Cough dry with blood and other signs of cough indicative of heart failure

Cough is considered to be the body's response to the inflammatory process of the respiratory tract. But is there a connection with diseases of other organs and systems? Heart dysfunction leads to impaired blood circulation in the pulmonary circle, which contributes to congestion in the lungs, resulting in a cough with heart failure. The symptoms and treatment of heart and cold cough differ significantly from each other. Timely diagnosis will allow you to immediately identify cardiac pathology and take the necessary measures for elimination.

Causes of a heart cough

• congenital and acquired heart disease;
• transferred myocardial infarction;
• arterial hypertension;
• aortic aneurysm;
• cardiomyopathy of various origins;
• infectious and non-infectious myocarditis;
• arrhythmia;
• mitral stenosis;
• cardiosclerosis;
• stenosis of the heart valves;
• complicated pericarditis;
• chronic ischemic heart disease.

Diseases cause circulatory disorders, the heart does not eject the required volume of blood from the small (pulmonary) circle to the large one, as a result of which stagnation occurs in the blood, leading to an increase in pressure in the small circle. The process of oxygen saturation is disturbed and oxygen starvation occurs, which contributes to the death of small vessels and a decrease in the contraction function.

With blood stasis, the plasma enters the free intercellular lung space and causes pulmonary edema, which puts pressure on the nerve endings existing in the alveoli and lungs, resulting in coughing.

Any cardiac pathology can lead to heart failure and cause a cough that is different in nature, symptoms and causes from a cold.

Symptoms

A cough in cardiac pathology indicates the presence of a disease, a timely appeal to a cardiologist will allow him to be diagnosed and begin immediate therapy.

• dry cough lasting from 2 to 30 minutes;
• with a protracted course of an attack (more than 15 minutes), hemoptysis is possible;
• attacks are sharp and sore in the chest area;
• causes sweating, tachycardia, complete exhaustion of the body;
• the manifestation of seizures is accompanied by evening and night time, when the patient goes to bed;
• cough is accompanied by constant shortness of breath, respiratory rhythm disturbance due to hypoxia, lack of air.

With minimal physical exertion, intermittency and hoarseness of breathing are noted. If the disease progresses, then the symptoms accompany normal walking or talking. Due to the increase in pressure, fainting is possible.

If congestion is present in the lung tissue, then a “barking” dry cough is accompanied by sputum production:

1. "Rusty" sputum indicates a violation of cardiac activity and stagnation of blood in the pulmonary artery system. The “rusty” color is due to the release of destroyed red blood cells from the pulmonary system.
2. Foamy pink sputum indicates an acute form of heart failure. Accompanied by difficulty breathing, exacerbation of seizures contributes to the horizontal position, as the load on the lungs increases. Patients are advised to take a sitting position.
3. Mucopurulent or putrefactive sputum appears with inflammation of the bronchi as a result of exacerbation of pathological cardiac processes. Attacks are accompanied by exhaustion, fever. The period of exacerbation is characterized by fatigue, oxygen starvation, suffocation.
4. Red sputum is a consequence of myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary infarction and requires immediate assistance in an urgent manner.

Differences between heart and cold cough

There are a number of signs by which a cold or viral cough is easily distinguished from a heart cough.

Main differences:

1. Cold cough from dry becomes expectorant even without medical intervention. Sputum discharge during a heart cough does not bring relief, does not relieve an attack, is a consequence of an exacerbation of cardiac pathologies and caused heart failure.
2. Cardiac cough does not improve when treated with cough tablets without treatment for heart disease. A cold cough goes away in 2-3 weeks. If the process is not accompanied by serious respiratory diseases (pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchopneumonia), then it passes without treatment.
3. For a cold cough, the time of day does not matter. Characterized by a uniform manifestation during the day, for the heart - the manifestation of seizures is typical at night when taking a horizontal position.
4. Attacks of cardiac cough are accompanied by swelling of blood vessels in the neck, suffocation, cyanosis of the skin, shortness of breath, swelling of the lower extremities. A cold-like cough is accompanied by high fever, signs of respiratory diseases.

To confirm or refute the alleged diagnosis, it is necessary to visit a polyclinic institution and conduct a study, in case of poor health, call a local general practitioner at home.

Diagnosis and different age categories

Diagnostic examination in the presence of a cough must be carried out by patients to exclude heart failure and diseases that contribute to it.

• electrocardiogram - a method that allows you to determine violations of heart rhythms;
• Ultrasound (ultrasound examination of the heart) - analysis of the placement and size of valves, cardiac septa, aorta;
• X-ray of the lungs - will be able to fix pathological pulmonary processes;
• biochemical study (blood tests, urine tests) - to note the presence or absence of inflammation in the body;
• magnetic resonance imaging is a method that allows you to accurately establish the diagnosis in the absence of the possibility of using other methods.

The risk group includes children with congenital heart defects of varying severity, pregnant women with previous diseases of the cardiovascular system, and the elderly. These categories need to undergo a thorough diagnosis when coughing.

Left ventricular dysfunction due to congenital heart disease in children is often the cause of cardiac cough. A child in a dream instinctively tries to take a sitting position. He must be given immediate medical attention, as the respiratory system in a child is much weaker than in an adult.

Low working capacity, fatigue, intolerance to small physical activity are alarming “bells” that require immediate examination. Every elderly person accumulates disorders in the functioning of organs and systems with age, cardiovascular is no exception. Dry cough in a person over 60 years old is a reason for an immediate examination. During pregnancy, the load on the heart will increase. Therefore, women who already have heart pathologies need to be especially careful about their body, since the complications that have arisen negatively affect the health of both the mother and the fetus. If a dry cough occurs, observation in a hospital is recommended, since severe shortness of breath can precede pulmonary edema, oxygen starvation and cause hypoxia in the fetus.

It is important to treat not a dry cough, but heart failure and the pathology that caused its development, since cough is a consequence, not the root cause.

Medical treatment

There are various drug therapies for the treatment of heart disease.

To combat directly heart failure, glycosides are prescribed - drugs that improve myocardial contractility, the main of which are:

1. Corglicon is a drug characterized by a positive inotropic effect. An increase in myocardial tone leads to a reduction in its size and a decrease in oxygen demand.
2. Strofantin is a drug that increases the strength and speed of myocardial contraction simultaneously with a decrease in heart rate. Increases the volumetric stroke of the heart, optimizes the emptying of the ventricles, leading to a decrease in the size of the heart.

ACE inhibitors affect the work of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which is involved in the level of blood pressure regulation.

1. Lisinopril is a drug that helps to increase the minute volume of blood and myocardial exercise tolerance in patients with chronic heart failure. Arteries dilate to a degree greater than the degree of vein dilation. Improves the supply of ischemic myocardium.
2. Captopril is a drug that lowers blood pressure and vascular resistance to blood flow. It reduces the load in the aorta by reducing the resistance of peripheral vessels, lowers the pressure in the right atrium and the small (pulmonary) circulation.

To reduce the fluid content, which helps to stabilize blood pressure, diuretics (diuretics) are used. Without having a direct effect on the cardiovascular system, they act indirectly, providing a minimum of side effects.

1. Furosemide is a fast-acting drug used for congestion in the circulatory system due to heart failure. It is indicated for pulmonary and cerebral edema and arterial hypertension, including its exacerbation in the form of hypertensive crises.
2. Manitol is a drug recommended for arterial hypertension, intracranial and intraocular pressure, cerebral edema. Effective for the stabilization of cardiovascular diseases.

Beta-blockers are effective in reducing the strength and frequency of heart contractions. The drugs inhibit the conduction of impulses in the myocardium.

Drug treatment is effective both in reducing the severity of symptoms of cardiopulmonary insufficiency and in combating the pathological processes that led to these diseases.

Folk remedies

Alternative medicine cannot cure a cough of cardiac origin on its own, but is effective as an additional therapy. In tandem with drug treatment, folk remedies stabilize the work of the heart muscle, make up for the deficiency of vitamins and minerals.

The following recipes are recommended:

1. A decoction with unpeeled oats is used to stimulate the heart muscle. Cooking technology: pour oats with water in the ratio of 100g per 500ml of water and bring to a boil. Then add a third cup of dry elecampane root, bring to a boil, leave for 2 hours and filter. Honey can be added to correct the taste.
2. An infusion of viburnum stabilizes the activity of the cardiovascular system. A tablespoon of grated berries is poured into a glass of boiling water and infused for an hour.
3. Pumpkin pulp effectively copes with edema. To prepare a pumpkin without a peel, it must be passed through a meat grinder and consumed in its pure form.
4. Black currant eliminates the symptoms of arterial hypertension, has a beneficial effect on the heart muscle. Dried currants are infused in boiling water for several hours.
5. Lemon with garlic and apricot kernels stabilizes blood pressure. 200 g of honey is mixed with the same amount of grated lemons and 10 g of crushed apricot pits.

With heart defects, lily of the valley is effective, hawthorn, motherwort, nettle, valerian stabilizes blood pressure, lemon balm is used to eliminate shortness of breath, and rosehip is effective for heart pain.

Prevention

The best treatment - prevention - has long been a beaten truth. Drug therapy in combination with traditional medicine for heart failure will be effective with lifestyle changes.

• refusal of fatty, sweet and salty foods, since fatty and sweet foods lead to excess weight, salty foods contribute to the development of arterial hypertension, which will increase the load on the cardiovascular system;
• the use of chicory instead of coffee, the preference for green tea to black, which will allow you to abandon caffeine - a product that contributes to an increase in blood pressure;
• compliance with the daily regimen, in which the duration of sleep should not be less than eight hours a day, which will provide the body with a good rest. Be sure to have time for walks in the fresh air;
• therapeutic exercises and physical activity in consultation with the doctor, since a sedentary lifestyle is unacceptable in case of heart failure. Lack of physical activity weakens the heart muscle;
• complete rejection of bad habits, as they exacerbate cardiac pathologies.

It is important not to allow stressful situations, not to be nervous, to focus on positive emotions, if necessary, take sedatives and antidepressants.

Cough of cardiac origin is not a disease, so its treatment will be ineffective. This is a consequence of heart failure, which in turn is a consequence of congenital or acquired cardiac pathology. Diagnosing the disease in a timely manner, starting therapy, adjusting the lifestyle are the key points that will lead to victory over the cause and improve the quality of life.