Introduction
A heart attack is a serious and possibly life-threatening clinical picture. Pain in the left arm can be a sign of it, but it does not usually occur alone. In the case of a heart attack, there is usually still a feeling of pressure over the chest or even pain behind the breastbone and difficulty breathing. An ECG and a blood test can exclude or confirm the suspicion of a heart attack. If a heart attack is suspected, the blocked coronary artery should be reopened as soon as possible.
General information about heart attack
A heart attack is a serious and possibly life-threatening clinical picture. It occurs when the vital coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen-rich blood are blocked and thus an insufficient amount of blood can be pumped into the heart muscle. The resulting undersupply of blood to the heart muscle cells leads to the death of the heart muscle cells in the affected area.
The affected person notices this by suddenly appearing strongest pains in the chest, which can also radiate into the left arm. Furthermore, an unpleasant feeling of pressure in the chest area may have preceded this. Very often a so-called pain of destruction is reported by the patients, which can be accompanied by sweating.
A fulminant heart attack is also always accompanied by a feeling of mortal fear. Relatively often a painful radiation into the left arm is also indicated. About half of all patients report a painful pulling into the arm or jaw as part of the development of a heart attack. You can find more information on this topic here: Symptoms of a myocardial infarction
Cause of arm pain in heart attack
Today, almost everyone knows that a radiating pain in the left arm can be related to heart involvement in the sense of an angina pectoris attack (vasoconstriction of the heart) or a heart attack (vascular occlusion of the heart). And although in most cases of a left-sided pain radiating into the arm a muscular problem is present and leads to these complaints, the heart must always be examined as well in order not to miss a heart attack. An ECG must therefore be carried out in every case of such symptoms.
You can find more information here: Diagnosis of a heart attack In the event of a heart attack, one or more coronary arteries close and thus prevent the heart muscle from being adequately supplied with oxygen-rich blood. The chest pain typical of a heart attack is caused by this undersupply. The shortness of breath and the rapid pulse are usually caused by a reaction of the heart to the reduced oxygen supply.
(see also Cause of a heart attack)How pain radiates into the left arm has not yet been clarified with any certainty. It is assumed, however, that nerve tracts running in the area of the left arm are connected to nerves that also run in the area close to the heart. The pain in the left arm is therefore to be evaluated in terms of an unspecific transmission of the pain.
The reason why only the left arm and not the right arm is usually affected in a heart attack could be because the tip of the heart, which is otherwise located in the middle of the chest, points to the left, which can lead to pain being transmitted to the left half of the body. Pain in the left arm will disappear very quickly if treatment is initiated immediately, even in combination with the other complaints. Pain from a heart attack can be transmitted not only to the left arm, but also to the jaw, neck, back and even the upper abdomen.
If the patient has exposed his or her left arm to unusual movement or overstrained it a few days before the onset of pain, heart disease is also more unlikely to be the cause. In some cases, an inflammation of the tendon sheath of the forearm can also lead to a radiance up to the shoulder, which can also trigger a suspicion of a heart attack. It should be noted, however, that in almost all cases, the pain from tendosynovitis starts above the wrist and then moves upwards.
There are still numerous neurological causes that can lead to pain in the left arm. In general, however, the exact cause is rarely found. In any case, the so-called nerve conduction velocity would be measured as an examination method.
This is done to see how fast the nerve impulses cross certain nerve tracts.If there is a delay in the transmission of stimuli, there is usually a constriction or nerve damage in the area of the upper arm. Sometimes the constriction can also be in the elbow area. Nerve constriction syndromes can lead to pain radiating into the hand and shoulder, but also to numbness in the fingers of the affected hand.
Treatment is primarily conservative, i.e. through physiotherapy, but can also take the form of a surgical relief operation. Pain in the left arm, which can be intensified during movement, as well as other missing accompanying symptoms, indicate a more muscular cause for the pain or a problem that is present in the shoulder or upper arm joint. If the pain in the area of the left arm occurs after physical strain and exertion, but the sporting activity was to be carried out without further restrictions, this also indicates a cause in the area of the joint or muscles, in the sense of a sore muscle. Long-lasting pain in the area of the left shoulder, which does not increase in frequency and intensity, is most likely not caused by a heart attack. The age of the patient, whether he or she has had a heart attack or not, whether he or she has had heart problems in the past or in the family, and whether or not the patient suffers from any concomitant diseases should also be taken into account when deciding whether or not it was a heart attack.
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