The cardiologist explained why sleeping on the left side does not harm the heart

Many people with cardiovascular disease think sleeping on their left side is bad for a heart condition. But this is an unreasonable misconception, said cardiologist Anna Korenevich, writes sb.by.

Anna Korenevich explained why the heart cannot be pinched in a dream:

The heart is located deep in the chest. It is surrounded on all sides by lung tissue and pleura, protected by a heart bag - a pericardium with shock-absorbing fluid, and outside - a powerful frame of ribs, muscles and ligaments. To damage the heart from the outside, you need a serious injury: a fall from a height, a blow with a heavy object. A direct blow to the chest - as in a boxing match - is unlikely to cause harm. During sleep, no matter on which side you lie, the heart cannot be damaged.

However, people with heart problems are often uncomfortable sleeping on their left side - they instinctively choose a posture where there is less discomfort, added Anna Korenevich:

- But the cause is often not in the heart, but in the spine. With age, mobility decreases, muscle-nerve spasms appear. Discomfort is more often felt on the left – perhaps because most people are right-handed and the right side of the body is better “loaded”, and the left lags behind, physiological asymmetry occurs. Plus the psychological factor: we know that the heart is shifted to the left, and we fix our attention to any trouble from this side.

Anna Korenevich also explained how to distinguish heart pain from non-heart pain:

- Non-heart pain: constant, aching or stabbing, localized on the left, changes from body position. Heart pain (heart attack, angina pectoris): spilled, often in the middle of the chest, sometimes more on the right, does not depend on the posture - on which side you lie down, the pain does not change. A special case is heart failure. Patients with severe heart failure sleep half-sitting, on several pillows, with legs lowered. This is a forced posture: it is easier to breathe, because fluid accumulates in the lungs, and in an elevated position it shifts lower.

The doctor clarified that you can sleep as comfortably - on the left side, right, back or stomach. On the side where it is easier to breathe and does not hurt the spine. To damage the heart or worsen its work in a dream will not work.

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