Introduction
The symptoms of internal diseases are very diverse and can affect the whole body. Therefore, it is important to have possible diagnoses from internal medicine in mind for all complaints. In the following you will find an overview of the most important symptoms of internal diseases, ordered by their organ of origin.
Symptoms of the heart
Chest pain is a common symptom, the frequency of which increases with age. It is a so-called “red flag” symptom of a heart attack, which is why it must always be excluded in patients with acute chest pain (usually by means of an ECG). Fortunately, in most cases, however, more harmless diseases of the spine, skeletal system or nerve symptoms are the cause of chest pain.
But psychological factors, such as stress or fear, can also trigger chest pain. You can find detailed information under Chest Pain. In medicine, the symptoms of palpitations are called tachycardia and are by definition present at a resting pulse rate of over 100 beats/min.
The organic cause of tachycardia is, of course, cardiac arrhythmia, in which, to put it simply, additional heartbeats are triggered by misdirected or excess impulses that increase the heart rate. But also diseases of the thyroid gland or the psyche, as well as alcohol and drug consumption can trigger tachycardia. You can find more detailed information under tachycardia and cardiac arrhythmia.
Patients who suffer from so-called extrasystoles usually complain of “heart stumbling”. These are additional heartbeats that occur “out of sequence”. They can be perceived by patients as irregular activity of the heart – after all, in the normal everyday situation you cannot feel the heart beating.
Heart stumbling frightens many patients, but often the cause is harmless. However, it should definitely be clarified by a doctor! You can find more detailed information under Extrasystole (Heart stumbling).
Symptoms of the lung
Coughing is a broad complex of symptoms, it is usually caused by an irritation of the respiratory tract. A distinction is made between dry cough (irritable cough) and the so-called productive cough, which involves coughing up mucus. Productive cough often occurs in the context of classic respiratory tract infections caused by viruses or bacteria.
However, it can also occur after many years of smoking as part of COPD. If a cough lasts longer than 3 weeks, it is called chronic cough. Shortness of breath is a very unspecific symptom, the cause of which can be many different diseases.
Acute shortness of breath is a warning symptom that must be taken seriously and can indicate serious illnesses such as a heart attack, pulmonary embolism or allergic shock. Breathlessness that lasts longer and only occurs during exertion is more likely to indicate a chronic illness, such as a heart failure (cardiac insufficiency). But of course, chronic lung diseases can also be the cause of breathing difficulties, for example bronchial asthma.
The lung tissue itself is not sensitive to pain, but the lung membrane (pleura), which is supplied by sensitive nerves. Pain in the lung therefore occurs when the lung membrane is also affected by a disease. For example, a persistent severe cough can irritate the lung membrane. However, infections can also spread to the lung skin and cause inflammation (pleuritis). You can find detailed information here: Lung Pain
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