How to treat and diagnose a heart cough

Cardiac cough is accompanied by disorders in the cardiovascular system, but not associated with it directly.

What is a cardiac cough

The definition is quite conditional, and here's why. Light has its own - small, circulation. The efficiency of the system depends on the work of the left ventricle and atrium. Accordingly, in heart failure, their work is disrupted, and the influx or outflow of blood are not performed in full.

Any such failures lead to fluid stagnation in the lungs - in fact, to swelling. Liquid irritates receptors in the bronchi and triggers coughing. But these symptoms are caused when fluid enough that it began to leak into bronchi and alveoli.

This condition is extremely dangerous. Now, we need to talk about the appearance of cardiac asthma. Treatment in this case must be urgent, and the patient suffering from this form of the disease, definitely unable to get to the doctor's office.

Such severe cases are rare. But their lawfully called cardiac cough. In fact, in this category are all forms of the syndrome one way or another associated with heart failure.

Distinctive features

• Dry cough - bronchial cough or colds accompanied by phlegm, mucus, pus, although not always. Dry cough and possible bronchitis, and bronchial asthma, and indicates a severe form of the disease. The heart is never accompanied by phlegm. However, acute attacks may hemoptysis. Thus the lungs are cleared of excess blood.
• Usually, symptoms can include heart palpitations during attacks.
• The cough is stronger in the prone position. The left ventricle is overloaded, which leads to even more labored circulation. Unfortunately, these symptoms are characteristic of asthma, so treatment without a thorough examination impossible.
• There is increased sweating, weakness, short, frequent dizziness. In the evenings swollen ankle. At a later stage the swelling becomes hard and in the morning do not pass. The temperature rises very rare.
• Shortness of breath - in the first stages occurs only during exercise, but thenprovoked by the slightest effort. Later, even a long conversation becomes the cause of the suffocating dry cough.
• Disorders of the heart lead to increased thoracic pressure. This provokes fainting. For patients with frequent fainting - signs of the characteristic.

These symptoms are nonspecific, meaning they can be signs of malfunctioning of heart, occurred on the background of asthma or prolonged bronchitis. But similarly can be a sign of heart failure, which caused cardiac asthma. These two illness are closely linked, and therefore, the treatment must be carried out comprehensively.

Diagnosis

Heart cough as a disease, but a symptom that needs a completely accurate diagnosis. The symptoms coincide with the characteristic features of acute asthma attacks and severe bronchitis. But the fact that one of the main turning points in the treatment of these diseases is changing from a dry cough wet. In fact, all the measures are reduced to the fact, in order to facilitate expectoration, thereby freeing up the Airways.

In the case of cardiac cough all of these efforts are useless and even harmful treatment is really aimed at the symptoms and not the true ailment. To avoid this, a thorough examination is conducted.

Diagnostics includes:

• electrocardiography - reveals hypertrophy and myocardial ischemia;
• echocardiography - evaluates the functionality of the ventricles of the heart;
• x - ray examinations help to detect the stagnation of blood in the lungs, and also recorded an increase in the heart cavity;
• MRI is a costly technique, which, however, allows to accurately determine the condition of the myocardium.

Treatments

If the primary disease is recognized as heart failure, and treatment is aimed at restoring the function of the heart muscle. Positive symptoms for bronchitis is the appearance of the sputum and the change in timbre. However, in heart failure, the cough must just becomes less and tranquil.

Once the heart recovers sufficiently normalized and the blood circulation and, hence, disappears stagnation of blood, causing the symptoms.

Appointed the following drugs:

• vasodilators - vasodilators, losartan, for example;
• diuretics - to remove puffiness, representing strain on the circulatory (veroshpiron, indapamide);
• antitussive drugs withanesthetic effect - in this case the cough has not facilitated the patient's condition, causes weakness and fainting. So the treatment includes remedies that suppress the cough.

In addition to the compulsory drug treatment under the supervision of a specialist, an important condition for recovery are and other factors.

Correct mode of the day, including at least 8 hours of sleep.

The available alternating physical activity with rest.

• Nutrition - inadequate diet exacerbates the situation. Even if the consumption of heavy fatty foods do not cause stomach pain, such food provokes the production of cholesterol. And heart failure, any disorders in the blood circulation to pose a significant risk.
• Strictly no Smoking is permitted and alcohol abuse. If not, delete this two factors, and treatment is, in fact, is useless.
• Physical activity - available load normalize blood circulation. Of course, in the early stages they will be minimal, but we can not abandon them.