What medicines to take if the heart hurts
Content
Such a symptom as sudden cardiac colic is familiar to many - not only adults, but also young people, and even children. At the same time, not only the physical, but also the mental state of a person changes: he becomes excited, experiences anxiety and even fear. If the pains are systematic and rather long-lasting, the person experiencing them seeks to relieve the pain syndrome as soon as possible and get rid of the unpleasant sensation by taking the medicine, the stock of which is in every home medicine cabinet. Therefore, pills for pain in the heart are among the most popular in the pharmaceutical network. They help to quickly stop the attack and restore the normal functions of this most important organ, on the state of which the whole organism depends.
Why does the heart hurt
Pain in the heart can be caused by both pathological and physiological causes. In adolescents, such pains sometimes occur during adolescence against the background of rapid growth, when the cardiovascular system "does not keep up" with the musculoskeletal system. They do not require therapeutic treatment and disappear by themselves as the condition normalizes.
However, this syndrome can also become a symptom of the development of a serious pathology, so a visit to a doctor is still necessary - only a specialist is able to give an opinion on whether the child needs medical care.
In adults, pain in the region of the heart muscle also does not necessarily have a cardiac etiology.
Pain of this order often occurs in the following conditions:- pregnancy - during the period of bearing a baby, a serious hormonal restructuring occurs in a woman's body, and an increased level of hormones affects the state of the heart, disrupting its normal rhythm, which causes heart pain. Such a phenomenon cannot be considered a pathology: when the hormonal background normalizes and the body adapts to a new state, unpleasant symptoms disappear. But to clarify the causes of this symptomatology, a woman should notify the doctor observing her;
- neurological pathologies - nervous disorders, various neuroses, severe stress can provoke a violation of the normal patency of cardiac impulses, leading to spasms of the cardiomusculature;
- alcohol intoxication - an overdose of alcohol adversely affects the state of the heart, causing malfunctions in its work, accompanied by pain;
- weather changes - sudden changes in atmospheric pressure can affect the state of the cardiovascular system, but when this indicator normalizes, negative symptoms disappear;
- after heavy physical exertion, during which the heart has to overtake blood in a more intensive mode;
- osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine - one of the symptoms of this disease is pinched nerve endings located between the vertebrae and discs of the spinal column. In this case, the pain can be given to any area of the body, including the heart, but the spine needs to be treated;
- intercostal neuralgia - a pathological condition that occurs when squeezing or irritating the intercostal nerves, and causing severe pain, for the removal of which one should not use heart drugs, but analgesics;
- pathologies of the respiratory system of an inflammatory nature - various forms of bronchitis and pneumonia, especially when they are neglected and become chronic.
If attacks of pain in the heart become frequent and prolonged, a person must undergo a thorough medical examination before buying and drinking pills on their own to stop them.
In addition to the reasons mentioned above, pain can be a symptom of serious cardiovascular pathologies, including:- Arterial hypertension (hypertension) is an elevated level of blood pressure (BP).
- Atrial fibrillation.
- Ischemic disease.
- Tachycardia.
- Angina.
- Myocardial infarction.
- Inflammation of the heart muscle - myocarditis, or the lining of the heart - pericarditis.
- Various heart defects.
Uncontrolled, many of these diseases can lead to the most serious consequences, including disability and death. Therefore, the independent use of drugs to relieve pain in the heart is possible only on a one-time urgent basis. But you should not try to remove systematic symptoms in this way: you need to consult a doctor to clearly establish its source and nature, and deal with the elimination of the main cause of heart pain.
Pain syndrome is one of the first symptoms in the forms of cardiovascular diseases listed above, and after establishing its connection with a certain cardiopathology, the doctor prescribes medicines for pain in the heart. The names of which drugs will be included in the list of prescriptions depend on the nature of the disease, since each of them has a specific pharmacological effect, and what can help relieve pain in one heart disease is powerless in another. The age of the patient, the stage of development of the pathology, and concomitant diseases in his history are also important, since many drugs for pain in the heart have a number of contraindications depending on these factors.
What to take for heart pain
Heart pain can last from a few seconds to several minutes, and in this case, trying to survive it without the help of pharmacological agents is not only difficult, but also very risky. In case of acute coronary spasm, which causes an attack of stabbing or aching pain in the chest, it is necessary to call an ambulance team. Before the arrival of doctors, create the most comfortable conditions for a person: he must lie down or sit in a chair, trying to relax as much as possible, unbutton the constricting details of clothing (collar, belt) and take medicine to help relieve pain or reduce its intensity.
Such medicines belong to the means of providing emergency first aid, and the necessary pills or drops should be at hand not only for people suffering from chronic vascular and cardiopathologies, but also in every home medicine cabinet, even if a person has not yet complained about heart problems. It is also necessary to have a tonometer available - a device for measuring blood pressure, since very often pain in the heart is accompanied by its drops, and before taking drugs, you need to know the exact indicators of this parameter.
Among specific cardiovascular drugs, a home first aid kit should include drugs from the following groups:- Peripheral vasodilators - Nitroglycerin, Sustak, Kardiket. These drugs are of the sublingual type, that is, they should not be swallowed, but placed under the tongue and absorbed. Since there are many vascular plexuses under the tongue, the active substances of the drugs thus enter the bloodstream much faster than when absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. They relax the smooth muscles of small vessels, which contributes to their expansion and improvement of blood supply to the heart muscle. The most popular means of this group are Nitroglycerin and Cardiket. Nitroglycerin has long been considered one of the most effective and fast-acting remedies for stopping angina attacks. Cardiect relaxes vascular tone within 20 minutes after ingestion, increasing the lumen of blood flow and easing the load on the heart. It is used not only for urgent help with exacerbation of pain, but also for long-term treatment of various forms of cardiopathology: heart failure, coronary heart disease, post-infarction condition.
- Calcium channel blockers - Verapamil, Lecaptin, Veracard. Tablets are taken orally - by swallowing.
- Cardiac glycosides - they contain digoxin - a substance that helps to relax the heart muscles, relieve spasms and reduce the heart rate. This group includes Metoprozol, Vasocardin, Betaloc.
With pain in the heart, it is recommended to systematically take Cardioaspirin, which has an anticoagulant effect on the bloodstream. Thanks to a special shell, Cardioaspirin tablets begin to dissolve not in the stomach, but in the intestines, which protects the gastric mucosa from irritation by salicylic acid. But such tablets, unlike regular Aspirin, cannot be chewed or divided into parts - they must be swallowed whole with a sufficiently large amount of water. The drug will not be able to stop an attack that has already begun, but with prolonged use, the blood becomes more liquid, it is easier for the heart to cope with the duties of pumping it into the vessels, it does not overstrain and the person is not bothered by pain.
People suffering from hypertension - high blood pressure - as a preventive measure to prevent angina attacks, doctors advise taking antihypertensive drugs, also belonging to the calcium blockers group, such as Amlodipine. It dilates blood vessels and helps stabilize heart rate and blood pressure.
Anaprilin also stabilizes the level of blood pressure and normalizes the heart rate. Improvement occurs after the first medication, but to consolidate a positive result, the course of treatment should be at least two to three weeks.
Such widespread and long-known medicines as Validol, Corvalol, Valocordin, which people used for heart problems in the last century, are recognized by modern doctors as rather calming, affecting not the heart, but the nervous system.
The order of administration, dosage, contraindications, side effects
Heart drugs are very serious drugs that require certain rules to be followed when taking and dosage and have a number of contraindications. All of them are indicated in the instructions for use enclosed in the packaging of any medicinal product. Therefore, before taking a medicine, even if it is prescribed by a doctor, you should definitely carefully read the contents of the annotation attached to it.
Here is what these rules look like in general terms:- Nitroglycerin - 1 tablet is placed under the tongue and dissolves. Relief is felt after 5 minutes. If this does not happen, you need to take a second pill. The duration of action of Nitroglycerin is 45 minutes. In the event that the pain returns, it is necessary to call a doctor. Nitroglycerin contraindications include pregnancy, breastfeeding, hypotension, mitral valve stenosis, and traumatic brain injury. In addition, it should not be taken at the same time as Viagra. Side effects - headache, dizziness, a sharp decrease in blood pressure.
- Cardiket - reception begins with minimal doses (1/2 tablet of 40 mg), if necessary, gradually increasing the dosage to 60-80 mg per day. Contraindications are the same as those of Nitroglycerin, as well as glaucoma. Among the "side effects" of bradycardia - low heart rate, headaches, dry mouth.
- Glycosides at the time of exacerbation are taken 1-3 tablets orally 3 times a day. If it is necessary to take it for a long time, the dosage, as the condition improves, is gradually reduced to 0.5 tablets per day. Preparations of this group are forbidden to be taken with a heart attack, with inflammation of the heart muscle - myocarditis, bradycardia. As adverse reactions, there is a disorder of the stool, nausea, skin rashes.
- Verapamil is taken three times a day, 80 mg. Among the contraindications are bradycardia, pregnancy, lactation, hypotension. Against the background of taking the drug, body weight may increase, diarrhea, nausea are possible.
This rule also applies to agents that are considered harmless. So, an overdose of the same Corvalol can lead to very serious consequences as a result of poisoning with bromine, which is part of this drug.
It can cause arrhythmia, depression of the central nervous system, provoke cardiovascular failure, and even cause coma. The same can be said about Valocordin. Therefore, these drugs should be taken with extreme caution.