Cervicogenic heart disease, do you have symptoms of palpitations?

In clinical practice, we can see many patients suffering from heart disease. They will have symptoms such as palpitations, heart pain, etc., but many people’s treatment has no special effect. At this time, they will be transferred to cervical heart disease and treated according to the treatment methods of spinal disease to get relief. So what exactly is cervicogenic heart disease?

Cervical spondylosis is a common disease among middle-aged and elderly people. It is caused by cervical disc degeneration and cervical bone hyperplasia. It is a syndrome with neck and shoulder pain radiating to the occipital area or upper limbs, headache, dizziness, numbness and pain in the upper limbs, and in severe cases, cramps in both lower limbs, difficulty walking, and even quadriplegia as the main manifestations.

In addition to the common symptoms mentioned above, cervical spondylosis can often affect the cardiovascular system and cause symptoms of heart disease, such as precordial pain, arrhythmia, chest tightness, palpitations, shortness of breath, etc. These cardiovascular diseases caused by cervical spondylosis are collectively referred to as "cervical heart disease" or "cervical heart syndrome."

Cervical heart disease is mainly caused by the sympathetic nerves, which are distributed from the cervical and thoracic vertebrae to the heart disease and affect the activity of the heart. When cervical vertebrae are diseased, they will compress the sympathetic nerves, thereby affecting the nerves that control the heart and causing heart disease, thus manifesting symptoms similar to coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Some patients will also experience heart disease symptoms such as tachycardia and bradycardia.

Although "cervicogenic heart disease" is often misdiagnosed as coronary heart disease. However, there is a difference between angina pectoris caused by cervicogenic heart disease and angina pectoris caused by coronary heart disease. It has nothing to do with increased workload or emotional excitement, and cannot be relieved by taking nitroglycerin drugs and calcium ion blockers. Instead, the increased burden on the cervical spine is often the cause of this type of angina pectoris, such as lying in the right position with a high pillow, maintaining an excessively tilted or lowered head posture for a long time, turning the head and neck to one side for a long time, and exposing the spine to cold, damp, sprained, or tiredness. It is worth noting that before diagnosing cervicogenic heart disease, heart disease must first be ruled out through electrocardiogram, coronary angiography and other examination methods.