Home>Articles>Why does your heart hurt after a hangover, and how to improve your health?
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- Why does my heart hurt after a hangover?
- Causes of heart pain from a hangover
- Medical intervention
- What to do in case of acute pain
- Prevention
People who drink alcohol may experience a faster heart rate. This means that the heart works under severe overload after drinking alcohol. A person may also experience shortness of breath after drinking heavily If the heart continues to work with increased load, this creates a danger that leads to disastrous consequences and even death.
Attention
If your heart hurts from a hangover or there is heaviness behind the sternum, then this can be not only core diseases, but also dysfunction of the pancreas - pancreatitis, inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract. The pain in them resembles pain behind the sternum.
Why does my heart hurt after a hangover?
Violation of the speed and force of contractions - tachycardia, is a common occurrence for alcohol addicts. If there are no health problems, then a one-time intake of an increased dose of alcohol will not cause an increase in heart rate in a person. If a hangover causes palpitations, he needs to be examined urgently. Perhaps a person has begun to experience pathogenic transformations in the myocardium, which do not manifest themselves until later and do not let the person know about the severity of the current situation.
If your heart suddenly hurts after a hangover and there is increased contraction of the heart muscle, then the person may experience pathological abnormalities.
- Disruption of the rhythm of vascular contraction. Ethanol, penetrating the body, quickly spreads through the bloodstream. It disrupts the rhythm of vascular contraction. The heart begins to work harder to send blood to the tissues and return it back, and this can cause disruption of its functioning.
- Avitaminosis. Alcohol addicts have a chronic deficiency of vitamins B, C, E, and they also lack magnesium and potassium. These vitamins and minerals allow the heart to function properly and stay healthy. If an ordinary person suffering from a deficiency of vitamins of this group takes a large dose of alcohol, he also develops a violation of heart contractions.
- Poisoning. Many people have had the opportunity to experience poisoning and a sharp deterioration in their health after a holiday or party. Tachycardia is a consequence of severe poisoning. After a detox, a healthy person forgets about pain in the heart area.
When pain is observed behind the sternum, it is worth measuring the pressure and checking the rhythm of heart contractions - myocardium per minute. If the thought persists: “My heart hurts because of a hangover, what should I do?”, then you need to pull yourself together and calm down. To normalize your health, you can take a sedative. You can use a weak herbal sedative. Potent tablets can only be taken after a doctor's prescription. Some medications are incompatible with alcohol and taking all the pills in a row will only harm your health. If you take a medicine that is not compatible with alcohol, it will only worsen the problem and increase the pain.
How to diagnose extrasystole?
To make an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct an ECG - this is the most informative indicator to identify cardiomyopathy. In addition, it is important to conduct an external examination of the patient, listen to his complaints, not forgetting that a common factor in the development of the disease is the abuse of alcoholic beverages.
Note! During the diagnostic process and when collecting anamnesis, it is worth remembering that it is extremely rare for a patient to admit that he drinks alcohol often, especially if he is not a chronic alcoholic and does not believe that he is abusing alcohol. Visually, the influence of alcohol may not be noticeable, but the internal consequences are already there. When collecting anamnesis, it is necessary to carefully compare the data obtained during the examination and from the patient with signs of extrasystole.
Why do perfectly healthy people have heart pain due to a hangover?
If a person experiences severe pain and a significant increase in rhythm after heavy libations, then it is necessary to urgently call a doctor. Such signs may precede the development of heart attacks, ischemia or strokes.
The rhythm disturbance is caused by ordinary dehydration and severe poisoning by the elements that occur when alcohol is broken down.
You should not think that arrhythmia and pain in the heart are normal symptoms of a hangover, like all people, and everything will soon go away on its own. If a deterioration in the condition of the heart is observed after each party with heavy libations, then it is necessary to go to the doctors and undergo a detailed medical examination to identify the pathological conditions that have arisen.
Features of alcoholic extrasystole
What is the relationship between extrasystole and alcohol? Alcoholic drinks are a common cause of heart problems. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a heart rhythm disorder that manifests itself as arrhythmia due to alcohol abuse. The provocateur of the disease is alcohol and breakdown products of ethyl alcohol.
Additional risk factors that can aggravate the situation: poor nutrition, reduced immunity, stressful situations.
Peculiarities of the influence of alcohol on the cardiovascular system: on the one hand, alcohol affects the heart through the nervous system, on the other hand, it directly has a destructive effect on tissues, damages cells, and disrupts metabolic processes in them. Result: tissues do not receive the required amount of oxygen. Alcohol also destroys coronary vessels.
Emergency medical intervention
A person will certainly need it after the holiday if he has:
- severe shortness of breath,
- exacerbation of any old diseases,
- panic attack,
- unreasonable fear of dying,
- lack of clarity of perception,
- sharp pain.
Such symptoms usually accompany acute heart disease. Dizziness and apnea (stopping breathing) may occur. Only a doctor can accurately determine the cause of the problem and find out why is observed . And only the doctor must prescribe medications and select the necessary therapy for each individual case.
How to treat extrasystole?
Features of treatment, as well as manifestations, directly depend on the form of pathology. If deviations from the norm come and go, but symptomatic treatment is prescribed, since cardiomyopathy has not yet developed. Goal: stabilize the patient’s health, normalize his well-being. It is very important that the patient does not drink alcohol under any circumstances. Alcohol is considered a basic risk factor in the development of the disease.
If we are talking about a chronic alcoholic, heart rhythm disturbances are observed against the background of neurogenic disorders. This requires mandatory drug treatment; sedatives are also suitable. Serious organic disorders not caused by alcohol also require urgent medical treatment.
In some cases, beta blockers, potassium and magnesium salts, and vitamin complexes are additionally used. Depending on the picture of the disease, a prognosis can be made. If the patient undergoes treatment and gives up alcohol, there is an improvement in general condition and recovery.
What if the disease is not treated? Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a serious heart disease that, if left untreated and without drinking alcohol, can be fatal. Compliance with the regimen is required, taking medications prescribed by a specialist.
The main prevention of the disease, in the absence of organic pathologies, is abstinence from drinking alcoholic beverages, a healthy lifestyle is the main method of protection against cardiomyopathy.
If after a hangover there is pain in the heart area. What to do
Uneven heartbeat and pressing pain in the sternum area may leave the patient after detoxification.
get a hangover or treat pain caused by drinking alcohol by drinking a therapeutic dose. The heart muscle receives an additional portion of poison. She continues to receive less oxygen and the ischemic processes in her are only intensifying.
In order to cleanse the body of poisons and toxins - consequences of the breakdown of ethanol, it is necessary:
- drink as much liquid as possible, ordinary mineral water at room temperature is suitable,
- take absorbents at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight,
- use rehydration solutions, receiving them orally or through infusion.
If, after consuming large doses of alcohol, severe pain and, for example, bradycardia are observed, then taking citrus juice, weak sweet tea, or an infusion of medicinal herbs, such as chamomile, will help stop the heartbeat. These liquids will help tone the heart muscle and will not harm the person. Citrus fruits contain large amounts of vitamin C, which increases endurance, and chamomile is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent that will calm and eliminate nervous tension.
Some people believe that a contrast shower will help eliminate agitation and moderate pain. But a contrast shower for such problems is extremely undesirable; it will only increase blood flow and make the heart work harder.
What to do to eliminate tachycardia and moderate pain?
You need to go for a long, quiet walk. If the weather outside is bad, then it is necessary to ventilate the room well to create a flow of oxygen to the heart muscle. If you manage to fall asleep, then in your sleep your condition will normalize faster. But few people manage to fall asleep with severe and severe pain and irregular heartbeat. You can drink weak tea with mint. It will calm the nerves and myocardium. The frequency and strength of your heartbeat will decrease.
Nitroglycerin is considered an excellent medicine for eliminating severe arrhythmia. To speed up the onset of its action and increase its strength, you need to wet the nitroglycerin with water and place it under the tongue in the form of a paste. The calculation must be carried out -70 kg body weight - 1 table. medicines.
Aromatherapy soothes and relieves pain. The aroma lamp can be filled with essential oils. May include:
- carnation,
- fir,
- Melissa,
- anise,
- lavender,
- cinnamon,
- eucalyptus
- and cedar, taken in equal shares.
When, after all the actions taken, there is no improvement, you need to urgently call an ambulance. Only a specialist can help in such a difficult case. The doctor will quickly take all necessary measures and administer emergency medications intramuscularly
The heart may hurt after a heavy libation not only because of the negative effects of acetaldehydes. Alcohol in this case is considered only an amplifier of the disease process and becomes a marker showing that a person is beginning to develop a serious illness.
What should the doctor find out?
- The specialist finds out all the factors and circumstances under which the manifestations of the disease intensify. What exactly causes arrhythmia?
- Find a connection between the characteristics of arrhythmia and physical activity.
- Does the intensity of symptoms change if you take medications?
- An important way to monitor heart function is daily monitoring.
What signs should tell the doctor that the patient has cardiomyopathy and extrasystole? The QRST complex or early appearance of the P scar, the P scar is absent before the extraordinary contraction of the heart muscle, there is a pause after the ventricular extrasystole.
To make a more accurate diagnosis when in doubt, you can use other methods :
- Bicycle ergometry is a diagnostic method that allows you to identify hidden coronary insufficiency during physical activity and changes in its intensity. As the name suggests, the equipment used is an analogue of an exercise bike.
- Treadmill test is a diagnostic technique for which a treadmill is used; during the test, a specialist evaluates how the heart muscle reacts to physical activity .
Will one drink do any harm?
American scientists warn that even small doses of alcohol increase the risk of arrhythmias, especially if you have already had them. In 2021, they conducted an experiment involving 100 elderly patients (average age 64 years) prone to periodic arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation).
Participants were given cardiac monitors to record ECGs, as well as skin sensors to measure ethanol levels in the blood. In addition, their blood was periodically taken for analysis. The experiment lasted 4 weeks.
More than half of the participants experienced arrhythmias during this time, and most often they were preceded by alcohol consumption:
- atrial fibrillation occurred twice as often after drinking 1 drink (a measure equal to 14 g of pure alcohol or 45 ml of vodka), compared with a sober state;
- and three times more often - after consuming 2 or more drinks;
- The risk of arrhythmia also increased with increasing blood alcohol concentration.
