Chest pain after smoking: what to do, how to get rid of the pain

Most people consider smoking to be the main cause of breathing problems and lung cancer. This is true, but smoking and the heart are also closely related, which is the main cause of heart disease.

So what happens to your heart when you smoke?

The main active component of smoking, which negatively affects the heart and blood vessels, is smoke, the main component of which is nicotine. Nicotine entering the circulatory system

, causes a sharp release of adrenaline - the “stress hormone”, due to which
the walls of blood vessels contract, blood pressure rises, and the heart rate increases by 20-25%.
Due to this, the muscle contracts faster and requires more oxygen.
Carbon monoxide, which is contained in cigarette smoke
, significantly
reduces the amount of oxygen supplied to the heart
and other internal organs, which leads to oxygen starvation, reducing the vital resource of the smoker’s heart.

Increased blood clotting

also occurs due to smoking.
This disease causes the formation of blood clots in the cavity of the heart and the lumens of blood vessels.
The detachment of a blood clot causes events such as cerebral stroke, myocardial or lung infarction.

How to relieve pain?

Much depends on the cause of the pain, which only a doctor can determine. Accordingly, if painful discomfort occurs, you should immediately consult a neurologist.

, because the problem may be serious (for example, a stomach ulcer or breast cancer). What to do before consulting a specialist? Eliminate the source of pain - quit smoking. If you have already quit, but the pain remains, you need, again, to consult a doctor to find out why this is happening, whether the discomfort is associated with detoxification of the body or with any disease. It is not recommended to take painkillers, as they will provide temporary relief and, unless prescribed by a doctor, can cause even more harm and interfere with an accurate diagnosis.

How to deal with it

To cope with the problem and get rid of it forever, you need to quit smoking. It is definitely worth reducing the overall load on the heart muscle. Under no circumstances should you run, lift weights, or spend a lot of time in the gym.

Many patients complain that their heart periodically hurts; what to do about it, the doctor will tell you. It is worth making an appointment with a cardiologist and undergoing a series of diagnostic measures. If the doctor insists on taking a number of medications, nitroglycerin, for example, you should follow these recommendations.

How much nicotine is in cigarettes

The range of lethal dose of the substance is from 50 to 100 mg. Recalling the drop of nicotine that killed the horse, toxicologists note that 2-3 drops are enough for a person. A person can get this amount of alkaloid from 1.5 packs of cigarettes.

How much nicotine is contained in 1 cigarette? The tobacco industry produces products of various strengths. The amount of nicotine in them ranges from 0.3 mg to 1.26 mg. For example, one Parliament cigarette can “supply” a smoker with 0.5 mg of nicotine, and a Marlboro “cancer stick” from a red pack can provide a smoker with 1.1 mg.

It is interesting that the strength of products in the line of one manufacturer can be determined solely as a subjective feeling. The filter of so-called light cigarettes has a larger number of perforations than their strong counterparts. This allows the smoker to draw in more air, due to which the concentration of nicotine and other toxic substances in the inhaled air becomes lower, and the taste is not so “rough”.

Another secret of “light” products: such products smolder on their own. The amount of tobacco gradually decreases, even if the person does not puff and just holds the cigarette in his hand.

The very idea of ​​grading cigarettes was associated with an attempt by tobacco corporations to retain consumers: smoking light products was presented as a process of giving up a bad habit. In fact, people increased their daily number of cigarettes because they believed they were getting less tar and nicotine. According to the WHO Framework Convention, the labeling “light” and “soft” on the package is prohibited.

Diagnostics

If you don't know which doctor to see, you can first visit a therapist

, who will give the first recommendations and referrals to other specialists. Patients with such problems are often recommended to undergo a full examination of all body systems, that is, to diagnose the functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory organs. What specific set of tests and examinations the doctor will prescribe depends on the causes and symptoms.

Properties of nicotine

What is nicotine? It is an alkaloid - an organic heterocyclic substance consisting of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. The group of compounds owes its name to its slightly alkaline chemical properties. Most alkaloids have an effect on the nervous system, among those. What people hear most are caffeine, cocaine, morphine.

According to its physical and organoleptic properties, nicotine is a bitter oily liquid. At certain temperatures it easily mixes with water, their densities are almost the same - about 1 g/cm3.

Nicotine dissolves well in environments with low polarity. This causes its rapid absorption through the skin and the blood-brain barrier. At high pH values, it easily penetrates through mucous membranes.

Where is nicotine found? The alkaloid is isolated from the shoots of plants of the nightshade family (tobacco, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes). The concentration in tobacco is maximum – up to 14%. Nicotine is synthesized in plant roots, transported and accumulated in leaves. In the human body and warm-blooded animals, the compound breaks down to form safe metabolites.

What effect does smoking have after cardiac stenting?

Cholesterol plaques narrow or completely block blood vessels, which leads to impaired blood circulation. As a result, tissue death of internal organs, stroke or myocardial infarction is possible. These complications can be prevented with stenting.

Stenting is a low-traumatic surgical intervention that involves eliminating the cause of vascular narrowing and installing small synthetic tubes in the “injured” area where the vessel was narrowed or blocked.

The functioning of this tube may be impaired if a blood clot appears. To avoid this catastrophe, the patient takes medications to stop the formation of blood clots.

Doctors are categorical: patients are obliged to give up bad habits after this operation.

Tobacco smoking has a particularly bad effect on the health of these patients:

• Helps with blood thickening and the appearance of blood clots and cholesterol plaques that can clog blood vessels and tubes
• Vasoconstriction caused by smoking may contribute to rupture at the site where the stent was placed;
• Causes an increase in blood pressure, which has a bad effect on damaged blood vessels;
• Helps the appearance of arrhythmia, which disrupts blood circulation in the body and increases the load on blood vessels.

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What happens in the body

If a person has ever had a heartache from smoking, he will not confuse this feeling with anything. To understand how to deal with such a problem, you need to understand what is currently happening in the body. When inhaling tobacco smoke, the smoker experiences a pleasant sensation. Slight dizziness, feeling completely relaxed. But the smoke itself has the most negative effect on all systems and functions in the body. This impact is characterized by a cumulative form. That is, the result of long-term smoking is not immediately noticeable. Patients often wonder whether tobacco smoke can cause heart pain. The answer is yes.

When smoking, many harmful substances enter the body. These are tars that settle in the lungs, and nicotine, which itself is a poison. Carbon monoxide, even in very minimal quantities, enters the bloodstream and combines with hemoglobin, forming carboxyhemoglobin. It enters the heart muscle instead of oxygen. This often causes discomfort and nausea.

The heart works harder during and after smoking. The vessels narrow, and fatty plaques can form on the walls inside them. This is how atherosclerosis develops. When wondering why your heart hurts, you just need to figure out what processes occur inside the body during smoking.

Treatment

Treatment is prescribed based on what led to the pain. The first thing you need to do is stop smoking, and also follow the course of treatment and recovery that the doctor will select and prescribe. As rehabilitation after refusal and to alleviate symptoms, the patient is given the following recommendations (in the absence of contraindications to them):

• physical activity (start with small and light loads): long walks, gentle jogging, swimming, etc.;
• breathing exercises;
• sauna, inhalations, as well as trips to the coniferous forest;
• diet;
• drink plenty of water (ordinary clean or mineral water).

Please note that treatment and cleansing of the lungs will not take a day or a week, but, depending on the complexity of the case, from several months to a year.

Why experts do not advise smoking with arrhythmia

Arrhythmia of the heart muscle occurs due to the following factors:

• Reaction to stress factors, nerves, fear - the release of adrenaline “spurs” the heart muscle, which suddenly begins to contract faster;
• Lack of fluid - in the heat or after a long marathon, the body is dehydrated and tries to speed up the circulation of moisture to compensate for its lack;
• Sports stress – during active sports, the heart rate increases;
• Gluttony - blood constantly rushes to the stomach, so the body tries to maintain standard blood circulation due to an increased heart rate;
• Stimulants (alcoholic drinks, caffeine, energy drinks, drugs);
• Tobacco smoking – due to stimulation of the body by nicotine;
• The woman is pregnant.

Nicotine meets receptor

The effect of nicotine on the body is realized through communication with nicotinic cholinergic receptors (or N-cholinergic receptors) and partially with adrenergic receptors.

The autonomic nervous system is responsible for the autonomous functioning of internal organs. It consists of 2 parts - sympathetic and parasympathetic. The work of biologically active substances occurs at the level of synapses - places of contact between neurons and neurons or organ cells. Each of them consists of a presynaptic. postsynaptic membranes of cells and the gap between them.

The transmission of impulses in the parasympathetic department is carried out due to the mediator acetylcholine. When it interacts with the presynaptic membrane of the receptor:

• pupils constrict;
• blood pressure decreases;
• heart rate decreases;
• peripheral blood vessels dilate;
• muscle fibers of internal organs contract;
• The secretion of sweat, bronchial, digestive, and lacrimal glands increases.

But the work of acetylcholine is not limited only to the parasympathetic system. The mediator also “puts his hand” to the sympathetic department. By connecting to a receptor on the presynaptic membrane, it has an effect reminiscent of adrenaline. Namely:

• heart rate increases;
• blood pressure increases;
• the concentration of glucose in the blood increases;
• fat breakdown is activated;
• appetite decreases.

Nicotine has a similar structure to the important C-loop of the acetylcholine molecule, but the connection of the alkaloid with the cholinergic receptor is stronger. Chemists claim that its molecule ideally replaces acetylcholine in all parts of the autonomic nervous system. The effect of nicotine on the human body is almost identical and consists of its effect on receptors in various tissues.