Reason of pains in a thorax: neuralgia or heart?

For the time being the perspective of heart diseases seems to most of people remote and foggy. But sooner or later practically each adult faces extremely unpleasant feelings: sudden stethalgia. To be consoled at this time in a thought of what for a heart attack still early, will hardly turn out: if the person is impressionable, he, as a rule, has feeling of panic and fear of fast death. And meanwhile, it is very often possible to confuse pains of neuralgic character with cardiac pains.

Today we will tell about how to distinguish one type of pain from another why there is neuralgia and a stethalgia and as it is necessary to support the health.

Symptoms of a stethalgia: similarity and difference

The people who are not liking to see doctors – especially it concerns men – often prefer to endure a painful attack, stopping it the anesthetizing drug. But the mistake price in a question of stethalgias can be unreasonably high: if in time not to ask for the help at a heart attack, the person can die.

On the other hand, many people first of all also sin on heart – in a breast it is located, and intercostal neuralgia has to and be in the theory sideways, between edges? In practice localization of pains can be various, besides, pain can be given both to a hand, and to a back.

The main difference of heart attack from neuralgia is duration: attacks of intercostal neuralgia can be quite long, up to several days. Cardiac pains short – for example, the attack of stenocardia lasts about 5-10 minutes.

Neuralgic pains have acuity, and stenokardichesky pain – stupid, burning down, with shortage of air. In old times stenocardia was called "angina pectoris" because of feeling that on a breast the heavy and cold toad sits. Pain at stenocardia extends to all area of a breast, and the person finds it difficult to specify, where exactly hurts him. At neuralgia usually it is possible to localize the main place of pain precisely.

One more sign, very characteristic of neuralgia, – reduction or increase in intensity of pains depending on position of a body, a breath and an exhalation. Cardiac pain does not depend on position of a body, with one exception - at a myocardial infarction pain during the movement just amplifies.

Tabulettae Nitroglycerini can stop an attack of cardiac pains, but will not be able to stop development of a heart attack. Therefore if pain after reception of nitroglycerine proceeds, it is necessary to call the ambulance immediately.

Why there are stethalgias

Natural question – if at the person with health everything was in a relative order why attacks arise with big intensity at once? Actually seldom which of people is regularly inspected at the cardiologist. The majority of cases of stenocardia is a so-called angina of exertion which arises after exercise or emotional stresses. If the attack arose after a dream, then it is rest stenocardia.

Actually, stenocardia is a disturbance of blood supply in a cardiac muscle of the person. Such constant air hunger leads to development of coronary heart disease and to a heart attack. Major factors of risk are here:

• Arterial hypertension;
• Disturbance of a lipometabolism and atherosclerosis;
• Disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism and increase in level of sugar in blood;
• The inborn or acquired heart diseases.

Intercostal neuralgia is the pain passing on a trunk and branches any of intercostal nerves (they are 11 couples, and the 12th couple is subcostal nerves). There is it because of squeezing, irritation or an inflammation of a nerve. The reasons of emergence of neuralgia is and problems with a backbone (osteochondrosis, shifts and hernias of intervertebral disks), infections much (including flu), radiculitis, neuritis, injuries, overcoolings, an excess tone of muscles and others.

What doctors to ask for the help

If you asked for acute management, doctors will help you to orient with this question, having excluded or having confirmed heart troubles. If you had a stenocardia attack, then at the cardiologist not to do without inspection. However, even if the attack was neuralgia, the cardiologist should be visited.

With neuralgia the situation is slightly more difficult – first of all, it will be necessary to visit the neurologist, to make the roentgenogram or to pass a tomography. After the reason will be found out, the doctor will be able to make further recommendations about treatment or consultation at other specialists – for example, at an osteostalemate.

Stethalgias: what to do

First of all it is necessary to stop any exercise stress and to sit down or lay down. Quite often it is impossible to lay down exactly – in that case it is necessary to adopt the semilying provision, having put under a pillow back. It is necessary to provide inflow of fresh air to the room, to undo a collar of a shirt or blouse. If the reason of pain is unclear, it is necessary to take 1-2 Tabulettaes Nitroglycerini at once. If it did not appear – at least validol, valocordin or analogs. To calm down, it is possible to accept a valerian or Corvalol in addition. It is necessary to remember that nitroglycerine can sharply lower pressure.

If pain does not pass within 10-15 minutes, do not wait and call the ambulance. If the acute pain which is not changing at a body postural change, an ambulance needs to be called immediately.

At an attack of neuralgia it is possible to accept the anesthetizing drugs, to wrap up a breast with a warm scarf, to use the ointments having the warming and soothing effect.

Further the doctor can appoint physical therapy sessions, novocainic blockade of nerves, acupuncture. If osteochondrosis is the reason of the repeating attacks of neuralgia, then it is worth asking for the help the manual therapist, to visit medical massage and gymnastics. During an exacerbation of neuralgia it is impossible to sleep on a soft surface: the mattress has to be rigid.

Try to keep calm at an attack of a stethalgia, but do not neglect then inspection at all at doctors even if it seems to you that the attack passed completely.