Cardiovascular Problems (Heart Health): Causes, Types and Medications

Heart disease is common among adults. Recently, according to statistics, the age of patients with cardiovascular diseases has become sharply younger, so it is very important to pay attention to some symptoms of heart disease and be promptly diagnosed by a cardiologist. This will allow you to avoid such serious consequences as heart attacks, rhythm disturbances, and hypertensive crises.

A healthy heart is essential for a high quality of life. This is an organ that works tirelessly, experiencing constant stress. But many do not care about it at all, seeking help in extreme cases. The mortality rate from heart disease is quite high. The history of each patient is individual: everyone has their own developmental characteristics and course of the disease, different symptoms.

What are the most common heart diseases?

Pain in the heart (cardialgia) is discomfort, painful sensations of a different nature in the left side of the chest or behind the sternum, which may indicate damage to the cardiovascular system, concomitant pathologies or diseases not associated with it. It is absolutely impossible to ignore such a sign since any problems in the functioning of the heart can lead to fatal consequences. It is necessary to immediately seek help from medical specialists immediately after the first appearance of pain that does not resemble heart pain.

Among all heart diseases, the most common are:

Name of disease	Description
Ischemic disease.	Its cause lies in the lack of blood supply to the myocardium due to damage to the coronary arteries.
Arrhythmia.	This group includes diseases associated with heart rhythm disturbances.
Cardiomyopathy.	This is a group of pathologies in which increased cavities are detected, manifested by heart failure and rhythm disturbances.
Heart defects.	This includes both congenital and acquired pathologies.
Atherosclerosis.	A chronic disease characterized by damaged walls of blood vessels that supply the heart.
Hypertension	This problem is characterized by the main symptom — high blood pressure.
Diseases of the endocardium and myocardium	Inflammatory processes in the cardiac tissues.
Myocardial dystrophy.	This group includes many diseases that are accompanied by impaired metabolic processes in the cardiovascular system.

What are the Causes of Heart Pain?

There are a lot of factors that can directly or indirectly cause discomfort in the heart area. Experts identify two main types of causes of heart pain: directly related to organ damage; and extracardiac, when pain is a sign of non-cardiac conditions.

Pain in the heart area can be associated with cardioneurosis, arterial hypertension, arrhythmia, angina pectoris, rheumatic disease, and dissection of the thoracic aortic aneurysm. But still, the extracardiac factors that cause unpleasant feelings in the chest play an important role. Extracardiac factors are osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, gastroesophageal reflux, rib injuries, pinched nerve fibers, intervertebral hernia, mental disorders, muscle spasms, etc. Sometimes, pain in the heart area occurs against the background of endocrine disorders and diseases of the reproductive system associated with hormonal imbalances.

Also, there are some more adverse factors that can cause serious heart problems: systematic use of alcohol and drugs, frequent use of stimulants, energy drinks consumption, large quantities of strong coffee and tea, intense, nervous work, frequent psycho-emotional experiences, stress, and obesity.

Malignant and benign neoplasms and purulent inflammatory processes can cause pain in the heart area. In some cases, heart damage develops after acute infectious diseases, including tonsillitis (acute tonsillitis) and influenza.

Pain in the left side of the chest can also result from:

unfavorable environmental conditions;
poisoning with heavy metals, poisonous plants, and mushrooms;
inflammation of the respiratory system (pneumonia, pleurisy, pulmonary alveolitis, bronchitis);
Gastrointestinal diseases (pancreatitis, cholecystitis).
Sometimes pain in the heart area appears after serious psycho-emotional experiences, against the background of physical overload, due to a diaphragmatic hernia, or uncontrolled diabetes.

Medications for Heart Problems

Ischemic disease and Cardiomyopathy

The reason for a visit to the doctor should be the appearance of pain and discomfort in the heart area, which appears during physical activity or at rest. These symptoms cannot be ignored, because IHD does not go away on its own, it only progresses over the years. Over time, heart failure develops and there is a risk of myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac arrest.

IHD and cardiomyopathy cannot be cured with medications, but it can be controlled. Patients are prescribed drugs that increase blood flow to the myocardium and reduce its oxygen demand: antithrombotics, B-adrenergic receptor blockers, and ACE inhibitors. To eliminate pain during an attack, it is recommended to take nitrates. Also, there is an option for surgical treatment of IHD.

From a number of the most effective medicines, we can highlight:

Ivabradine is used to treat angina pectoris in adult patients with coronary heart disease who have a normal sinus rhythm and a heart rate of at least 70 beats per minute. It can be used in conjunction with beta-blockers in cases of insufficient control of stable angina pectoris against the backdrop of the ideal beta-blocker dosage, or if you are intolerant to them or have contraindications to their usage.
Generic Inderal (Propranolol) is a beta-adrenergic receptor blocker and is used for the prevention of attacks of stable angina (as part of combination therapy), in cases of hypertension and heart rhythm disorders.
Generic Tritace (Ramipril) is an ACE inhibitor used to treat high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, etc.
Generic Inderal La (Propranolol) — is a popular Beta blocker used to control heart rhythm disturbances during IHD. After a long course of treatment, Inderal should be discontinued gradually, under the supervision of a physician. During treatment with Inderal, the use of sympatholytics should be avoided.

Arterial hypertension

The disease is a persistent increase in blood pressure, which leads to vascular damage and an increased risk of stroke and heart attack. The leading signs of arterial hypertension are:

headache;
ringing in ears;
painful, pressing sensations in the heart area;
hot flashes, the feeling of increased body temperature without fever;
facial redness.

Cardialgia with hypertension is often accompanied by an uneven pulse, rapid heartbeat, and a feeling as if the heart is skipping beats.

To avoid this disease, or to reduce the symptoms, a patient should normalize the function of the central nervous system, add daily physical activity, and normalization of sleep is necessary (sleep up to 8 hours), carefully count the kilocalories consumed in food, and do not allow excessive consumption of fat and salt. Weight loss in the cases of obesity is demanded. Without weight loss, there is no need to talk about preventing hypertension.

Drug treatment of arterial hypertension includes:

Lasix generic (furosemide). Patients with edema brought on by congestive heart failure are taken Lasix, which is a member of the diuretic class.
Aldactone is a water pill diuretic that is prescribed to treat nephrotic syndrome, liver cirrhosis, hypertension, and fluid retention linked to congestive heart failure.
Tenormin is a beta blocker that is administered to treat angina, lower heart rate, and high blood pressure.
Metoprolol (Toprol XL) generic is a beta blocker used to treat abnormal heart rhythms, excessive blood pressure, and heart discomfort.
Coreg (Carvedilol) generic form is used to treat hypertension, high blood pressure, and heart failure.
Metoprolol, often known as Generic Protein, is a beta blocker that is prescribed to treat hypertension. Causes a hypotensive effect, which stabilizes by the end of the 2nd week of course use. For angina pectoris, metoprolol reduces the frequency and severity of attacks. Normalizes heart rate during supraventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation.

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the process of cholesterol deposition in the wall of blood vessels, and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, causing narrowing of the artery, with a decrease in blood flow to the organs and subsequent thrombosis with complete blockage of the artery (occlusion). The blood supply stops and part or all of the organ dies. The most common medicines are:

Lipitor (Atorvastatin) generic form — a statin that lowers triglycerides and cholesterol.
Zocor (simvastatin) generic form — a cholesterol-lowering medication, used to reduce the amount of cholesterol the liver produces.
Crestor (Rosuvastatin) generic — a medication from the statin class used to treat excessive cholesterol and atherosclerosis.
Lopida. Patients with pancreatitis can use generic Gemfibrozil to lower their triglyceride levels and lower their chance of developing coronary heart disease.
Patients with very high blood triglyceride levels and high cholesterol are offered generic Tricor (fenofibrate).

Disclaimer: The information presented on the page should not be used for self-medication or self-diagnosis. If you suspect the presence of a disease, you must seek help from a qualified specialist. Only your attending physician can diagnose and prescribe treatment.