inhale. Resembles the pain of angina, but does not radiate to other parts of the body. Doesn't go away with painkillers. The patient experiences severe shortness of breath and palpitations. There is cyanosis skin And rapid decline pressure. The condition requires immediate hospitalization.

Pain of non-cardiac origin

Intercostal neuralgia

Intercostal neuralgia is often mistaken for heart pain. It does resemble angina, but there are significant differences. Neuralgia is characterized by a sharp shooting pain, which intensifies with movements, turns of the body, coughing, laughter, inhalation and exhalation. The pain may go away quickly, but can last for hours or days, intensifying with every sudden movement. Neuralgia is localized locally on the left or right between the ribs; the pain can radiate directly to the heart, lower back, back or spine. Usually the patient can pinpoint the exact location of the pain.

Osteochondrosis

With thoracic osteochondrosis, a person experiences pain in the heart, which radiates to the back, upper abdomen, shoulder blade and intensifies during movement and breathing. There may be a feeling of numbness in the interscapular area and left arm. Many people mistake their condition for angina, especially if the pain occurs at night and there is a feeling of fear. You can distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis by the fact that in the latter case nitroglycerin will not help.

Digestive diseases

Symptoms of acute pancreatitis are very severe pain that can be mistaken for heart pain. The condition is similar to a heart attack, and in both cases nausea and vomiting are possible. It is almost impossible to remove them at home.

With gallbladder spasm and bile ducts It seems like my heart hurts. Although the liver and gall bladder are located on the right, severe pain radiates to the left side of the chest. In this case, antispasmodics help.

Severe pain due to a hernia of the esophagus (the opening of the diaphragm) is similar to angina. It appears at night when a person is in a horizontal position. Once you take a vertical position, your condition improves.

central nervous system

With disorders of the central nervous system, frequent and prolonged pain is observed in the chest area, namely in the apex of the heart, that is, in the chest from the bottom left. Patients describe the symptoms differently, but, as a rule, these are constant aching pains, which are sometimes acute and short-lived. Pain due to neuroses is always accompanied by sleep disturbances, irritability, anxiety and other manifestations of autonomic disorders. In this case they help sedatives and sleeping pills. A similar picture can be observed during menopause.

In some cases, cardioneuroses are difficult to distinguish from ischemic heart disease, since there may be no changes on the ECG in both cases.

Finally

In any case, you need to go to the hospital. Even an experienced doctor without an instrumental examination will not be able to accurately determine the origin of the pain. In addition, any disease may have atypical symptoms.

What does pain in the heart that radiates to the back indicate?

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW! Heart pain, headaches, and pressure surges are symptoms of early onset. Add to your diet.

The appearance of discomfort in the chest is always an alarming indicator that signals an existing malfunction in the body. Of particular danger is pain in the heart area, radiating to the back and under the shoulder blade. The symptom may indicate the development of acute cardiac pathology, which poses a threat to the patient’s life.

Category of hazardous conditions

Any symptom of pain, felt not only acutely and intensely, but also briefly and in a moderate form, always indicates the development of a pathological abnormality in the body. The appearance of a pain symptom in this area can have two causal directions: those associated with impaired cardiac functionality and those resulting from diseases of other internal structures.

The harbinger of cardiac pathology is most often pain that radiates to the back. Almost all conditions that result in changes in the activity of the heart and vascular network carry a certain danger to life, since the lack of timely medical assistance sharply increases the mortality rate of the outcome. These include the forms of violations listed below.

Myocardial infarction

The resulting pain felt in the back can be caused by a blood clot that blocks the vascular blood flow that feeds the heart muscle. Together with it, a compressive and pressing pain, radiating to the neck and left half of the torso, arm and sternum. The manifestation of pain has a long course, which is not relieved by available analgesic drugs. In rare cases, nausea, chills, and fear appear.

Pericarditis

The inflammatory process, which involves the tissue sac covering the heart, is provoked by a viral infection. A symptom of the disease, when heart pain radiates to the back and has a stabbing manifestation, is its typical sign. Associated indicators include the appearance of severe weakness and low-grade fever.

Angina pectoris

The pathological disorder develops systematically when cholesterol formations in the form of plaques are deposited on the walls of the arterial vascular network. They impede the free flow of blood, changing the required volume of consumption for the organ that feeds the network. In most cases, the condition appears after intense physical activity or prolonged stress.

It has characteristics such as painful discomfort covering the entire front of the sternum, it can affect the heart area and radiate to the back. Specific signs The disease is a constraining short-term pain. The onset of the development of the condition is not acute, manifesting itself in more intense pain discomfort as the pathological process progresses.

Ischemic lesion

A condition occurs with the appearance of sudden and intense pain, which is combined with the development of shortness of breath or cough symptoms. The characteristic of pain discomfort has its own specifics; it occurs in the middle of the chest, radiating along the back along the spinal tract. In some cases, cutting sensations develop in the chest area, which can spread to the left arm and neck.

Pathology of coronary vessels

It is characterized by the formation of pain in various forms of manifestation. With an aneurysm, this is a throbbing pain in the middle of the sternum, spreading to the back. It is accompanied by a cough and lack of air in the breathing phases, and shortness of breath develops. In addition to intense pain, the disorder causes the appearance of sweating, shortness of breath, anxiety and fear.

Aortic dissection

The disease is diagnosed in rare cases, namely after traumatic injury to the thoracic area of ​​the spinal tract or costal arches. It can be caused by uncontrolled hypertension. The pain appears abruptly and has a high level of intensity, exerting a psychological impact on the person in the form of the appearance of crippling fear.

Causes affecting other systems

Not in all pathological situations, when pain in the heart area radiates to the back, it indicates the development of cardiac dysfunction. The following disorders can cause such discomfort:

• osteochondrosis of the thoracic and cervical area spinal tract;
• mechanical damage to the ribs;
• protrusion of a hernia in the thoracic area of ​​the spine can have a pressing effect on the heart;
• pulmonary diseases: pleurisy, pneumothorax, asthma cause false feeling painful discomfort in the heart area;
• disruption of the digestive system.

In any case, if a symptom of pain is detected that affects the chest and back, it should not be ignored, especially if it is not a single and momentary symptom. It is recommended to undergo examination at the clinic, which allows you to determine the cause of the symptoms and begin therapeutic correction on time.

And a little about SECRETS.

Have you ever suffered from HEART PAIN? Judging by the fact that you are reading this article, victory was not on your side. And of course you are still looking for a good way to get your heart functioning back to normal.

Then read what Elena MALYSHEVA says about this in her interview about natural methods of treating the heart and cleaning blood vessels.

Stitching in the heart area: causes, connection with pathology, how to eliminate tingling, possible treatment, when it is dangerous

Each of us has experienced the feeling of a pounding heart at least once in our lives. This symptom can be quite frightening and make you immediately rush to the doctor, but most often it goes away quickly and on its own, and those who experience it try to independently find the cause of the stabbing sensation in the heart.

Not only older people with a number of diseases of both the heart and other organs can complain of tingling in the heart. Often the symptom worries young people, both female and male, teenagers and even children. It can be difficult to understand its origin only on the basis of a description of sensations, since not every patient is able to describe in detail and as accurately as possible exactly how it hurts or stings.

At the same time, a detailed questioning can lead the doctor to the cause of the complaints, and a simple examination can confirm it. In some cases, additional examinations are required to establish an accurate diagnosis, but if they are prescribed by a specialist, then there is still no need to panic. An in-depth examination does not always mean the presence of severe pathology.

In some cases, tingling in the heart area is not at all associated with the activity of its muscles, the level of blood supply, the presence or absence of inflammation and other pathological changes. The symptom can be functional in nature, have a psychogenic mechanism, or occur with pathology of other organs.

Elderly patients, when they experience stabbing sensations or pain in the heart, grab validol or nitroglycerin; young people, who have never encountered such symptoms, are lost and do not know where to run or what to do. In all cases of unexplained pain or tingling in the heart area, first of all, you should visit a doctor. You can start with a therapist who will refer you for an ECG, and if necessary, to a cardiologist.

It is clear that a short-term tingling that lasts a few seconds and goes away on its own is not a reason to panic, but if the discomfort recurs, the tingling lasts for several minutes or more, and the usual medications in the form of validol, corvalol or nitroglycerin do not bring any effect, you should consult a doctor .

How can your heart hurt?

To help understand the causes of pain and periodic tingling in the heart, a thorough questioning is intended, during which the patient will clarify the location, duration and nature of his sensations. As practice shows, describing pain in detail and accurately is not an easy task, and in order to cope with it, it is advisable to know what sensations generally exist in the heart area and what you should pay attention to when they occur.

Tingling in the area of ​​the heart can be safely classified as a type of pain, which can be acute and short-term or chronic, long-term, nagging in nature. When the heart is stabbing, the patient may also feel a lack of air, a rush of cold sweat, a sudden headache or dizziness and a host of other symptoms, which it is also advisable to check with the doctor.

It is customary to distinguish several types of pain in the heart area:

• Anginal - more often occurs with pathology of the myocardium and cardiac arteries, increases with stress, stress, is of a pressing nature, usually relieved by nitroglycerin (angina);
• Infarction - sharp, dagger-like, stabbing, burning, almost always very intense, accompanied by cold sweat, fear of death, respiratory distress, swelling of the veins of the neck and other symptoms accompanying necrotic processes in the myocardium (infarction);
• Cardialgia is associated with both cardiac and non-cardiac pathology, is most often stabbing and short-term in nature, and can intensify with inhalation and body movements.

This classification is largely arbitrary, because pain and tingling are very subjective sensations, and each patient evaluates their intensity in his own way. By nature, the pain can be stabbing, pressing, burning, and in some cases these symptoms are combined, and it is extremely difficult for the patient to both localize and characterize his sensations.

If your heart hurts or pain appears, you should pay attention to some conditions for their occurrence:

Heart causes of tingling

The reasons why the heart hurts are extremely varied and can lie both within the cardiovascular system and outside it. It does not always sting in the heart if there are structural lesions in it; in some cases, both the heart and other organs are not changed at all, but in the first place as etiological factor neurotic disorder, autonomic dysfunction, intensive growth appear.

The most frequent violations in the heart, the following are considered to provoke stabbing pain:

• Inflammatory processes in the heart muscle or pericardium (especially severe stabbing pain occurs with fibrinous pericarditis);
• Heart rhythm disorders - even a banal extrasystole, which is not always a sign of trouble, can cause tingling in the heart;
• Coronary heart disease - from angina pectoris to myocardial necrosis, when the heart pounds with such intensity that the patient is unable to tolerate it;
• Dystrophic changes in the heart, cardiomyopathy;
• Heart valve defects.

If the heart hurts due to the reasons mentioned above, then the symptoms may also include anxiety, sweating, redness or, conversely, cyanosis of the skin, pressure surges, fainting, chills, increased or decreased pulse, etc.

People who have stabbing pain in the heart caused by chronic cardiac pathology experience severe fatigue and weakness when performing any physical activity, and in advanced cases, at rest. Cough, shortness of breath, and swelling of the extremities often occur, indicating increasing heart failure.

Angina pectoris is one of the most common manifestations of myocardial ischemia, when patients complain of pressing, stabbing, squeezing pain in the heart caused by ischemia due to the atherosclerotic process in the coronary arteries. Angina pectoris is the lot of older people who have already been examined by a cardiologist and use various antianginal drugs to relieve an attack.

Myocardial infarction is an acute type of coronary heart disease that develops with complete obstruction of the arteries supplying the myocardium. When cardiomyocytes are destroyed, the heart does not just stab, but the pain is so intense that it is characterized as dagger-like, burning, unbearable. Stitching pain during a heart attack is accompanied by a feeling of fear of death, panic, psychomotor agitation, pallor or redness of the face, instability of pressure and pulse, and sweating.

projections of infarction and angina pain

Arterial hypertension is often considered vascular pathology, however, it always leads to changes in the heart. Hypertrophy of the left ventricle, forced to work with increased force, is accompanied by insufficient blood supply to the myocardium due to its progressive thickening, therefore, in the case of hypertension, the heart stabs due to ischemic processes. More often, tingling occurs against the background of a hypertensive crisis with a sudden rise in pressure.

Cardialgia with arterial hypertension are combined with other symptoms of the disease (“floaters” before the eyes, headache, shortness of breath, feeling hot, etc.), so the patient may not focus his attention specifically on the tingling in the heart, attributing it to one of the manifestations of hypertension.

The heart hurts especially strongly during inflammatory changes in the myocardium or cardiac membrane:

inflammation of the heart muscle

Myocarditis occurs with throbbing, acute, intense pain that occurs against the background of fever, general intoxication, signs of heart failure, and shortness of breath.

Inflammation of the pericardium, one of the main symptoms, is a stabbing pain in the heart area, which is associated with irritation of the nerve endings in which the pericardial layers are very rich. The pain is sharp, cutting, stabbing, intensifies with breathing and taking certain positions, spreads to the arm, right half of the chest and is combined with fever, severe weakness, a dry cough is possible.

Dystrophic changes in the myocardium, cardiomyopathy, valvular defects, and heart rate fluctuations may also be accompanied stabbing pain in the chest, occurring during exercise or at rest, combined with manifestations of chronic heart failure. This pain is not associated with breathing or body movements.

The heart also hurts with mitral valve prolapse, which is very common among modern youth, so many patients and their parents tend to associate the pain with the defect. Of course, pronounced prolapse with regurgitation, causing secondary changes in the myocardium, is quite capable of provoking pain and tingling, however, in most cases, grade I prolapse without hemodynamic disturbances does not produce any cardialgia, and if tingling occurs, then the cause must be looked for elsewhere - for example, autonomic dysfunction .

Extracardiac causes of tingling in the heart area

There are many extra-cardiac causes of stabbing pain in the heart. It can be caused by a variety of diseases of the internal organs and nervous system:

• Problems with the spine - stabbing pain, combined with numbness of the skin, a crawling sensation;
• Intercostal neuralgia - severe pain along the intercostal space;
• Bronchopulmonary pathology;
• Diseases of the digestive system;
• Neuroses, autonomic dysfunction;
• Endocrine pathology.

Osteochondrosis and herniated intervertebral discs contribute to compression of the nerve roots and the appearance of pain in the heart area. Some patients indicate that the heart is stabbing, although a careful examination also reveals neurological symptoms in the form of numbness of the skin, impaired sensitivity, etc. Osteochondrosis can provoke night attacks of pain and tingling in the heart area.

Pain with osteochondrosis can be quite severe, can be felt like an injection in the chest area, and lasts from a few minutes to several hours. Movement of the arms and torso causes increased pain.

Intercostal neuralgia is another possible cause of severe pain in the heart area, chest along the intercostal space. The pain is stabbing, cutting, sometimes unbearable, intensifies with movements and palpation of the affected intercostal space.

Sharp stabbing pain is possible with lung pathology. The most common “pulmonary” cause is considered to be pleurisy, especially fibrinous, when the layers of the serous membrane are covered with protein fibrinous exudate and rub against each other during respiratory movements, which causes irritation of many receptors and intense pain.

With pleurisy affecting the right half of the chest, it stings in the heart area when inhaling and exhaling, the pain intensifies when moving the chest. If the patient holds his breath and at the same time moves his torso, the pain will not disappear, and may even intensify.

Pain in the chest and heart area occurs with pneumothorax, when air accumulates in the chest cavity and compresses the lung, causing a sharp stabbing pain in the heart area. The heart hurts with right-sided pneumonia, then the pain is combined with fever, shortness of breath, cough and signs of general intoxication.

Diseases of the digestive system can also lead to pain and swelling in the heart area. For example, bloating causes the diaphragm to rise and limit the mobility of the lungs; in addition, the position of the heart changes somewhat, chest discomfort appears and pain is possible.

For gastritis, peptic ulcer, hernia hiatus diaphragm, accompanied by increased secretory function of the stomach, the pain can be burning and throbbing. Such sensations are localized in the hypochondrium and may intensify after eating, but are not associated with physical activity sick.

Stitching under the heart on the left with gastroesophageal reflux disease. According to some data, almost half of all episodes of pain in the left half of the chest caused by non-cardiac causes are associated with reflux. Pain due to pathology of the digestive system can radiate to the arm, neck, back, interscapular area, and jaw.

One of the most common non-cardiac causes of stabbing pain in the heart area is considered to be autonomic dysfunction (VSD). This complex symptom complex is manifested by very diverse signs of impaired innervation from the internal organs; patients complain that the heart is stabbing, describing the symptom quite colorfully.

Due to the special emotional perception of any signs of pathology, patients with vegetative-vascular dystonia usually immediately rush to the doctor for a diagnosis, but examination and routine examinations do not show any abnormalities, because the heart hurts not because of structural changes in it.

Stitching pain when broken sympathetic tone short-term, more often occurs against a background of stress, combined with other symptoms - sweating, panic attacks, diarrhea, tremor, tachy- or bradycardia, shortness of breath. During panic attacks, the patient may feel an arrhythmia, experience a strong fear of death, stabbing pain spreads across the left side of the chest, even simulating a heart attack, which frightens the patient even more. The effect in such cases is not nitroglycerin with validol, but ordinary sedatives, for example, valerian or motherwort.

psychogenic pain in the heart caused by autonomic dysfunction, including in combination with respiratory syndromes - a common phenomenon

Neuroses and similar disorders can occur with aching pain in the chest area, rare tingling sensations, and due to large number It is difficult for the patient to describe the pain or exactly how the patient’s heart is stabbing without interconnected symptoms. There is general apathy or agitation, instability of mood, a tendency towards depression or aggression.

The complaint that the heart is stabbing, the chest hurts, the heart rhythm is disturbed is not uncommon with endocrine pathology. The pain may be accompanied by increased heart rate and spread to the left arm and interscapular region, becoming similar to angina pectoris. Especially often, such symptoms accompany diseases of the thyroid gland and adrenal tumors.

With some viral infections, against the background of severe intoxication, there may be a stabbing sensation in the chest, and herpes, which affects the intercostal nerves during an exacerbation of the pathology, causes the so-called herpes zoster, in which the heart stabs so intensely that the patient screams, groans, cannot breathe, gets scared and grabs the affected side of the chest. Fever and characteristic rashes along the intercostal space help correct diagnosis diseases.

Thus, without examination, it is impossible to give each patient an unambiguous answer to the question of why the heart may be pounding. There are so many reasons that there can be no talk of self-diagnosis or self-medication, because a person who is far from medicine will not be able to correctly assess the symptoms, and, therefore, risks missing serious pathology or, conversely, will panic when the cause of the stabbing pain is completely harmless.

What should you do if your heart hurts?

It is clear that when the heart is stabbing, it is difficult to maintain peace of mind, and most patients begin to panic, call an ambulance or rush to the clinic for a diagnosis, imagining conclusions about a heart attack and other serious diseases. However, despite all the unpleasantness of the symptom, most often it is not caused by a serious pathology, so first of all you need to calm down.

If your heart is stabbing, it is advisable to try to assess the pain - how acute it is, what its duration is, what other symptoms have appeared. In the moment pain you can hold your breath, try to move your torso, palpate the intercostal space to assess the relationship of stabbing pain with movement, breathing, and palpation. When contacting a doctor, this information will speed up and facilitate diagnosis, especially if the pain has subsided or gone away completely by that time.

A child may have a stabbing sensation in the heart area for the same reasons as adults, but diagnosis will be much more difficult, because not even every adult can correctly describe their sensations, and the child will be completely confused or scared. In such cases, it is better for parents not to search for answers on their own, which is why their children’s hearts are hurting, but the right thing to do is contact a pediatrician or cardiologist.

It is better not to get carried away with self-medication of any pain in the heart, because you can waste time or miss serious illness, but some measures can be taken. For example, patients with an already established diagnosis of angina or arrhythmia can take the medications prescribed to them - nitroglycerin with validol, cordarone, anaprilin. Many people simultaneously use Corvalol, Valocordin and other “heart drops”, which have a sedative effect.

If the heart is pounding against the background of a pressure surge in a hypertensive patient, then it is quite advisable independent use antihypertensive drugs- captopril under the tongue, the same nitroglycerin, if there is concomitant coronary heart disease, magnesium intramuscularly, a diuretic. As a rule, after the pressure normalizes, the heart “relaxes.”

For tingling in the heart area against the background of neurosis, panic attack, autonomic dysfunction in young people who do not have heart disease, sedatives give a good and quick effect. You can drink tinctures of valerian or motherwort, hawthorn, Corvalol in accordance with the doses recommended for age and condition.

In case of inflammatory processes - myositis, neuralgia, herpes zoster - it is better to immediately consult a doctor who will prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, antiviral drugs, and also recommend physiotherapeutic treatment.

Particular vigilance must be exercised if the heart is stabbing and shortness of breath appears, blood pressure drops, nausea with vomiting occurs, stabbing pain develops into a stabbing or burning pain, and the pulse is disturbed. These symptoms indicate a serious pathology that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment.

In the case when the heart is stabbing in the midst of complete health, and the symptom is short-term and goes away on its own, you can simply calm down, breathe deeply and calmly, take a horizontal position, loosen the collar of your shirt or tie. If the tingling sensations recur, then you should visit a therapist.

What to do if you experience back pain and heart pain at the same time?

Back pain in the heart area is a rare and frightening symptom that can occur in a patient due to serious cardiovascular diseases, after pathologies associated with the respiratory system, musculoskeletal system, or disruption of the integrity of the digestive tract. If such pain occurs, it is best to undergo a complete medical diagnostics to avoid irreversible consequences.

Pathologies of the cardiovascular system, characterized by back pain in the heart area

In half of the cases, pain in the heart area from the back indicates serious abnormalities in the cardiovascular system, which can cause cardiac pathology leading to death. Among these diseases, there are several of the most dangerous:

• Myocardial infarction. Often pain at the chest level from the back is a sign of impaired circulation due to blockage of blood vessels by a blood clot. The nature of the pain is pressing or squeezing, and the location is in the area of ​​the heart, in lower jaw, neck and left arm. Additional symptoms heart attack - shortness of breath, sudden attacks nausea and cold sweat on the forehead. If not treated in a timely manner, the pathology can provoke a heart attack, which will ultimately cause death.
• Angina pectoris. It is considered more rare than myocardial infarction and is manifested by pain in the back and heart. However, due to its long course, the disease does not show any symptoms at an early stage of development, and aching pain in the heart from the back appears during exacerbation. The main causes of angina are the accumulation of cholesterol plaques on the inside of blood vessels, which interferes with normal blood flow. A characteristic feature This cardiac pathology is pain that appears on both the left side of the chest and the right, intensifying with physical exertion.

• Pericarditis. A rare cardiac pathology in which there is severe back pain in the chest area on the left or right. In most cases, the cause of the disease is considered to be a viral infection that has progressed to the stage of a serious complication. Characteristic symptoms pericarditis is considered chronic fatigue and a febrile state in which the heart pierces, pain appears in the chest area on the right.
• Aortic dissection. Such a disorder in the cardiovascular system can be the result of a serious injury to the spine or chest, and in rare cases, aggravated hypertensive pathology. With such a deviation, sharp pain occurs in the chest area on the right and left. Sometimes the manifested pain in the heart radiates to the lumbar region ( Bottom part spine) or cervical spine (the part on top of the spine). There are no associated symptoms with aortic dissection, which complicates the diagnosis.

Important! If the heart pierces and periodically the pain radiates to the back, then this is considered a serious signal requiring immediate medical intervention, since in most cases, ignoring such symptoms leads to death.

Pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, manifested by back pain in the heart area

The question often arises: can the heart hurt with pathologies not related to cardiovascular system? The answer is clear: it can. After all, all systems of the body are closely interconnected, and their synchronous work is controlled by the brain. Therefore, if, due to disorders in the musculoskeletal system, digestive system and other organs, pain radiates to the heart, then this is considered normal.

Among the disorders of the musculoskeletal system, in which pain radiates to the heart, the following pathologies are distinguished:

• Osteochondrosis (cervical or thoracic). With this disease it hurts left side chest from behind or in front. When exacerbating, pain from the chest radiates to the left arm or the area between the shoulder blades, which is why osteochondrosis in terms of symptoms can simply be confused with angina pectoris. When lying on your back or side, the pain subsides, but during physical activity it worsens. In the absence of timely treatment, the disease progresses and leads to irreversible consequences.
• A hernia of the spine, located on the left side of the thoracic region, gives off characteristic pain in the heart (a hernia on the right side does not affect the heart). This disorder is considered rare and manifests itself due to a sedentary lifestyle.

• Injury to the ribs on the left side. With this disorder, the heart, as a rule, does not suffer, but improperly fused ribs can pinch a nerve, which transmits acute pain throughout the left side of the chest. The nature of pain when a nerve is pinched is similar to the manifestation of angina, so a correct diagnosis can only be made with the help of modern medical diagnostics.
• Inflammation of the intercostal cartilages (Tietze syndrome). The pathology has symptoms similar to myocardial infarction or angina pectoris and can manifest itself on both the right and left sides of the chest. However, with such inflammation it is difficult to breathe, which is the hallmark of the pathology.

Important! If pain in the heart from the back is not caused by cardiac pathologies, this does not mean that they do not need to be given due attention. Indeed, in most cases, the above deviations in the acute stage lead to partial or complete restriction of the movement of certain parts of the body, which complicates future life.

Pathologies of the digestive tract that cause heart and back pain

Another reason why the heart hurts along with the back is disorders in the digestive system:

• Ulcer or gastritis. Due to the proximity of the stomach and heart, pain from the first organ can easily be transmitted to the second by a small impulse. Often the pain from gastritis or ulcers is similar in nature to angina or heart attack. Therefore, if the left side of the chest hurts, the cause should be sought not only in the cardiovascular system.
• Inflammatory process in the pancreas or gallbladder. These pathologies, such as ulcers and gastritis, can transmit a pain impulse to the heart area, creating the illusion of cardiac pathologies. Therefore, in order to determine the source of pain, you should undergo modern medical diagnostics.

Important! In rare cases, back and heart pain can be caused by a panic attack resulting from prolonged depression or stress. However, with such disorders, the patient experiences associated symptoms in the form of difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, fainting and swelling. Therefore, in order not to confuse a mental disorder with cardiac pathology and begin a course of therapy, you should be checked in advance with an ECG and ultrasound.

Why does pain occur in the heart area from the back?

This has happened to everyone: for no apparent reason, pain suddenly appeared in the heart area, in the back. An unpleasant, frightening feeling when the worst fears arise and you want to call an ambulance.

But is the pain in the left scapular region really that dangerous? What can trigger this syndrome? Can the heart hurt from the back?

How dangerous are the painful manifestations?

Any pain, even short-term and mild, indicates the onset of some disease in the body. Pain in this localization may have causes:

• heartfelt,
• not related to the cardiovascular system.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

A symptom of these diseases may be pain in the heart that radiates to the back. Almost all of them are dangerous, and failure to see a doctor in a timely manner can lead to serious complications and sometimes even death. Here are some of the diseases:

1. Myocardial infarction. Back pain opposite the heart may be caused by a blood clot obstructing normal blood flow. The pain is described by patients as squeezing or pressing and can radiate to the neck, left arm, lower jaw or front of the chest. They last a long time, taking simple analgesics (spazgan, analgin) gives a weak effect. Sometimes such symptoms may be accompanied by nausea, cold sweat, and shortness of breath.
2. Angina pectoris. This disease develops gradually, due to the deposition of fatty plaques in the heart arteries, interfering with the normal blood supply to the organ. More often appears after physical activity or stressful situation. As a rule, it is characterized by pain in the front of the chest, but pain may occur in the heart area from the back. Distinctive feature Angina is considered to be short-term pressure or squeezing pain. The first symptoms of pain are not severe, but increase as the disease progresses.
3. Pericarditis (inflammation of the heart sac) is caused by various viral infections and is manifested by acute, stabbing pain. Associated symptoms are often weakness and low-grade fever.
4. Aortic dissection (rare) due to injury to the thoracic spine or chest. May develop due to uncontrolled hypertension. Painful sensations appear suddenly and severely.

Diseases of other organs or systems

Painful manifestations on the left are not always caused by cardiac causes. They can also be caused by diseases and injuries:

1. Osteochondrosis of the chest or neck can provoke a sharp prick on the left side of the chest, similar to manifestations of angina pectoris. The sensations radiate to the arm or interscapular area and intensify with movement.
2. A herniated thoracic spine that puts pressure on the heart. This disease occurs rarely due to the fact that this vertebral region is inactive.
3. Injury to the ribs on the left, accompanied by pinched nerves, causes pain along the entire costal arch. Manifestations radiate to the scapula, giving clinical manifestations similar to angina pectoris.
4. Tietze syndrome, when inflammation of the costal cartilages occurs, can be confused by clinical manifestations with a heart attack or angina pectoris.
5. Fibromyalgia and other inflammations of the muscles of the left upper back. Pain is also observed when raising the arm or turning the body.
6. Panic attacks, when sudden palpitations with a feeling of lack of air provoke a pain syndrome that manifests itself individually in each person. Differential diagnosis with cardiac pathologies will be an ECG.
7. Lung diseases such as pleurisy, pneumothorax, and bronchial asthma can provoke pseudocardiac pain syndrome. Distinctive feature pulmonary diseases is the patient's complaint that when he lies on his back, his heart hurts. As a rule, these people prefer to rest on their left side to improve their well-being.
8. Disorders of the stomach and esophagus (spasms, heartburn, gastritis) give clinical symptoms, similar to heart ones. They often radiate to the left under the scapula, worsening when bending over or lying on the back.
9. During inflammatory processes, the gallbladder and pancreas can also extend under the left shoulder blade, creating the illusion of heart pain.

Even mild, short-term pain in the heart area, arising from the back on the left, should not be ignored, especially if additional symptoms (shortness of breath, hyperthermia) are associated with them.

It is better to go to the clinic immediately. Perhaps nothing terrible happened, or perhaps a serious illness will be detected, and timely treatment will help maintain health.

By the way, now you can get my free e-books and courses that will help you improve your health and well-being.

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Back pain in the area of ​​the heart does not always indicate cardiac pathologies, but it always confuses a person. Many, not being able to distinguish heart pain from pain not associated with this organ, start taking unnecessary medications, conduct expensive examinations, etc. And vice versa, ignoring this symptom, people often waste precious time and seek the help of doctors too late. How to understand what exactly is causing back pain and heart pain and what to do to improve your well-being?

Causes

The reasons for back pain in the heart area are varied. As a rule, such a symptom is not direct evidence of damage to heart tissue and its dysfunction. Sometimes similar pain may be caused by diseases spinal column, pathologies of the nervous or respiratory systems.

But it is important to remember that pain in the back area at the level of the heart can be a signal of the development of serious and, sometimes, life-threatening conditions.

Myocardial infarction

Spicy, life-threatening condition, which is considered clinical form cardiac ischemia. The pathology is characterized by the development of partial or complete insufficiency of blood supply to the heart muscle area and the development of its necrosis. The condition leads to dysfunction of the entire cardiovascular system and is deadly.

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Irina Martynova. Graduated from Voronezh State Medical University named after. N.N. Burdenko. Clinical resident and neurologist of the BUZ VO \"Moscow Polyclinic\".

Nature and location of pain

Myocardial infarction is characterized by various types of pain. Most often the pain is compressive, sharp, bursting or pressing in nature. The intensity of pain depends on the stage of development of the condition and the size of the area of ​​myocardial damage. The pain syndrome is localized in the chest, but, as a rule, radiates to the left shoulder, shoulder blade, left side of the back and lower jaw.

Experts distinguish between 2 forms of heart attack: typical, in which there is pain in the sternum and precordial region, and atypical, in which there is pain in areas atypical for the condition.

Additional symptoms

The main symptoms of a typical form of myocardial infarction are:

• progressive unstable angina;
• pale or bluish skin;
• release of cold sticky sweat;
• feeling of restlessness;
• tachycardia;
• fever.

At atypical forms myocardial infarction symptoms include:

• pain in the throat, fingers of the left hand, epigastrium, etc.;
• cough;
• suffocation;
• swelling;
• violation heart rate;
• dizziness;
• confusion, clouding of consciousness.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis of pathology includes examination of the patient, clinical trial blood, ECG. A lactate dehydrogenase enzyme test and coronary angiography can also be used.

In case of a heart attack, the patient is indicated for emergency hospitalization followed by intensive therapy.

Treatment is aimed at relieving pain, for which a combination of analgesic narcotic drugs and antipsychotics, as well as nitroglycerin administered intravenously, is used.

After resuscitation, the patient is prescribed antiarrhythmic drugs, beta-blockers, calcium antagonists, thrombolytics, antispasmodics, etc.

Angina pectoris

A disease that develops in part due to partial obstruction coronary arteries(hence the other name - coronary disease), due to which the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen.

Nature and location of pain

The pain is localized behind the sternum and radiates to the back, interscapular region, left arm and neck. The pain is squeezing, pressing, dull in nature.

An angina attack can last up to 20 minutes.

The difference between angina and myocardial infarction lies in the duration of the attack and the nature of the pain. With angina, the pain is never acute.

Additional symptoms

In addition to pain, angina is accompanied by a feeling of fear and anxiety, and slow breathing.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis of angina pectoris consists of:

• examination and history taking;
• general blood test;

Treatment is carried out by following a diet and individual selection of physical activity for each patient. They also prescribe medications that stop an attack of the disease and preventive therapy.

In difficult cases, surgical intervention is indicated.

Pericarditis

Pericarditis is called inflammatory disease of the parietal and visceral layers of the pericardium, manifested by fibrotic changes or fluid accumulation in the pericardium, which leads to physiological dysfunction of the muscle.

Nature and location of pain

The acute form of the disease is characterized by the appearance of severe acute pain in the area of ​​the apex of the heart or at the bottom of the sternum, pain in the heart that radiates to the back, epigastrium, left arm and shoulder.

With the development of effusion pericarditis, patients note the presence of aching pain or heaviness in the chest.

Additional symptoms

Symptoms accompanying pain include:

• dyspnea;
• swelling of the legs;
• feeling of thirst;
• arrhythmia;
• an increase in the volume of the abdomen due to fluid accumulated in it (a consequence of heart failure).

Particular concern and emergency hospitalization should be caused:

• difficulty breathing;
• increased breathing;
• shallow breathing;
• pale skin;
• sudden weakness;
• fainting.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnostic examination includes:

• examination of the patient, collection of anamnesis;
• chest x-ray;
• EchoCG;
• CT/MRI;
• cardiac catheterization;
• laboratory blood tests.

Used for treatment non-steroidal drugs anti-inflammatory effects, which help reduce or completely eliminate pain, proton pump blockers, glucocorticosteroids, diuretics, etc.

Aortic dissection

An acute condition, often leading to death. Characterized by damage to the inner lining of the aortic wall. The condition is considered a complication of an aneurysm (bulging wall) of the aorta. Through the damaged area, blood enters the space between the outer and inner membranes of the vessel, stratifies its wall and creates a false blood channel.

Nature and location of pain

Pain during aortic dissection is the main symptom and is characterized as acute and unbearable.

It hurts, as a rule, in the retrosternal space, between the shoulder blades, in the lower back, along the entire spine and in the epigastrium.

Additional symptoms

In addition to pain, the pathology is characterized by:

• a sharp increase, then a decrease in blood pressure;
• increased sweating;
• different pulse in the hands;
• weakness;
• bluish skin;
• dyspnea;
• fainting;
• coma.

Diagnosis and treatment

The main diagnostic methods are:

• radiography;
• EchoCG;
• CT/MRI;
• aortography.

Treatment of aortic dissection is exclusively surgical.

Osteochondrosis

Spinal disease, which is characterized by defeat intervertebral discs with their subsequent destruction. When the thoracic spine is affected, the pathology causes a pain syndrome similar to heart pain.

Nature and location of pain

Patients with osteochondrosis complain of a dull, aching pain that intensifies with exercise.

It is localized mainly in the back, in the area between the shoulder blades, shoulders, and chest.

Additional symptoms

Other manifestations of pathology include:

• muscle tension;
• sharp pain after hypothermia;
• loss of sensitivity in the hands, numbness, tingling;
• numbness of the skin in different parts of the body;
• itching, burning or coldness in the legs;
• dry and brittle nails, dry skin;
• painful sensations in the esophagus, pharynx;
• disorders of gastrointestinal tract functions.

Diagnosis and treatment

Osteochondrosis can be diagnosed using:

• laboratory blood tests;
• radiography;
• CT/MRI.

Treatment depends on the severity of symptoms and the stage of the disease. As a rule, they resort to drug therapy and physiotherapy.

In rare cases, surgical treatment is indicated.

Hernia of the thoracic spine

Most rare view intervertebral hernias, which occurs in only 10% of patients. Pathology develops as a result of disruption of metabolic processes and blood circulation in the discs, their drying out and inability to withstand the load. The fibrous ring that makes up the vertebra protrudes and then cracks.

The nucleus pulposus leaks through the cracks into the spinal canal and compression of the nerve roots occurs.

Nature and location of pain

With an intervertebral hernia, patients note aching, squeezing pain in the sternum, abdomen and upper area backs. The pain syndrome intensifies with coughing, sneezing, and sudden movements of the body.

Additional symptoms

Clinical signs of pathology are:

• sensation of “goosebumps” on the neck, upper back, chest, arms;
• pain that can radiate to the heart area;
• burning in the interscapular area;
• shoulder pain;
• feeling of “a stake in the back”;
• weakness in lower limbs;
• disorders of the intestines and urinary system;
• rarely paralysis of the legs.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis is carried out using X-ray, ECG, computed/magnetic resonance imaging.

Treatment is developed individually, but, as a rule, surgical intervention is indicated.

Rib injury

A condition that develops as a result of a blunt blow, fall, bruise, fracture, etc. If pain occurs in the heart and back, you should remember whether the condition was preceded by any injuries.

Nature and location of pain

For every injury has its own pain. So, with a bruise, the pain syndrome is aching, dull in nature, and intensifies with movement. With a crack, the pain becomes more intense, and breathing difficulties appear. A rib fracture is accompanied by acute pain and inability to move. In case of injury, pain is localized in the chest, rib area on the injured side, back, and shoulders.

Sometimes patients note pain in the abdomen and stomach.

Additional symptoms

The most common symptoms are:

• swelling of tissues in the area of ​​injury;
• hematomas and bruises at the site of injury;
• restrictions on chest mobility.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnostics comes down to examining the patient, collecting data about what happened, radiography, and ECG. Treatment is carried out by fixing the affected area, taking anti-inflammatory and painkillers.

Fibromyalgia

Damage to extra-articular soft tissues. The disease is characterized by musculoskeletal pain and the presence of nonspecific painful or hypersensitive areas on the body, which are determined by palpation.

Nature and location of pain

The pain in the disease is diffuse, not localized.

Patients often complain of dull pain in the back, chest, and limbs.

Additional symptoms

• Morning stiffness;
• feeling of numbness and swelling of the arms and legs;
• muscle weakness;
• feeling of “goosebumps” and tingling throughout the body;
• psychoemotional disorders;
• sleep disturbance;
• migraines and other disorders.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis is carried out by a neurologist. The diagnosis can be made after examining, palpating and interviewing the patient. Treatment consists of taking antidepressants, NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, and antioxidants.

Physiotherapy methods are also widely used.

A pathology included in the group of chondropathy, which is accompanied by an aseptic inflammatory process in one or more costal cartilages at the point of their articulation with the sternum.

Nature and location of pain

Patients complain of acute pain, gradually increasing over time. The pain is localized, as a rule, at the top of the chest on one side; some say that the heart hurts.

Increased pain occurs when breathing, coughing, and movements.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis is carried out by palpation, in which the doctor detects local soreness and the presence of dense swelling.

They also resort to radiography, blood tests, MRI, CT, ultrasound.

Panic attacks and neurosis

Panic attacks often cause sudden palpitations with a feeling of shortness of breath. This condition provokes the appearance of pain in the heart area, as well as in the heart area from the back. Diagnosed by a neurologist after an ECG and differential diagnosis.

Treatment is medicinal, necessarily including the use of antidepressants.

Pleurisy, pneumothorax, bronchial asthma

This group of diseases provokes false heart pain. What distinguishes these pathologies from cardiovascular ones is that pain appears while a person is lying on his back. Diagnosis and treatment are determined by a therapist or nephrologist.

In what case should you see a doctor immediately?

Seek immediate medical attention if acute chest pain is accompanied by:

• clouding of consciousness;
• pain in the left arm, neck and lower jaw on the right;
• breathing problems;
• pale or bluish skin;
• the appearance of sticky cold sweat.

First aid

If you suspect cardiac pathologies and pain occurs, experts recommend immediately calling an ambulance. Before the doctor arrives, you can take a horizontal position and take nitroglycerin by placing it under your tongue.

In case of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, it is also advised to reduce the load on the spine by adopting a horizontal position.

You can take an Ibuprofen tablet.

Be sure to watch the following video

Any pain in the heart area is potentially dangerous! This must always be remembered. When a symptom appears, it is better to call an ambulance or ask someone for help transporting the patient to the nearest hospital. Only a specialist can identify the cause of pain radiating to the back and determine the further course of treatment for the patient. Self-medication and late diagnosis can not only cause harm, but in some situations can be fatal.

Many people, when pain occurs in the chest area, which radiates to the left shoulder blade, begin to panic, immediately assuming a heart pathology. In certain cases, fears are confirmed, but pain can also be caused by other ailments not related to the myocardium.

To eliminate an unpleasant symptom, it is necessary to accurately determine the cause that triggered its occurrence.

Manifestations of pain radiating to the left shoulder blade

There may be aching pain in the heart and under the left shoulder blade, as well as:

• Spicy.
• Dumb.
• Pressing.
• Burning.

It can irradiate:

• To the left side of the center of the chest.
• On back sternum.
• In the arm, shoulder, jaw.

If pain is present in the heart, then it is strong and sharp, but passes quickly. The exception is myocardial infarction, in which the symptom lasts for several hours.

When you feel pain that radiates to the left shoulder blade, it is necessary to evaluate its nature, duration and strength. It is important to track what happens when you change body position and after taking medications. Typically, people complain of pain in the center of the chest, which often radiates under the shoulder blade.

Causes of pain associated with heart pathologies

A number of ailments have been identified that affect the heart muscle and cause pain in the heart area. The latter radiates to the shoulder blade, arm, and jaw. The nature and strength of pain directly depend on the specific disease, its degree, and concomitant pathologies.

The most common causes of pain are:

• Ischemia.
• Myocardial infarction.
• Valve prolapse.
• Arrhythmia.

Each pathology has its own symptoms. If an inflammatory process is observed, the body temperature rises, aortitis is accompanied by a pulse disorder. With an aneurysm, it is impossible to eliminate pain with Nitroglycerin. The condition is accompanied by a bluish discoloration of the facial area.

Cardiac ischemia

With oxygen starvation of the heart, the risk of developing ischemia increases. The most common cause of oxygen starvation of the myocardium is obstruction of patency coronary vessels that nourish the heart.

Coronary heart disease can occur in acute and chronic form. It is distinguished by a number of symptoms:

• Heart rhythm disturbances.
• High fatigue, general malaise.
• Nausea, vomiting.
• Shortness of breath, lack of air.
• Increased work of sweat glands.

Often signs of ischemia for a long time do not manifest themselves, often the presence of symptoms resembles disorders in the digestive system, since heartburn and pain appear during meals.

Often the manifestation of symptoms can be confused with mental disorders. Observed:

• Unreasonable anxiety, nervousness.
• Indifference to what is happening, apathy.
• Inexplicable fear.
• Feeling of lack of air, suffocation.

To diagnose the pathology, it is necessary to conduct a series of examinations, which are prescribed by a cardiologist; he is also involved in further monitoring of the patient. If the doctor recommends surgery, a consultation with a cardiac surgeon will be required.

With concomitant diabetes or high level blood sugar requires appropriate therapy, which is determined by a specialist in the field of endocrine diseases.

Arrhythmia

This is a heart rhythm disorder in various manifestations. The causes of the disease may be different, for the purpose adequate therapy will be needed thorough examination patient in order to determine the etiology of the disease.

Arrhythmia can manifest itself in different ways different symptoms depending on the type of pathology. With bradycardia (slow heartbeat), general weakness, dizziness and fainting appear. Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) and atrial fibrillation primary symptoms resemble bradycardia.

Frequent fainting conditions due to arrhythmia require urgent resuscitation. With concomitant angina, pain occurs.

The occurrence of pain radiating to the scapula may indicate a myocardial infarction, when there is an urgent need for emergency assistance. The main symptom is the lack of relief from taking medications.

Pericarditis

This is an inflammatory lesion of the serous membrane of the heart; 4 types of pathology are distinguished:

1. Spicy.
2. Dry.
3. Exudative.
4. Chronic.

In the first two months of the disease there are no complications. Further, the accumulation of fluid joins the inflammatory reaction.

The disease is most often caused by autoimmune disorders, allergic reactions, viruses, other factors can provoke it.

Pericarditis can be identified by the appearance of pain in the upper chest. The sensations are aching, strong, radiating to the shoulder blade, neck, back, arm.

The clinical picture is similar to a heart attack, so differential diagnosis is necessary.

A number of symptoms are observed:

• Increased number of band leukocytes.
• High ESR.
• Fever body for a long time (within 37.1-38 °C).

To make an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to take an x-ray.

Non-cardiogenic causes

When pain in the heart radiates to the left shoulder blade, we are not necessarily talking about the pathology of this organ. Often the reasons are not related to cardiology; they may indicate disorders of the kidneys, stomach and intestines, or osteochondrosis.

Nerve compression

Intercostal neuralgia is characterized by severe pain. The latter radiates under the scapula and has a paroxysmal character. Appears as a result of compression of the intercostal nerves.

Pain occurs when inhaling, when the chest expands, can radiate to the collarbone, scapula, lower back, and intensifies with movement or changing body position.

The syndrome is long lasting and can appear at any time.. Taking Nitroglycerin and other medications for heart pain does not help.

Osteochondrosis

Disturbances in the functioning of the thoracic and cervical spine can also cause symptoms. The most common diagnosis is osteochondrosis, an inflammatory process in the intervertebral discs.

Occurs under the influence of a number of factors:

• Overweight, obesity.
• Excessive regular physical activity.
• Injuries.
• Rachiocampsis.
• Deterioration of blood flow to internal organs.

Back disease can be identified by the appearance of neurological signs: tingling of the fingers, the feeling of “crawling flies,” deterioration in hand movement.

Pain and other manifestations of intercostal neuralgia and osteochondrosis are relieved with the help of painkillers. Further treatment consists of eliminating the cause.

How to determine if pain is related to the heart

If the pain is caused by heart problems, then there is pressure behind the sternum. A number of signs also appear:

• Dyspnea.
• Pressure disturbance.
• Heart rhythm failure.
• Numbness of the left hand.

Distinctive features:

• It goes away in a few hours.
• Unpleasant sensations appear in the form of attacks.
• Deterioration in performance and general condition.
• Drawing pain in the left side of the body.
• The occurrence of the symptom is not related to food or body position.

How to relieve the condition

Therapeutic measures directly depend on the cause that provoked the appearance of the symptom on the left side of the body.

Ischemia

Treatment of coronary artery disease is initially aimed at eliminating the cause.

In addition, the patient must:

• Eliminate bad habits.
• Normalize weight and blood pressure.
• Reduce cholesterol levels.
• Lead a healthy lifestyle.

Sometimes surgery is required:

1. Angioplasty is the insertion of a special catheter into a vessel to widen it. Sometimes an additional stent is installed (stenting).
2. Coronary bypass surgery. The affected vessel is bypassed by another patient's own vessel.

Myocardial infarction

Pain occurs without exposure to certain loads. When an acute symptom appears, you need to take 1-2 tablets of Nitroglycerin. If improvement does not occur, urgently call a medical team.

Pericarditis

If there is an accumulation of fluid, a puncture is performed to eliminate it. For therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs and inhalations using an oxygen-nitrogen mixture are prescribed.

Which doctor to see and what to examine

A cardiologist diagnoses the pathology and prescribes treatment; if complications develop, a thorough examination is carried out. If pain symptom does not disappear, consultation with a cardiac surgeon is necessary.

To find out the cause of non-cardiogenic pain, the patient is referred to an appointment with a gastroenterologist, neurologist, psychotherapist, dermatologist, or orthopedist.

Complications

The importance of timely diagnosis and elimination of the cause is due to the high risk of complications.

The following phenomena cannot be excluded from the heart:

• Myocardial rupture.
• Disturbances in the rhythm of work.
• Acute heart failure with severe course. Sometimes cardiac asthma and pulmonary edema develop, which threatens the patient’s life.
• Cardiogenic shock is severe heart failure with impaired blood flow to all organs.
• Heartbreak. Blood enters the pericardial cavity, causing cardiac arrest.
• Cardiac aneurysm is a protrusion of part of the heart muscle into an area of ​​necrosis.
• Pericarditis is an inflammatory reaction of the outer membrane, which is characterized by constant pain.
• Thromboembolic syndrome. It is formed when a blood clot occurs in the heart area, or a ventricular aneurysm.

If the pain is caused by non-cardiogenic causes, the following complications are possible:

• Intervertebral hernia.
• Muscle spasms.
• Decreased or lost movement function.
• Paralysis.

Timely treatment will eliminate the symptoms and prevent the development of such complications.

General practitioner, candidate of medical sciences, practicing physician.

It hurts very badly in the heart area and the pain radiates to the left side of the shoulder blade, what could it be?

I have been suffering from pain in my left shoulder blade for 7 years. During this time, I took a bunch of injections and took a large number of pills. I had an MRI and the only thing they found was instability of the cervical vertebrae. They won’t undertake the operation, exercise therapy doesn’t help. A manual massage therapist relieves a little pain, he “crunches” the vertebrae and you just want to live. But it’s expensive, and sometimes it only helps for a day. I’m completely desperate, and I’m only 31 years old and I have children growing up. It's very scary when you can't even hold a child in your arms....

I am 67 years old. Acute, sharp, continuous pain in the right side of the left shoulder blade, in the area and around the heart, giving off a stabbing pain in the left elbow and muscle under the armpit, temperature, pressure. I live temporarily in Yaroslavl, I have insurance, my number is 8 9260844733.

Hello. I have this condition almost every day - I feel sick and immediately begins to ache under the shoulder blade and the pain is like an aching and pressing one, even in my left hand it doesn’t feel good. Just some kind of suffocation. As if tachycardia is about to begin. It goes away after a while. And what scares me most is that sometimes my pulse is either 50 or 52 beats per minute. And it also happens that something twitches in him. I had an ultrasound of the heart, everything was fine. Ultrasound of the vessels of the neck and head also showed normal results. ECG is also good. They give me VSD. What is this? It just gets scary sometimes.

I am 36 years old, I have severe pain in my left chest, radiating to my shoulder blade. What to do?

Hello. I have this condition almost every day - I feel sick and immediately begins to ache under the shoulder blade and the pain is like an aching and pressing one, even in my left hand it doesn’t feel good. Just some kind of suffocation. As if tachycardia is about to begin. It goes away after a while. And what scares me most at this moment is severe headaches. And it also happens that something twitches in the heart. I did an ultrasound of the heart, everything was fine. ECG is good. They give me VSD. What is this?

Any unpleasant sensations, even those of low intensity and duration, indicate that there is some kind of disorder in the body. If we talk about unpleasant sensations in the heart and back, then we can talk about ailments:

• cardiological nature;
• not related to the cardiovascular system.

Cardiac diseases

Back pain radiates to the heart - this is one of the main symptoms of many heart ailments. And almost each of these pathologies has a certain level of danger - if you do not contact a specialist in a timely manner, serious complications and even death may develop. Some of the most common pathologies with such manifestations are:

Non-cardiological diseases

If a patient has heart and back pain, then such sensations do not always arise due to heart ailments. The following pathologies can cause them:

1. With osteochondrosis of the thoracic or cervical spine, sharp injections may occur in the left part of the sternum, which is similar to the manifestations of angina pectoris. These sensations can radiate to the area between the shoulder blades, lower back and arm, intensifying with movement.
2. A herniated disc, which is localized in the thoracic spine and puts pressure on the heart. This disease occurs quite rarely due to the low mobility of this vertebral region.
3. Tietze syndrome, characterized by inflammation of the costal cartilages, the manifestations of which are similar to angina pectoris or heart attack.
4. Injury to the ribs located on the left, when the nerve is pinched and pain is felt along the costal arch. In this case, the patient’s heart hurts from the back, radiating to the shoulder blade and reminiscent of angina attacks.
5. Fibromyalgia, in which there is inflammation in the muscles. Painful sensations appear when turning the body and raising the arm.
6. Problems in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Various gastritis, spasms and heartburn often have symptoms similar to those of the heart. They often move under the left shoulder blade, worsening when lying down or bending over.
7. Pulmonary diseases (pneumothorax, pleurisy, bronchial asthma) can lead to the development of false heart syndrome. This pathology can be identified by increasing pain while lying on your back. The patient's condition usually improves when he lies on his left side.
8. The pancreas and gallbladder can become inflamed with irradiation to the left shoulder blade, which quite plausibly imitates a heart disease.

Any of the above diseases, both cardiac and non-cardiac, can cause serious consequences for the body. Therefore, you should not ignore the symptoms of the disease, especially if they intensify over time.

Pain in the heart area: causes and treatment

One of the most common reasons for visiting a therapist is heart pain. Heart pain is especially common in older people. But recently, doctors have noticed that patients under 40 have begun to turn to them. This is due to frequent stress, poor diet, low physical activity, etc. In our article you will learn why your heart hurts and how to relieve heart pain at home.

Pain in the heart area can occur for many reasons, which in some cases are not even related to the functioning of this organ. Please note that it is very difficult to determine the cause of heart pain on your own, therefore, when you detect the first symptoms of heart pain, we recommend that you consult a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Anginal heart pain can occur at different stages of coronary artery disease or angina pectoris. They mainly develop against the background constant stress or active physical activity, as there is a need to increase blood flow. In this case, a person experiences pain in the heart when walking or stress. The nature of the pain in the heart is pressing and burning, and can radiate to the left arm or even the lower jaw. You can relieve such pain in the heart with nitroglycerin.

Another cause of heart pain is inflammatory diseases hearts, vegeto vascular dystonia, myocarditis and congenital diseases and vices. As a rule, with deep breathing or coughing, they intensify, and are also characterized by an aching and stabbing character.

But there are a number of reasons that are not related to heart disease itself. For example, a person may experience characteristic heart pain due to heartburn. It is accompanied by belching and a sour taste in the mouth. Pain in the heart increases when bending over and lying down. Taking antacids can help relieve heart pain and other symptoms of heartburn.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical and thoracic spine is another cause of discomfort in the heart area. It is similar in nature to the pain of angina pectoris: pain in the left half of the chest, behind the sternum, is intense and prolonged in nature. Such pain in the heart radiates to the arm and changes its intensity when turning the head and body.

Don’t forget about stress, panic attacks, depression and other nervous system disorders. These diseases are also accompanied by rapid heartbeat and heavy sweating.

Types of heart pain:

Identifies several types of heart pain. They are classified according to the following criteria:

• Character: stabbing, pulling, aching, pressing and piercing pain in the heart, burning in the heart area, etc.;
• Duration: permanent and short-term;
• Localization: pain can be felt only in the heart, or can cover the entire chest or radiate to the shoulder, arm, under the shoulder blade or lower jaw;
• Intensity: constant at one intensity or can vary depending on body position or time of day.

Pain in the heart, radiating to the arm.

Unpleasant sensations of this type are mainly characteristic symptoms of angina pectoris. The pain first occurs behind the breastbone, then spreads to the arm, jaw, neck or shoulder. It lasts several minutes.

However, if the pain in the heart radiates to the arm for a long time, the person will begin to sweat and turn pale. This is a sign of a heart attack. In this case, you must immediately call an ambulance.

Pain in the heart, radiating to the shoulder blade.

Osteochondrosis is the most common cause of heart pain, which radiates under the shoulder blade on the left and right. The pain can also spread to the arm and shoulder, and numbness in the arm is often observed.

Pain in the heart and between the shoulder blades is a symptom of a ruptured esophagus or aortic aneurysm. In the first case, there is a change in intensity when inhaling and coughing, and in the second case, the pain is accompanied by weakness and shortness of breath.

Other reasons for heart and shoulder pain may be hidden in angina, pneumonia and intercostal neuralgia.

Pain of non-cardiac origin

Intercostal neuralgia

Intercostal neuralgia is often mistaken for heart pain. It does resemble angina, but there are significant differences. Neuralgia is characterized by a sharp shooting pain, which intensifies with movements, turns of the body, coughing, laughter, inhalation and exhalation. The pain may go away quickly, but can last for hours or days, intensifying with every sudden movement. Neuralgia is localized locally on the left or right between the ribs; the pain can radiate directly to the heart, lower back, back or spine. Usually the patient can pinpoint the exact location of the pain.

Osteochondrosis

With thoracic osteochondrosis, a person experiences pain in the heart, which radiates to the back, upper abdomen, shoulder blade and intensifies during movement and breathing. There may be a feeling of numbness in the interscapular area and left arm. Many people mistake their condition for angina, especially if the pain occurs at night and there is a feeling of fear. You can distinguish heart pain from osteochondrosis by the fact that in the latter case nitroglycerin will not help.

Digestive diseases

Pain in the chest usually occurs due to muscle spasms in the walls of the stomach. Symptoms such as nausea, heartburn, and vomiting will help you find out their true origin. These pains last longer than heart pains and have a number of features. They depend on food intake: for example, they appear on an empty stomach and disappear after eating. Nitroglycerin does not help with such conditions, but antispasmodics are effective.

Symptoms of acute pancreatitis are very severe pain that can be mistaken for heart pain. The condition is similar to a heart attack, and in both cases nausea and vomiting are possible. It is almost impossible to remove them at home.

With spasm of the gallbladder and bile ducts, it seems that the heart hurts. Although the liver and gall bladder are located on the right, severe pain radiates to the left side of the chest. In this case, antispasmodics help.

Severe pain due to a hernia of the esophagus (the opening of the diaphragm) is similar to angina. It appears at night when a person is in a horizontal position. Once you take a vertical position, your condition improves.

What else affects the functioning of the heart?

• Hormonal changes, any of which can negatively affect the heart. Pain in the left arm, instability of heart contractions - all this is a sign of lack of oxygen. Typically, diseases of the thyroid gland and adrenal glands can give such a picture. An excess of the hormones T3 and T4, as well as their deficiency, causing instability of the heart rhythm, increases the need for oxygen. Adrenal hormones have a significant effect on the heart. Excess adrenaline, which can be observed with an adrenal tumor, stimulates the heart to work sharply, increasing blood pressure. If treatment is not carried out, there is a risk of complications such as heart attack and stroke.

• Muscle diseases in which heart pain begins to disturb when raising the arms and turning the body.

• Thoracic radiculitis (otherwise intercostal neuralgia). The pain is localized along the intercostal space and intensifies when palpated. In other words, intercostal neuralgia can be caused by bruises and fractures of the ribs, as well as pinched nerve endings.

• Diseases of the esophagus. In some cases, they can cause difficulty swallowing and, as a result, discomfort in the chest. In some cases, nitroglycerin is not able to relieve spasm of the esophagus, which can cause errors in diagnosing the disease.

• Intestinal bloating, which occurs due to the accumulation of excess gases in the body, contributes to pressure on the internal organs and causes disruptions in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

• Neuroses. With this diagnosis, patients often experience aching and tingling in the chest, concentrated in a small area. Moreover, it is quite difficult for the patient to describe his own sensations due to their incomprehensible nature.

• Diseases of the pulmonary system: pneumothorax, pulmonary hypertension, severe bronchial asthma. The above ailments are provocateurs of pain in the chest area.

What causes chest pain?

Most people believe that chest pain is caused by the heart, but this is completely wrong. There is a fairly large list of diseases in which such pain can occur. Very often, chest pain occurs with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as ulcers and gastritis. Such pain is also caused by various diseases of the bronchi and lungs (tracheitis, bronchitis, tuberculosis, influenza, pleurisy, lung tumors), and even some blood diseases. Pain in the sternum can be completely psychological reasons: VSD and hysteria.

How to determine what hurts

It often happens that a person realizes that he needs to go to a doctor, but he just cannot determine which one. Many reasons cause attacks of pain in the chest area. Sometimes the pain in the stomach is much higher, and the heart hurts at the time when the spine actually hurts. As for neuroses, they can come back to haunt any part of the body. Some chest pains are not at all dangerous and sometimes do not require treatment at all. But it also happens that at the first manifestation of pain syndromes in this area, you need to rush to the doctor. Let's try to understand these pains.

Sudden pain accompanied by shortness of breath

This is a clear sign that you urgently need to call a doctor. Perhaps this is angina pectoris: pain occurs due to insufficient blood supply to the cardiovascular system. As a rule, such attacks occur after physical exertion. A person feels a burning or squeezing pain behind the sternum or on the left, sometimes radiating to the arm or neck. Associated symptoms may include nausea and weakness.

This may also be a sign of a massive embolism. pulmonary artery. Severe acute pain occurs and breathing is interrupted. In addition, it may be an inflammation of the lining of the heart, which causes pain somewhere in the depths of the chest. A clear sign of this disease is increased pain in the sternum when lying on your back. If the pain gradually goes away, this is not a reason not to go to the doctor, because... In this disease, this means that fluid has accumulated, which can lead to heart failure.

Such pain in the sternum can be a sign of myocardial inflammation. Then they are accompanied by fever and shortness of breath. With pneumonia, such pain is accompanied by fever, cough with sputum, in addition, it is usually localized in the part of the sternum where the lung is inflamed. Localization of pain in the right sternum or in the left, which intensifies with inhalation and decreases if you lie on the painful side, is a sign of pleurisy.

Pain radiating to the arm

This may be, first of all, a sign of acute myocardial infarction. Associated symptoms include shortness of breath and pallor, loss of consciousness. Such an attack cannot be relieved with nitroglycerin and requires an immediate call to the doctor.

This may also be a sign of osteochondrosis of the thoracic or cervical spine. An attack associated with osteochondrosis can be very similar to angina pectoris, the pain radiates to the shoulder and scapula.

Such attacks are characteristic of nerve diseases. With intercostal neuralgia, pain occurs between adjacent ribs, which intensifies when inhaling or turning. With shingles, the pain is accompanied by a rash along the nerves and numbness.

If there is pain under the left shoulder blade, it could be osteochondrosis, angina pectoris, pneumonia, intercostal neuralgia. Pain in the right sternum and under the shoulder blade, occurring after eating and accompanied by nausea, is a clear sign of biliary tract diseases. Also, such pain can be caused by kidney disease.

If there is pain in the left side of the chest

Such pain should always be alarming, because... most often she talks about heart disease. Other causes may include vegetative-vascular dystonia, which, as a rule, is disguised as serious heart disease. It can be distinguished by the fact that it does not disappear after taking nitroglycerin and does not depend on physical activity.

If chest pain radiates to the back between the shoulder blades

Very severe chest pain that radiates between the shoulder blades may be a sign of a ruptured esophagus. This can happen after severe vomiting and requires immediate medical attention. They may also be a sign of a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

Extrasystole at rest

Extrasystole can occur with any cardiac pathology. But almost half of such arrhythmias are caused by psycho-emotional overload, vegetative-vascular disorders, reflex effects from internal organs, taking certain medications, electrolyte imbalance, and drinking tonic drinks. It is to this half that the causes of resting extrasystole usually refer.

Types of extrasystole

Extrasystole is a change in heart rhythm caused by extraordinary electrical impulses. They are formed in an additional focus increased activity during diastole and affect the functional homogeneity of the myocardium. In the absence of cardiac pathologies, the appearance of extraordinary electrical signals (extrasystoles) can provoke increased tone of the vagus or sympathetic nerve.

In this regard, sympathetic and vagal (bradycardic) extrasystoles are distinguished. Vagal symptoms appear at rest, often after meals and against the background of bradycardia, and disappear after exercise. Sympathetic extraordinary impulses, on the contrary, are formed during sports and other physical activities and disappear at rest.

In addition, extrasystoles are classified:

1. According to the localization of the ectopic focus of increased activity:

• atrial;
• antrioventricular;
• ventricular;

1. In count:

• single;
• salvo;

1. By frequency:

• rare (no more than five per minute);
• frequent;

1. For reasons of occurrence:

• organic;
• functional;

1. By time of manifestation:

• early;
• late.

The impact of extrasystole on cardiac activity is largely characterized by the frequency of extraordinary impulses, the localization of the ectopic focus and the characteristics of heart disease.

Reasons for the development of extrasystole at rest

Experts note the effect of increased tone vagus nerve on the development of supraventricular extrasystoles. Vagal influences (reflexes) affecting the functionality of the heart usually arise when:

• axial hernia of the esophagogastric opening in the diaphragm;
• deformations of the walls of the esophagus;
• reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus;
• gastric pneumatosis;
• bloating;
• obesity;
• constipation;
• difficulties in moving food through the gastrointestinal tract;
• gallstones;
• prostate adenoma;
• fibroids of the uterus.

In patients with an unknown etiology of extrasystole, it is necessary to examine the organs located in abdominal cavity. In addition, reflex extrasystole (extraordinary impulses caused by reflexes) can be provoked by pathological processes in the mediastinum and lungs, cervical spondyloarthrosis. Sometimes pathological reflexes cause pockets of infection.

Extraordinary impulses that are formed when exposed to small dilated areas of the internal carotid arteries, during prolonged coughing, during the process of swallowing, when lying down and with certain pathologies of the brain, are also considered reflex.

Symptoms of vagal extrasystole

The manifestations of vagal extrasystole are influenced by many circumstances, in particular: individual irritability, contractile function of the heart, frequency normal rhythm and the level of prematureness of extraordinary impulses.

The main sign of the occurrence of extraordinary electrical signals against the background of bradycardic heart rhythm disturbances is a decrease in the heart rate. It is often combined with pressure surges. During physical activity, the symptoms of extrasystole almost do not appear, they are noticeable only at rest - the more clearly, the less often the heartbeat. The patient feels as if something like a bag of air is interfering with the normal functioning of the heart, especially when lying on the left side. Observed:

• interruptions in heart rhythm;
• fatigue;
• dizziness;
• a feeling of tightness or retrosternal raw pain;
• decreased muscle tone;
• panic attacks;
• lack of air.

Increased tone of the vagus nerve is expressed by:

• low heart rate (40-60 per minute);
• increased heart rate when inhaling;
• predisposition to hypotension;
• disruptions in the functioning of the vegetative-vascular system (“marbling” and cyanosis of the extremities, cold sweat in the area of ​​​​the feet and palms, spontaneous urticaria).

The presence of vagal extrasystole is indicated by:

• an increase in the number of extraordinary impulses when reflexes act on the vagus nerve;
• a decrease in the number of extrasystoles or their disappearance when changing body position or after performing several physical exercises;
• reducing the number of extraordinary impulses or eliminating them after the administration of atropine.

Diagnosis and therapy of resting extrasystole

Diagnosis of reflex extrasystole often causes difficulties. An unambiguous diagnosis is made if extraordinary impulses disappear after the elimination of negative stimulation. Complicating the situation is the fact that the manifestations of the reflex form of extrasystole are influenced by the unstable functioning of the autonomic nervous system. In addition, reflexes are sometimes involved in the formation or acceleration of extraordinary electrical signals in organic cardiac lesions. Such circumstances make differentiated diagnosis of organic and reflex extrasystole practically impossible. Accurate diagnosis exhibited retrospectively.

Treatment of vagal extrasystole

If there are cardiac pathologies, the patient is prescribed appropriate medications. Antiarrhythmic drugs have very serious side effects, so they can only be used as prescribed by a specialist and in recommended dosages. For bradycardia, Diltiazem, Panangin, Carbamazepine are indicated, for surges in blood pressure - Bisoprolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol, for more severe pathology - Amiodarone, Propafenone.

If the symptoms of extrasystole cause physical suffering to the patient in the absence cardiovascular pathologies, before prescribing medications to him while taking light sedatives, it is usually recommended to reconsider his lifestyle. Often the cause of extrasystoles lies in the body’s reflex response to functional failures, so the patient needs to:

• normalize nutrition (constipation, flatulence cause an increase in the level of the diaphragm);
• control body weight (squeezing the diaphragm causes corresponding reflexes);
• cleanse the gallbladder and liver (a bladder overfilled with bile provokes reflex activity of the vagus nerve).

Extrasystoles subject to therapy

Sometimes, even in the absence of heart disease, extraordinary electrical impulses can significantly influence the performance of the body. Frequent contractions of the heart, reducing blood output per unit time, can cause loss of consciousness with the subsequent development of angina. Atrial extrasystoles provoke atrial fibrillation. Frequent multifocal volley ventricular impulses can bring the greatest trouble - they can portend the development of ventricular fibrillation.

Signs of dangerous heart pathologies are often those that appear in a lying position:

• allorhythmia (an extraordinary impulse occurs regularly after several normal heart contractions);
• polytopic extrasystoles (extraordinary impulses are formed in different foci);
• volley impulses (over five per minute);
• extraordinary impulses that occur after atrial fibrillation (with any irritation, flickering can occur).

These conditions require mandatory preventive therapy.

Causes of back pain transmitted to the heart

Back pain – heart pain occurs for several reasons. They could be:

• problems with the spine;
• lung diseases and complications after them;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• increased load on the spine during pregnancy;
• various injuries and bruises.

Important! The most dangerous and progressive are problems with the main organ of the human body. For timely diagnosis, you should contact a cardiologist. If he rules out problems in this area, you can continue the diagnosis with other specialists.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

There are many ailments that can cause pain in a person.

Ischemia

This is one of the most common problems associated with age-related cardiovascular disorders. Ischemic disease occurs when blood circulation in the middle layer of the heart, the myocardium, is disrupted, and this is caused by a problem with the blood vessels in this organ.

The disease has acute and chronic stages and associated sweating, and different treatments are required. Coronary heart disease is one of the main causes of death.

It can occur due to old age, as a result of poor nutrition and healthy image life. More often chest pain occurs in men.

Ischemic disease is accompanied by other diseases:

• diabetes,
• congestion in the lungs,
• heart and kidney failure.

If a person suffers from these problems, this requires immediate medical attention.

This is one of the forms of ischemic disease. It needs to be closely monitored; this pathology manifests itself episodically and not constantly. For example, when a person is engaged in heavy physical labor or as a result of a sudden onset of stress.

For angina pectoris a person needs more oxygen, but due to disturbances in the functioning of the heart vessels, this oxygen enters the blood in smaller quantities. Typically, during such attacks, a person feels pain from a compressed chest.

In order for the symptom to go away, it is enough to lie down or take nitroglycerin. Because of this, many people do not see a doctor and allow the disease to progress.

Myocardial infarction

This is an acute form of coronary heart disease. Due to the fact that the inner part of the heart, the myocardium, does not receive enough oxygen from the blood, necrosis can occur - cell death.

Myocardial infarction does not happen suddenly and is preceded by other symptoms of coronary artery disease. If a heart attack is not diagnosed in time, it can be fatal. The sooner the patient is hospitalized, the higher the chance of avoiding consequences.

Risk group for myocardial infarction:

• men;
• age from 40;
• smoking and alcohol abuse;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• poor diet (excess fat, sweets and daily consumption of red meat).

The predisposition to this problem may be hereditary, therefore, if previous generations had problems with the cardiovascular system, a person should adhere to a healthy lifestyle.

Myocardial infarction in most cases can be avoided through prevention or timely diagnosis of coronary heart disease.

Can it hurt due to spinal pathology?

Not only diseases of the cardiovascular system provoke the appearance of back pain. Listed below are spinal diseases that cause general malaise.

Osteochondrosis opposite the heart

This disease usually occurs either in older people or in young people who work a lot at the computer. Osteochondrosis is represented by disorders in cartilage tissue, including the spine.

With this disease, the localization of pain in the thoracic region usually occurs in elderly people who, due to age, have problems throughout the skeleton. Osteochondrosis requires taking medications and performing light therapeutic exercises.

Protrusions

Protrusion is the next stage of osteochondrosis. Due to the fact that cartilage tissue loses its strength, the spinal discs may sag slightly, causing pain.

Localization can also be in the thoracic spine, while the pain will not be felt locally in the spine area, but can radiate to other places large area. Protrusions require close attention and compliance with all doctor’s recommendations. For them, a course of massage, exercise therapy, and, less often, medication is recommended.

Thoracic hernias

Hernias are advanced protrusions. When they occur, the nucleus of the intervertebral disc protrudes outward. This leads not only to pain, but also to damage to neighboring tissues.

With this form of the disease, the pain is the most severe, and it bothers you not only during serious physical exertion.

Correction will require a whole range of procedures, sometimes requiring surgical intervention. Hernias in the thoracic region are less common than in the lumbar region, but cause no less inconvenience.

Neuralgia

This disease is a nerve damage.

Wherein the person retains full mobility, he is not constrained in movement, but the pain may intensify when performing certain household operations.

If pain is transmitted to the heart, then this can be expressed as an intercostal form of the disease, and this is a consequence of osteochondrosis in the thoracic spine.

In addition to pain, mild cramps may occur in the affected area. The disease is treated with medication; depending on the form and location, a specific set of procedures is prescribed, which cannot be done without taking medications.

Bruises and injuries

If pain in the back and heart is caused by a bruise or injury, then, as a rule, it is of a dull aching nature and can intensify during sudden movements. At the same time, a person feels more comfortable lying down, at rest. Pain can be a consequence of an internal hematoma; most often, such an injury goes away on its own within 1-2 weeks.

If the pain is severe, then it could be caused by more serious injuries, and the help of a doctor will be required. When the heart or spine is damaged, this can lead to serious complications, including death.

If you apply on time and receive competent treatment, then the consequences will be minimal or not at all.

Lung diseases

Diseases respiratory tract and lungs can lead to pain in the heart and back.

Pleurisy

Pleurisy is an inflammation not of the lungs themselves, but of their membranes - the pleura.

This can occur either as a result of another respiratory disease or as a result of injury.

The disease can be characterized by different symptoms, but is usually not accompanied by a cough.

Patients often complain of a compressed feeling in the lungs, heaviness in the chest, fever and shortness of breath. This is a very serious disease that is fraught with complications.

It is treated with medication and often requires hospitalization. Pain in the back and heart occurs infrequently, but is usually a side symptom of pleurisy and does not require self-treatment.

Bronchitis

Bronchitis is an inflammatory process in the lungs. He can wear infectious nature when it occurs as a result of complications of a cold, or may be the result of some external influence: for example, dust.

As a result, sputum may be produced and the lungs begin to swell. This leads to coughing, which leads to back and heart pain. Side symptoms will go away when bronchitis is cured. This requires medication and bed rest, and less often, physical therapy in a hospital.

Pneumonia

This illness is the result of infection or complications of influenza and colds. In this case, the lung tissue becomes inflamed, swelling may form, and cough and chest pain may appear.

Because of frequent cough There may be constant pain in the back and chest, and due to the localization, it seems that there is a return to the heart. These symptoms usually go away within a few days after the pneumonia is treated.

Bronchial asthma

This lower respiratory tract disease which is chronic. The person has difficulty breathing and may feel as if something is pressing on his lungs.

Cough and shortness of breath are sometimes observed.

During periods of complications, bronchial asthma can provoke pain in any part of the body.

These symptoms, in these circumstances, rarely indicate that something is wrong specifically with the heart and back. If this happens regularly, then you don't have to worry. But if this new symptom– A doctor’s consultation is required.

Gastrointestinal diseases

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, which can manifest as pain in both the back and the heart, are most often associated with the stomach and pancreas. If the pain is acute, then this may indicate problems with the stomach: ulcers or gastritis.

Treatment consists of taking medications and following a diet. People who eat poorly are at risk: abuse fatty and spicy foods, take long breaks between meals.

If there are disorders in the pancreas, the pain is less intense, aching, and can sometimes be accompanied by nausea in the afternoon. Usually this sure signs pancreatitis - inflammation that occurs due to alcohol abuse, poor diet or hereditary predisposition. Treatment requires medication and diet.

Inflammation of the gallbladder

The gallbladder is located in the right hypochondrium, but problems with its functioning can cause widespread pain.

Most often, this problem occurs in those who have previously had problems with this organ.

Typically, disorders occur in women due to the special structure of the abdominal organs.

Can lead to inflammatory processes inflection of the gallbladder and biliary dyskinesia. These two factors provoke the formation of gallstones, which can cause inflammation.

At risk are people who did not notice the problem in time: heaviness in the right hypochondrium, weak throbbing pain when long breaks between meals or excessive consumption of fatty foods.

Dyskinesia and inflection require mandatory compliance special diet, non-compliance with which can cause inflammation. It can be blocked with medications, but less often surgery is required.

Back pain during pregnancy

If this symptom occurs in a pregnant woman, then it can be the result of the same problems as other people (disorders of the cardiovascular system or gastrointestinal tract, lung problems, etc.), or be a consequence of her situation.

During pregnancy, the body experiences additional stress on the spine and internal organs, so back pain is common.

But if at the same time there is pain in the heart, which does not go away after rest and returns again, is an alarming signal.

In the absence of injuries and previously poorly treated diseases, this may indicate disorders of the cardiovascular system, which are dangerous not only for the mother, but also for the child.

Watch a short video that explains the causes of back pain in women.

What examinations to do

The effectiveness of treatment depends on making the correct diagnosis, therefore a clinical examination by a doctor and additional instrumental and laboratory research methods are used:

• electrocardiography (ECG) – type of registration electrical activity heart, which is used to diagnose angina and myocardial infarction. The most informative is recording during acute attack pain;
• echocardiography (ECHO-CG) is an ultrasound method for visualizing the chambers of the heart and great vessels. Used to diagnose dissecting aortic aneurysm, valve defects and hemodynamic disorders after a heart attack;
• X-ray of the chest organs - for the diagnosis of rib fractures, acute bronchitis. Examination of the abdominal cavity using contrast helps establish the diagnosis of hiatal hernia. Not performed on women during pregnancy due to harmful effects ionizing radiation on fetal development;
• radiography of the spine in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions - for the diagnosis of traumatic injuries or osteochondrosis;
• fibrogastroduodenoscopy is an endoscopic method for visualizing the hollow organs of the gastrointestinal tract, which is used to evaluate changes in the mucous membrane of the esophagus and stomach.

Laboratory diagnostics involves determining an increased number of leukocytes (nonspecific markers of inflammation) and troponins (sharply increased - a marker of myocardial infarction).

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

A symptom of these diseases may be pain in the heart that radiates to the back. Almost all of them are dangerous, and failure to see a doctor in a timely manner can lead to serious complications and sometimes even death. Here are some of the diseases:

1. Myocardial infarction. Back pain opposite the heart may be caused by a blood clot obstructing normal blood flow. The pain is described by patients as squeezing or pressing and can radiate to the neck, left arm, lower jaw or front of the chest. They last a long time, taking simple analgesics (spazgan, analgin) gives a weak effect. Sometimes such symptoms may be accompanied by nausea, cold sweat, and shortness of breath.
2. Angina pectoris. This disease develops gradually, due to the deposition of fatty plaques in the heart arteries, interfering with the normal blood supply to the organ. It often appears after physical work or a stressful situation. As a rule, it is characterized by pain in the front of the chest, but pain may occur in the heart area from the back. A distinctive sign of angina is considered to be short-term squeezing or squeezing pain. The first symptoms of pain are not severe, but increase as the disease progresses.
3. Pericarditis (inflammation of the heart sac) is caused by various viral infections and is manifested by acute, stabbing pain. Associated symptoms are often weakness and low-grade fever.
4. Aortic dissection (rare) due to injury to the thoracic spine or chest. May develop due to uncontrolled hypertension. Painful sensations appear suddenly and severely.

Differential diagnosis of chest pain

First diagnostic measures, which must be performed if discomfort occurs in the chest area, calm down and listen to the nature of the pain, its dependence on physical activity, body position, and possible emotional stress.

Self-diagnosis and self-medication in this case are fraught with dangerous consequences. Due to the fact that pain can signal a dangerous pathology, consultation medical specialists required.

The next steps to determine the pathology are to consult doctors. A consultation with a therapist is required to prescribe a series of instrumental examinations or for referral to a more specialized specialist.

It may be necessary to consult doctors such as a pulmonologist, neurologist, surgeon, gastroenterologist, vascular and cardiac surgeon, psychiatrist, infectious disease specialist. For mild forms of nervous disorders, sometimes a consultation with a psychologist is sufficient.

Features of “dangerous” pain

Of course, with any alarming symptoms, it is advisable to consult a doctor as soon as possible, especially if the suspicion concerns vital organs. But patients themselves do not always understand which specialist they need to go to. Most of"Heart" complaints actually concern completely different problems.

One of the most common mistakes concerns osteochondrosis and cardiopathy. In both cases, the pain can be of any intensity, affecting the shoulders, arm or neck, but there are differences. Thus, with osteochondrosis, pain occurs with sudden movements and can last for a long time. Angina pectoris is characterized by short-term attacks after excitement or overexertion.

Heart pain in most cases is relieved with nitroglycerin tablets. For other pathologies, the drug will not bring the desired effect.

Myocardial infarction can disguise itself as an exacerbation of a chronic gastrointestinal disease. If the problem is related to the stomach, then discomfort usually appears within 1-1.5 hours after eating. Additional signs also appear - belching, vomiting, nausea or a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen.

Painful sensations in the chest and back often appear with pneumonia, especially if the inflammatory process develops in the left lung. In this case, the following are also observed:

• temperature;
• weakness;
• coughing;
• noises in the lungs;
• asymmetry of the chest.

Paroxysmal or aching pain with numbness of the limbs is a possible sign of neuralgia. If the lesion affects the nerve endings near the chest, the sensations resemble a heart attack. It is necessary to take into account the fact that neuralgia is characterized by prolonged attacks that intensify when walking or bending the body to the left or right.

Diseases of other organs or systems

Painful manifestations on the left are not always caused by cardiac causes. They can also be caused by diseases and injuries:

1. Osteochondrosis of the chest or neck can provoke a sharp prick on the left side of the chest, similar to manifestations of angina pectoris. The sensations radiate to the arm or interscapular area and intensify with movement.
2. A herniated thoracic spine that puts pressure on the heart. This disease occurs rarely due to the fact that this vertebral region is inactive.
3. Injury to the ribs on the left, accompanied by pinched nerves, causes pain along the entire costal arch. Manifestations radiate to the scapula, giving clinical manifestations similar to angina pectoris.
4. Tietze syndrome, when inflammation of the costal cartilages occurs, can be confused by clinical manifestations with a heart attack or angina pectoris.
5. Fibromyalgia and other inflammations of the muscles of the left upper back. Pain is also observed when raising the arm or turning the body.
6. Panic attacks, when sudden palpitations with a feeling of lack of air provoke a pain syndrome that manifests itself individually in each person. Differential diagnosis with cardiac pathologies will be an ECG.
7. Lung diseases such as pleurisy, pneumothorax, and bronchial asthma can provoke pseudocardiac pain syndrome. A distinctive feature of pulmonary diseases is the patient’s complaint that when he lies on his back, his heart hurts. As a rule, these people prefer to rest on their left side to improve their well-being.
8. Disorders of the stomach and esophagus (spasms, heartburn, gastritis) give clinical symptoms similar to those of the heart. They often radiate to the left under the scapula, worsening when bending over or lying on the back.
9. During inflammatory processes, the gallbladder and pancreas can also extend under the left shoulder blade, creating the illusion of heart pain.

Even mild, short-term pain in the heart area, arising from the back on the left, should not be ignored, especially if additional symptoms (shortness of breath, hyperthermia) are associated with them.

It is better to go to the clinic immediately. Perhaps nothing terrible happened, or perhaps a serious illness will be detected, and timely treatment will help maintain health.

By the way, now you can get my free e-books and courses that will help you improve your health and well-being.

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Back pain in the heart area is a rare and frightening symptom that can occur in a patient due to serious cardiovascular diseases, after pathologies associated with the respiratory system, musculoskeletal system, or disruption of the integrity of the digestive tract. If such pain occurs, it is best to undergo a full medical diagnosis to avoid irreversible consequences.

Pathologies of the cardiovascular system, characterized by back pain in the heart area

In half of the cases, pain in the heart area from the back indicates serious abnormalities in the cardiovascular system, which can cause cardiac pathology leading to death. Among these diseases, there are several of the most dangerous:

• Myocardial infarction. Often pain at the chest level from the back is a sign of impaired circulation due to blockage of blood vessels by a blood clot. The nature of the pain is pressing or squeezing, and the location is in the area of ​​the heart, in the lower jaw, neck and left arm. Additional symptoms of a heart attack are shortness of breath, sudden attacks of nausea and the appearance of cold sweat on the forehead. If not treated in a timely manner, the pathology can provoke a heart attack, which will ultimately cause death.
• Angina pectoris. It is considered more rare than myocardial infarction and is manifested by pain in the back and heart. However, due to its long course, the disease does not show any symptoms at an early stage of development, and aching pain in the heart from the back appears during exacerbation. The main causes of angina are the accumulation of cholesterol plaques on the inside of blood vessels, which interferes with normal blood flow. A characteristic sign of this cardiac pathology is pain, which appears on both the left side of the chest and the right, intensifying with physical exertion.

Back and heart pain due to angina pectoris

• Pericarditis. A rare cardiac pathology in which there is severe back pain in the chest area on the left or right. In most cases, the cause of the disease is considered to be a viral infection that has progressed to the stage of a serious complication. The characteristic symptoms of pericarditis are considered to be chronic fatigue and a feverish state in which the heart pounding and pain appears in the chest area on the right.
• Aortic dissection. Such a disorder in the cardiovascular system can be the result of a serious injury to the spine or chest, and in rare cases, aggravated hypertensive pathology. With such a deviation, sharp pain occurs in the chest area on the right and left. Sometimes the manifested pain in the heart radiates to the lumbar region (lower part of the spine) or cervical region (part of the upper spine). There are no associated symptoms with aortic dissection, which complicates the diagnosis.

Back and heart pain due to aortic dissection

Important! If the heart pierces and pain periodically radiates to the back, then this is considered a serious signal requiring immediate medical intervention, since in most cases, ignoring such symptoms leads to death.

Pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, manifested by back pain in the heart area

The question often arises: can the heart hurt due to pathologies not related to the cardiovascular system? The answer is clear: it can. After all, all systems of the body are closely interconnected, and their synchronous work is controlled by the brain. Therefore, if, due to disorders in the musculoskeletal system, digestive system and other organs, pain radiates to the heart, then this is considered normal.

Heart pain due to musculoskeletal disorders

Among the disorders of the musculoskeletal system, in which pain radiates to the heart, the following pathologies are distinguished:

• Osteochondrosis (cervical or thoracic). With this disease, the left side of the chest hurts from the back or front. When exacerbating, pain from the chest radiates to the left arm or the area between the shoulder blades, which is why osteochondrosis in terms of symptoms can simply be confused with angina pectoris. When lying on your back or side, the pain subsides, but during physical activity it worsens. In the absence of timely treatment, the disease progresses and leads to irreversible consequences.
• A hernia of the spine, located on the left side of the thoracic region, gives off characteristic pain in the heart (a hernia on the right side does not affect the heart). This disorder is considered rare and manifests itself due to a sedentary lifestyle.

Pain in the heart and back, with a herniated spine

• Injury to the ribs on the left side. With this disorder, the heart, as a rule, does not suffer, but improperly fused ribs can pinch a nerve, which transmits acute pain throughout the left side of the chest. The nature of pain when a nerve is pinched is similar to the manifestation of angina, so a correct diagnosis can only be made with the help of modern medical diagnostics.
• Inflammation of the intercostal cartilages (Tietze syndrome). The pathology has symptoms similar to myocardial infarction or angina pectoris and can manifest itself on both the right and left sides of the chest. However, with such inflammation it is difficult to breathe, which is the hallmark of the pathology.

Important! If pain in the heart from the back is not caused by cardiac pathologies, this does not mean that they do not need to be given due attention. Indeed, in most cases, the above deviations in the acute stage lead to partial or complete restriction of the movement of certain parts of the body, which complicates future life.

Pathologies of the digestive tract that cause heart and back pain

Another reason why the heart hurts along with the back is disorders in the digestive system:

• Ulcer or gastritis. Due to the proximity of the stomach and heart, pain from the first organ can easily be transmitted to the second by a small impulse. Often the pain from gastritis or ulcers is similar in nature to angina or heart attack. Therefore, if the left side of the chest hurts, the cause should be sought not only in the cardiovascular system.
• Inflammatory process in the pancreas or gall bladder. These pathologies, such as ulcers and gastritis, can transmit a pain impulse to the heart area, creating the illusion of cardiac pathologies. Therefore, in order to determine the source of pain, you should undergo modern medical diagnostics.

Pain in the heart and back with gastritis and stomach ulcers

Important! In rare cases, back and heart pain can be caused by a panic attack resulting from prolonged depression or stress. However, with such disorders, the patient also experiences accompanying symptoms in the form of difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, fainting and swelling. Therefore, in order not to confuse a mental disorder with cardiac pathology and begin a course of therapy, you should be checked in advance with an ECG and ultrasound.

More:

Features of pain in the right side of the chest and its causes