Index
- Lyme disease and heart disease: what is the relationship?
- Definition of Lyme disease
- These main symptoms
- Cardiac damage in case of Lyme disease
- How can you tell the difference between Lyme disease and heart disease?
Lyme disease and heart disease: what is the relationship?
Among the progressive diseases that are quite difficult to detect, Lyme disease is necessarily at the top of the list. Caused by infected ticks, this health disorder can affect anyone. However, people living in tick infested areas, such as near forests, are most at risk. If not treated in time, Lyme disease can lead to heart problems. How can we determine if the heart problems are caused by this disease? The answer in the following paragraphs.
Definition of Lyme disease
It is a disease that is transmitted to humans through the bite of ticks infected with the bacterium called Borrelia. By the way, Lyme disease is also called "Lyme disease". The bacterium in question affects the whole body through the bloodstream. Most of the time, this disease is difficult to diagnose because the tick bite often goes unnoticed. Also, some of the symptoms it causes may be similar to other disorders and diseases. For example, this is the case with the cardiovascular system.
As far as individuals and risk factors for this disease are concerned, they are as follows:
- People living in wooded areas or wetlands that may be infested with ticks
- People who spend time near tick-contaminated areas. This is the case of forest rangers or cattle breeders and farmers
- Hikers and hunters
These main symptoms
Multi-systemic, Lyme Borreliosis can affect several organs and parts of the body. In any case, it manifests itself in a progressive and silent way that the patient may not notice the symptoms. As a result, doctors may have difficulty making a diagnosis. Lyme disease progresses in several stages that can last up to a few years. During this time, various symptoms follow one another and become more or less severe as time passes. The incubation period for this infectious disease lasts between 3 and 32 days. During this period, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease can be found in all body fluids. Then comes the three phases of the disease.
- The primary phase - this is the so-called "localized" phase. At this stage, the incubation period has just ended and skin lesions are visible at the site of the tick bite. These lesions are erythema migrans.
- Secondary phase - Most of the time, the primary phase of Lyme disease goes unnoticed. Therefore, after several weeks or months without treatment, the secondary phase begins. It is the spread of the erythema to different parts of the body. Neurological and cardiac damage may also occur.
- The tertiary phase - after months or even years of evolution, the third phase of Lyme disease occurs. It is mainly marked by neurological and joint damage.
The treatment of Lyme disease is mainly antibiotic therapy, which lasts between two and three weeks. However, in severe cases, hospitalization is required.
Cardiac damage in case of Lyme disease
During the second phase of Lyme disease, heart damage may occur. Most often, at this stage, the disease is multi-systemic and multi-organic. In any case, the heart is one of the first organs to be affected. The bacteria responsible for the disease reach all cardiac structures. As a result, blood circulation disorders and dysfunction of the heart occur. Tissue damage is also noticeable and the conduction system, endocardium, myocardium and blood vessels are all damaged by the bacterial infection.
Heart disease in Lyme disease is characterized by a number of symptoms:
- Palpitations are the most common manifestation
- Chest pains
- Shortness of breath
- Syncope
- And in very serious cases, the patient may suffer sudden death
Among the rarest cardiac complications of this infectious disease are fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.
How can you tell the difference between Lyme disease and heart disease?
Heart damage related to Lyme disease can be difficult to pinpoint. It can even be confused with other heart conditions, leading medical professionals to avoid Lyme disease as a diagnosis.
Indeed, cardiovascular disease itself and Lyme disease all cause heart problems and blood circulation dysfunctions. In fact, their symptoms are very similar, such as cold sweats, palpitations, chest pain, difficulty breathing or heart failure. In order to avoid misdiagnosis, it is important to differentiate between their causes.
Cardiovascular diseases, which can be described as "classic", are mainly caused by clogged arteries and blood vessels, their loss of elasticity or their hardening. Lyme carditis is mainly caused by Borrelia infection.
