What is acute coronary insufficiency?

Acute coronary insufficiency is a dangerous disease that develops against the background of severe damage to the vessels supplying the heart with blood.

This pathology accompanies coronary heart disease. It manifests itself in the heart muscle in the form of a sudden spasm, resulting in a heart attack or death of the patient.

The phenomenon of coronary insufficiency is not well understood, so death is observed in 90% of cases, even if medical care was provided in a timely and professional manner.

What factors contribute to the development of the disease

The exact causes of pathologies in the coronary circulation have not been established.

But the factors that contribute to the manifestation of such disorders and coronary death of the patient include:

• fat embolism;
• high rate of blood clotting;
• deficiency of trace elements (magnesium and potassium);
• overheat;
• severe infectious diseases, which are characterized by blood poisoning;
• severe toxic syndrome;
• air entering the coronary artery.

The development of coronary death is also affected by:

• hypertension;
• inflammation localized in the myocardium;
• malformations in the development or work of the heart (both congenital and acquired);
• vasculitis;
• atherosclerotic vascular disease.

The development of coronary insufficiency is noted against the background of emotional or physical overstrain. This is due to increased heart rate in stressful situations, the release of adrenaline and other substances into the blood that can cause disruption of the coronary blood supply.

All these factors contribute to the fact that the load on the myocardium increases significantly, the heart needs more oxygen. If it is not enough in the bloodstream, then individual parts of the heart muscle die off, acute coronary insufficiency occurs.

Sudden coronary death occurs with ventricular fibrillation, tachycardia, or bradyarrhythmia. Such conditions appear in 80% of patients immediately before AIO.

Symptoms of OKN

The main symptom of the disease is pain in the chest region, radiating to the left shoulder blade or shoulder.

Pain happens:

• burning;
• very intense;
• lasts about 1 hour;
• causes panic states, severe fear, clouding of consciousness, and in some cases attacks of aggression.

In acute circulatory pathology, blue lips and cyanosis of the skin are observed. Patients feel very cold due to insufficient blood supply to the tissues. When the attack lasts more than 20 minutes, the first signs of myocardial infarction are noted.

In addition to chest pain, there are:

• dyspnea;
• nausea;
• vomit;
• urine output in large quantities (it has a very light color);
• heart rate increases;
• with physical stress, stiffness appears.

This condition brings the patient severe discomfort. And the fear that death will suddenly come, negatively affects the course of the attack.

Otherwise, a violation of the coronary circulation will lead to a heart attack, and subsequently sudden death will occur.

Acute form of pathology

Acute coronary insufficiency is a consequence of a sudden spasm of the coronary vessels, as a result of which a sufficient amount of oxygenated blood does not reach the main organ. This form of the disease is typical for the state of rest, and for emotional and physical overstrain.

The strength of an attack of acute circulatory failure is associated with the following factors:

• the state of the vessels, the degree of their atherosclerotic lesions;
• the reaction of the affected arteries to the lack of oxygen in the blood;
• annoying force.

Serious damage to the vascular walls is indicated by frequent heart attacks that occur at night, when the patient is resting and in a state of complete rest. In this case, pain in the chest lasts from 2 to 20 minutes, radiates to the left half of the body and is intense.

The acute form of the disease provokes severe consequences for the body. In most cases, even timely medical care does not save a person, therefore, with OKN, sudden death occurs. To prevent a fatal outcome will allow the prevention of the disease and the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

Chronic form of the disease

It develops with a strong degree of damage to the vascular walls and a frequent feeling of heaviness in the chest area.

Subdivided into:

1. Initial degree. Accompanied by rare attacks of angina, appearing against the background of emotional or physical stress.
2. pronounced degree. It is characterized by intense and frequent attacks, which most often appear after physical overload of the body.
3. Severe degree. The patient is concerned about arrhythmia, severe pain in the chest area, which is felt at rest.

People with a diseased heart and blood vessels (but in a stable condition) are more susceptible to the fact that sudden death occurs. The main causes of death are ventricular fibrillation or cardiac asystole.

For a fatal outcome, the following condition of the patient is characteristic:

• skin, cold to the touch, grayish;
• dilated pupils;
• slow heart rate, poor audibility of heart sounds;
• the appearance of agonal breathing.

Within minutes, the patient's breathing stops and death occurs.

First aid for illness

Timely first aid can save a person's life in the event of acute coronary insufficiency.

It is important to know what to do when the first symptoms of the disease appear:

1. The first step is to call an ambulance. The attack is accompanied by a violation of the rhythmic work of the heart, so you need a device that can restart the heart - a defibrillator.
2. With insufficiency of the coronary type, it is better for the patient to take a prone position. The collar must be loosened so as not to impede breathing. If the patient has shortness of breath or cough, then he needs to take a sitting position.
3. It is advisable to open a window in the house, which will increase the flow of fresh air.
4. In the first minutes of an attack, the patient must put a tablet of Validol or Nitroglycerin under the tongue. If the pill did not help, then after 10 minutes you can take another one.

Validol not only restores coronary circulation, but also has a calming effect.

With the help of the actions described above, it will be possible to eliminate chest pain and unpleasant symptoms of coronary insufficiency. After an attack, the patient must be under medical supervision for 14 days: during this period, the likelihood of a recurrence of an attack is high.

If a second attack occurs in the first two weeks after the previous one, then in 95% of cases it ends in death.

Constant monitoring of the work and condition of the heart will allow you to quickly cure the patient, normalize blood circulation.

Treatment of the disease

To achieve visible results, therapy for coronary insufficiency must be started at an early stage. In the absence of an effective treatment regimen and regular medical monitoring, death is possible.

In doing so, adhere to the following points:

• give up smoking, alcohol;
• avoid overeating;
• follow a special diet (to restore heart function);
• normalize weight;
• increase physical activity during the day;
• observe the regime of the day, it is enough to rest and work.

Drug therapy should include drugs to restore the correct heart rhythm, thin the blood, dilate blood vessels, and also:

• anti-bradykinin drugs;
• anabolic agents;
• lipid-lowering drugs.

Surgery is used to restore coronary blood flow.

Among the methods are:

• angioplasty;
• stenting;
• coronary bypass.

AIO is difficult to diagnose and treat.

Coronary insufficiency, like any heart disease, is easier to prevent than to cure, so you need to follow certain preventive measures:

• follow a diet with a low amount of animal fats in the daily diet;
• exercise daily, while the load should be moderate and not have individual contraindications;
• don't get too stressed out. It is the heart and blood vessels that suffer from experiences.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and giving up bad habits will prevent the progression of diseases of the heart muscle and the main vascular highways.