Children, young people and even experienced athletes often die in gyms. Damage to the heart area with a strong blow to the chest causes instant death.
Cause of heart concussion.
A concussion is caused by a sharp, direct blow to the chest area. Damage to the heart muscle leads to cardiac arrest. Doctors have proven that this explains the sudden death of young men and boys during sports competitions and training in gyms.
In Ancient China, this was one of the main martial arts techniques: they killed the enemy with one precise blow to the heart.
If we look at the numbers, we can find out that middle age children dying in sports grounds- 15 - 10 years, and over 25 years such misfortunes occur less frequently. 95% of boys and men are injured while playing baseball, soccer, field hockey, ice hockey, or collisions during play. In hockey and football, players deliberately expose their chests to take a hit and throw the puck or ball away.
Very often, trouble comes in nature, on the playground, from being hit by a ball or swing. Sudden cardiac arrest can occur even without visible damage to the heart. Urgent resuscitation measures are needed, which can be carried out by coaches, doctors, and the athletes themselves. By quickly and promptly providing first aid, children can be saved.
When it’s late, even the resuscitation teams with their modern equipment don’t help. A blow to the chest causes a long arrhythmia followed by spasm of the coronary arteries. In another way, this can be explained this way: the heart, like a motor, pumps blood through the arteries to the brain, to the lungs, after a sharp blow to the chest, the heart stops pumping, instead of rhythmic beats, only fluttering. And if you don’t start it (like a motor), it stops.
Why do children suffer more than adults? Children have an immature chest and weak intercostal muscles. In adults, the ribs and muscles are strong, so only five out of a hundred athletes can get this injury.
How to prevent this formidable complication?
Coaches and sports doctors need to teach young players not to expose themselves to direct impacts from the puck and ball.
Athletes and children should buy high-quality, certified protective equipment.
Doctors, educators, and parents themselves should carry out mass awareness-raising work to prevent concussions in children in kindergartens and schools.
IN sports schools, gyms, stadiums, it is necessary to organize a medical service with modern portable resuscitation equipment.
Cardiac contusion is an injury in which functional disorders of the organ may not develop immediately. But this is not an indicator of minor violations; only a thorough diagnosis helps to identify all the changes that have occurred. If you receive a closed heart injury, you should consult a doctor in any case, as some injuries can cause death.
Shulepin Ivan Vladimirovich, traumatologist-orthopedist, highest qualification category
Total work experience over 25 years. In 1994 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Medical and Social Rehabilitation, in 1997 he completed a residency in the specialty “Traumatology and Orthopedics” at the Central Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics named after. N.N. Prifova.
The heart is the organ responsible for continuous blood flow throughout the body. Together with constantly circulating blood in internal organs and tissues receive nutrients and oxygen molecules. Closed organ injuries chest approximately 70% lead to cardiac contusion. Damage can result from direct impact, fall, failure to comply with safety regulations at work. The degree of injury depends on the condition muscle corset, therefore, in healthy adult men, complications are an order of magnitude less common compared to children and elderly patients.
Cardiac contusion due to a fracture of the sternum may be a consequence of improper resuscitation measures during cardiac arrest. This usually happens if assistance is provided to the victim outside the walls of a medical institution.
The consequences of a heart contusion are determined by:
- Mechanical force;
- The degree of filling of the organ chambers at the time of injury. It is believed that a shock during systole causes more internal damage to the heart compared to diastole;
- The vector (direction) of the impact.
Most often, damage to the heart muscle and internal structures of the heart is caused by a contusion of the chest on the left. During an impact, the functions of the chambers to pump blood slow down, but it continues to flow, this leads to the following pathological changes:
- The chamber cavities fill with blood and their walls stretch;
- The adjacent parts of the heart are compressed;
- The organ is displaced;
- Disrupts general blood flow.
During an impact, the pathological process often involves the anterior wall of the right ventricle, and less often the interventricular septum. Bruise leads to rupture muscle fibers, to internal bleeding from damaged vessels. When hemorrhage occurs, the coronary vessel is often compressed, which is the main cause of heart attack.
Classification
There are several options for the course of a bruise in the cardiac region:
- With the involvement of the heart valves. It may manifest itself as lightning-fast pulmonary edema;
- With damage to the coronary arteries. Detachment of the internal part of the vessels and thrombosis cannot be ruled out, which leads to necrosis of the heart muscle and to a heart attack with all the ensuing complications;
- With the involvement of the myocardium in the pathological process along with the conduction system of the organ. As a result of the impact, the physiological processes of metabolism are disrupted; with such damage, the main symptoms of the injury are recorded after a few days;
- Combined, that is, combining injury to several parts of the heart at once.
A bruise in the area of the heart does not indicate a contusion. A hematoma can only indicate external damage.
Depending on the nature of the injury, there may be no visible damage, but most of the organ is injured.
Diagnosis of injury
The diagnosis of cardiac contusion is made to patients only after a comprehensive examination. Initially, the doctor must establish the nature of the injury and how long ago it was received, conduct an external examination, listen to the heart, measure blood pressure and pulse. Among the instrumental examination methods used:
- Electrocardiogram. The ECG reflects the impulses of the heart; in the event of a bruise, their normal rhythm is disrupted;
- Echocardiography. An examination is prescribed if the victim has symptoms of hemodynamic disturbances;
- Holter. A sensor is attached to the patient’s body for 24 hours, measuring heart rhythm, blood pressure, and pulse.
- Ultrasound of the heart.
- Radiography. In the photographs you can see associated injuries - fractures of the ribs and sternum.
Blood tests are also necessary. Damage to the soft tissue of the myocardium is indicated by an inflammatory reaction, changes in troponin and MB isoenzyme levels.
Signs of a bruise in the heart area
A strong blow to the chest, leading to a contusion of the heart, leads to the following symptoms:
- Get sick. They do not always occur immediately; sometimes the victim begins to notice painful sensations 2-3 days after the injury;
- Tachycardia;
- Shortness of breath to the point of suffocation. This sign indicates a violation of blood flow in the pulmonary circulation;
- Reduced blood pressure. Hypotension that increases over 5-7 days indicates serious damage to the heart;
- Pallor of the skin. Indicates a drop in blood pressure or a state of shock;
- Violation heart rate.
When listening with a stethoscope, the doctor can pick up extraneous noises resulting from rupture of internal tissues. Some victims complain of numbness and tingling in the fingertips, uncontrollable anxiety and panic, and pulsation in large vessels. Upon examination, the chest in the area of impact may be swollen, the skin of the injured person may be moist due to profuse sweat.
The clinical picture of cardiac contusion can develop in two ways:
- Angina pectoris type of bruise is characterized by short duration pain, lack of air. Recovery occurs quickly, there are practically no long-term consequences of the injury;
- Infarct-like. The painful attack is long-lasting and pronounced. In addition to pain, shortness of breath, increased body temperature, and agitation of the victim are observed. Without timely treatment, heart failure develops.
Treatment is selected depending on the signs of injury and data obtained during diagnosis.
Spasm of coronary vessels and organ bruise - differences
The clinical picture of the bruise resembles a heart spasm (suddenly occurring coronary insufficiency). Treatment of pathologies is different, so differential diagnosis is necessary. Diagnostics gives reliable results, but before it is carried out, a drug test can be performed - Nitroglycerin reduces or completely relieves pain during spasm of the coronary vessels, while in case of a bruise the pain does not go away.
It is also necessary to find out from the patient the entire history of the disease. If in the days preceding the deterioration of health there were blows to the chest, then only a doctor can rule out a bruise.
Treatment of a bruise in the heart area
If a cardiac injury is suspected, victims are hospitalized in a hospital. The main goal of therapy is to restore the functions of the organ. Depending on the identified changes and signs of injury, the following is prescribed:
- Analgesics. These can be both narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics - Morphine, Omnopon, Analgin;
- Antiarrhythmic drugs– Panangin, Trazikor, Isoptin;
- Diuretics, cardiac glycosides, potassium preparations when detecting heart failure;
- Vitamin complexes to strengthen the heart muscle.
In case of complete blockade, it is carried out electrocardiostimulation. Surgery is necessary if the bruise is accompanied by damage to the valves.
IN rehabilitation period it is necessary to follow the doctor's recommendations:
- Maintain a daily routine– get enough sleep, minimize physical activity;
- Stick to a diet– exclude spicy and fried foods, strong tea, coffee;
- Do breathing exercises ,physical therapy.
The duration of recovery depends on the nature of the injury and the age of the patient. The consequences of the blow also depend on whether the victim has a disease cardiovascular system. In uncomplicated cases, cardiac functions are completely stabilized within 25-30 days. If the bruise is accompanied by serious complications, recovery may take up to 6 months.
The use of traditional methods of treatment
Additionally, you can use traditional methods of treating bruises at home. In the first two to three days, cold compresses are applied; their use reduces pain and helps stop internal bleeding. Compresses are applied for 15-30 minutes up to 6 times a day.
The following means help speed up the resorption of compaction and hematoma:
- Aloe. The agave leaf must be cut and the fleshy side applied to the bruised area.
- Ointment from hop cones. Two hundred grams of interior fat must be melted and mixed with 50 grams of crushed cones. The resulting raw material is filtered and used as an ointment; it must be rubbed into the sore spot two to three times a day.
- Sagebrush. Mash the fresh stems of the plant and apply to the bruise. The bandage is kept for 1-2 hours.
It is advisable to use any folk remedy in case of closed heart injury, coordinate with a cardiologist, this is especially necessary in case of injuries in a child.
Complications
The danger of a heart contusion for the victim lies not only in rapidly developing complications. The consequences of the injury can manifest themselves after several days, and sometimes even weeks.
The most likely complication of a bruise is rhythm disturbance, which can be expressed extrasystole, arrhythmia, paroxysmal tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation or atrial flutter. Often, after an injury, several types of arrhythmia are simultaneously detected in a patient.
The most severe consequences of closed heart injury include:
- Aortic rupture. Not in all cases, the pathology leads to a complete rupture; with this complication, the formation of a false aneurysm is possible; it is discovered more often several months after the injury;
- Valve ruptures;
- Hemopericardium (bleeding into the pericardium) and hemothorax (bleeding into the pleural cavity). With these complications, hemodynamic parameters and heart function are disrupted. Acute heart failure can cause death;
- Blood clot formation with subsequent thromboembolism of the coronary vessels. Thromboembolism leads to a heart attack;
- Post-traumatic myocardial dystrophy. Myocardial contusion leads to disruption of metabolic processes in the muscle. Symptoms of the complication in the form of aching, squeezing pain are recorded several days after the injury.
Heart contusion can be fatal, which often occurs immediately at the site of injury.
If you receive a strong blow, you must urgently call an ambulance - intensive care in the first hours and minutes after injury minimizes the development of life-threatening complications.
Gymnastics that will help quickly restore the heart after injury and avoid a heart attack
You need to contact a specialist. This heart rhythm disturbance occurs due to pathologies of the circulatory or endocrine system and leads to changes in blood circulation. Stressful situations should be eliminated and sleep patterns restored to normalize the condition.
Causes of strong blows in a healthy person
Every person has encountered such a problem at least once in their life. Strong heartbeats appear suddenly, increase and cause persistent tachycardia for several minutes. If not present or in the head, possible causes should be analyzed:
- high tempo physical exercise;
- or brisk walking;
- state of anger, emotional overexcitation;
- overwork after a hard day;
- overeating;
- a large number of cigarettes smoked in a short period of time.
Severe shocks can occur after overusing or drinking too many energy shakes. For some people, this is a normal phenomenon due to strong anxiety before an important performance or exam. For women, increased heartbeat is one of the symptoms of upcoming menstruation, a complication of.
If they appear strong blows abruptly and for no apparent reason, it is necessary to take tests for the content of basic mineral compounds. A lack of potassium disrupts the functioning of the heart and changes the rhythm, which leads to tachycardia. With such problems, it is enough to exclude the cause, improve nutrition and rest more often. It is recommended to take a multivitamin complex, which will improve performance and support vitamin deficiency.
Strong heartbeats in endocrinology
Inflammation or pathology of the thyroid gland disrupts the balance of hormones necessary to maintain processes in the body. A characteristic symptom is strong heartbeats at rest. When a hormonal imbalance occurs, a person notes:
- increased sweating;
- fatigue;
- forgetfulness;
- depression;
- weight gain;
- skin rashes, sagging and dryness.
With hypothyroidism, the heart beats faster. A person cannot work fully, play sports, or devote time to family. Treatment consists of normalizing hormonal levels and stopping the cause of the disease. The endocrinologist selects artificial analogues of hormones in the required volume. When taken for a long time, they help level out the condition and normalize well-being.
Change in heart rate with blood pressure
With a sharp decrease in pressure, the blood circulation slows down. To normalize the flow of oxygen, the brain commands the heart to work harder, pumping increased volumes. A person feels strong heartbeats against the background of a normal pulse in the ears. The following conditions may be the cause:
- dehydration;
- excessive blood loss;
- vegetative-vascular dystonia;
- allergic reaction.
The increased heart rate is accompanied by nausea and loss of appetite, which lead to weakness and drowsiness. Treatment consists of maintaining blood pressure at the correct levels 120/70 or 130/80 depending on age. If necessary, review the diet, try to consume more protein, clean water, and fruits.
A similar phenomenon often occurs with. A woman in this position experiences strong heartbeats and may lose consciousness. In most cases, this is a consequence of anemia - a lack of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the body. The problem should be solved by taking special medications containing iron and vitamins in an easily digestible form.
If the tests do not provide an answer to why the pressure changes sharply and a strong heartbeat occurs, you need to take care of your health:
- devote time to sports, physical therapy, swimming or dancing;
- regularly take mild medications with a sedative effect (Persen, Sedaphyton, valerian extract);
- walk daily for at least 1–2 hours;
- choose a complex from yoga breathing practice;
- do not use debilitating diets.
An active life combined with good nutrition helps strengthen the heart muscle. Gradually, attacks of strong heartbeat disappear: the body copes with stress and does not react to weather changes. Every year you should visit a therapist to get tested for hemoglobin and potassium levels, and monitor your weight.
How to identify the cause of heart rhythm disturbances?
In most cases, following simple recommendations from a cardiologist, it is possible to completely overcome the problem and prevent its recurrence. But doctors warn that there are a number of symptoms that indicate serious heart disease that requires immediate treatment:
- strong heart beats at night;
- the appearance of panic fear of sudden death;
- the beating is accompanied by pain in the sternum, burning, tingling;
- the skin becomes pale or very red;
- hand tremors are observed;
If such violations occur, it is necessary to urgently seek qualified diagnostics. It includes: ultrasound of the heart and digestive organs, liver, kidneys, electrocardiogram, a number of tests for hormones, proteins, hemoglobin. In severe situations, the patient is recommended to undergo a full computer examination that can identify neoplasms, cancer, and lung damage.
A strong heartbeat often occurs in a pre-infarction state, with a stroke, or coronary artery disease. These are dangerous pathologies that threaten the life of the patient. To eliminate the painful problem, you should take a number of medications:
- cardiac glycolysides (Digoxin, Korglykon, Novodigal);
- beta blockers (Atenolol, Metoprolol, Bisoprolol);
- sedative complexes (Sedaphyton, motherwort or peony tincture);
- special antioxidants (Preductal, Triducard).
If an attack of rapid heartbeat occurs at night, a person may wake up with a panic attack, be afraid of sudden heartbeats and pain. Urgent measures need to be taken:
- Wash with cool water and rinse your hands up to the elbows.
- Drink a few sips of sweet tea or ice water.
- Walk around the room, try to cough to stimulate blood movement.
- Take Valocordin, Corvalol, valerian extract.
Helps relieve unpleasant symptoms and strengthen the heart muscle folk recipes. For 10–14 days, you can take a decoction of St. John's wort mixed with hawthorn, rose hips, and dry motherwort. This tea is drunk several times a day, adding a little honey. Melissa, valerian root, and chamomile provide a mild sedative effect.
Doctors warn that strong heartbeats are a dangerous symptom, so you should not self-medicate or take potent drugs on the recommendation of friends or neighbors. Ignoring the problem often leads to the development of necrosis individual parts cardiac sac, coronary disease, ends in incurable complications.
Contusion accounts for up to seventy percent. A heart exposed to a blow, depending on how severe the damage has occurred, can cope with the consequences on its own or will require the help of doctors. In any case, it is necessary to consult a specialist so as not to waste time if the diagnosis shows the need to undergo treatment.
Features of injury
If a closed injury occurs in the area of the left side of the chest, then the possibility of heart contusion cannot be ruled out. This problem has such features that it is not always possible to guess about it; cardiac contusion is determined by examination. It occurs as a result of the application of mechanical force to the chest, which is transmitted to the heart.
The heart is an organ in which there is a continuous circulation of blood flows, coordinated operation of the valves, and a functioning conduction system that transmits impulses from pacemakers to the chambers. The consequences of a traumatic blow depend on:
- from the force of this action,
- what phase of heart activity was at that moment,
- direction of impact.
The disease code according to the international classification scale (ICD-10) is designated S26 (heart injury).
In some chambers, movement may be slowed down or even stopped during a sudden mechanical impact. During this time, blood flow continues to the heart. The blood in the chambers of the heart responds to a sudden impact with a hydrodynamic phenomenon, which can create a danger to the health of the heart.
The following reactions to impact are possible:
- overcrowding of cells,
- their overload
- stretching of cavities and changing their sizes,
- compression of departments,
- damage to the heart by the ribs,
- blood flow dissociation,
- heart displacement,
- sharp functional disorders can provoke mechanical damage to the heart:
- myocardial damage,
- valve damage.
Classification and forms
Experts distinguish two types clinical manifestations which can be caused by a blow to the heart:
- angina pectoris,
- infarct-like.
Determining which clinical type the symptoms of a particular patient can be attributed to immediately gives a hint about treatment tactics. To exclude the possibility of developing a contusion in a heart attack-like case, the amount of therapy performed by the infusion method is limited. In the first case, such a restriction is not provided.
Heart contusion can be divided into components:
- contusion of the heart muscles,
- contusion of coronary vessels,
- bruised valves
- combined bruise.
Causes
A cardiac contusion can occur if there is a blow to the chest in the area where the heart is projected. This action is possible:
- in case of an accident:
- falling from a height
- shock wave,
- at emergency situation– hitting the steering wheel with your chest;
- in production - when working with heavy objects, when a tool kicks back or another unforeseen situation occurs;
- hydrotrauma,
- hit with a stone
- or how sports injury:
- kicking the ball in a football game,
- during a martial arts match,
- other accidental injuries.
Symptoms
Heart contusion can manifest itself with the following symptoms:
- interruptions in cardiac activity,
- pain in the chest area,
- heartbeat,
- shortness of breath, in some cases suffocation;
- cyanosis,
- pain similar to the sensations of;
- expanding the boundaries of the heart,
- the pain factor manifests itself either immediately after the injury or several hours later;
- the appearance of uncharacteristic noises, dull tones are heard;
- decrease in blood pressure over the course of a week,
- if a violation occurs papillary muscle, for example, its rupture, then a rough systolic murmur will be heard;
- loss of consciousness,
- with serious damage to the heart from a stroke, heart failure with congestion may develop.
Violations may occur:
- heart vessels,
- spasm of the coronary arteries,
- hemorrhages in the muscles of the heart,
- rhythm disturbances,
- for minor injuries: microhemorrhages, hematomas;
- when a traumatic blow of great force is possible:
- ruptures of valve elements,
- damage to the heart muscles.
There may be signs:
- cold sweat,
- anxiety,
- loss of mind,
- swelling in the heart area,
- causeless horror
- tingling feeling in the fingertips,
- pulsation of large veins.
We will tell you further about ECG and other methods for diagnosing cardiac contusion.
Diagnostics
The specialist listens to complaints and uses a stethoscope to dry the heart. To clarify, do research:
- The electrocardiogram reflects electrical impulses hearts. If the results of this method show a normal result, then you can be sure that serious negative consequences no bruise.
- Echocardiography is indicated in cases where there are signs of hemodynamic compromise. In situations of bruise, transesophageal examination is used.
- Holter observation – recording of heart impulses throughout the day. Makes it possible to understand what factors are associated with possible deviations from normal readings. The patient wears a portable sensor attached to the body and keeps a chronological record of activities, loads, and mood.
- Laboratory research. Tests are carried out for the content of substances that may indicate that the myocardium is damaged:
- MB isoenzyme,
- troponin.
Treatment
To provide assistance to a patient with a heart contusion, he is admitted to a hospital. Treatment takes place in intensive care units, unless urgent surgery is required. The treatment program is carried out under close monitoring of changes in the patient’s condition.
Therapeutic
If necessary, the following activities are carried out:
- to restore the ability of the myocardium to contract,
- treatment of hemodynamic disorders,
- antiarrhythmic therapy,
- improvement of metabolism,
- rehabilitation measures.
Medication
Depending on what disorders occurred as a result of the injury, specialists may prescribe:
- drugs that relieve heart pain, these can be:
- droperidol (with saline solution),
- (with physical solution),
- omnopod,
- morphine,
- antiarrhythmic drugs:
- isoptin,
- trasicore,
- panangin,
- potassium chloride,
- for heart failure:
- diuretics,
- cardiac glycosides,
- medicines containing potassium.
Operation
- If mechanical damage to the walls or valve elements occurs in the heart, the patient will need urgent surgical assistance.
- In case of transverse blockade (complete), measures are taken for electrical cardiac stimulation.
Folk remedies
Used successfully for bruises traditional methods. A heart bruise can pose serious threats, so self-medication is unacceptable.
With the permission of a specialist, you can use:
- Cold and rest help the bruised area.
- Applying plantain helps relieve the effects of a bruise.
- The same thing, only crushed wormwood is applied.
- Make a solution with laundry soap, apply a bandage soaked in this solution to the bruise.
About the potato method traditional treatment The following video will tell you about a heart bruise:
Prevention
Prevention of heart contusion with all possible consequences will be to exclude the possibility of injury to the chest in the area of the heart. Safety precautions must be followed:
- Drivers should always wear their seat belt.
- Installers at a construction site must fasten themselves to structures to avoid falling.
- IN sports activities remember that the heart area must be protected from shock.
Complications and consequences of heart contusion
A heart bruise is a severe stress for the body. This causes a significant blow to various systems. The consequence of injury may be symptoms of post-traumatic myocardial dystrophy.
Often, when a serious injury occurs, it is a heart contusion that causes death, although it may be undetected. This situation occurs in three-quarters of fatal injuries. After treatment in a hospital, when surgical intervention was required, if there was circulatory arrest, the probability of death is high, up to 88%.