Contents
Stenosis is usually called any pathological narrowing of the tubular organs or blood vessels, including the openings of the heart.
Narrowing or stricture (congenital or acquired narrowing of the urethra), in the language of physicians, can be observed for a long time and does not go away on its own.
Reasons for the development of stenosis
The causes of stenosis are not only congenital anomalies, the disease can develop as a result of mechanical action (the so-called organic stenosis), when the vessels or hollow organs are compressed by the tumor, metabolic processes are disturbed. Stenosis can be a consequence of trauma and inflammatory diseases. Arterial stenosis is most often the result of thrombosis or atherosclerotic changes in the vessels; functional or inorganic stenosis develops as a result of smooth muscle spasm.
There are few differences between organic and inorganic stenoses, since functionally spastic processes sooner or later lead to an organic narrowing of the opening (pyloric stenosis, hypertension) precisely due to the hypertrophy of those elements that are involved in contraction and give elastic properties to the walls of organs or vessels (smooth muscles, elastic fibers ).
The degenerative form of stenosis develops mainly in the elderly, as a result of the natural aging of the body. The consequences of stenosis depend on the location, duration and nature of the process itself, leading to stenosis.
Signs and symptoms of stenosis
Signs and symptoms of stenosis are different and appear depending on which organ or vessels the structure develops in.
Arterial stenosis is often asymptomatic. It can cause short-term ischemic attacks in the form of unilateral impairment of vision, speech, and motor function. The attack usually lasts no more than 20 minutes and within an hour all signs of malaise disappear.
Stenosis of the larynx can develop in both acute and chronic forms. The acute form is characterized by a sudden onset with asthma attacks, more often in the dark. In the chronic form, it increases over a long period of time, the patient’s condition slowly worsens. Accompanied by wheezing, dry incessant cough. There is a hoarse voice, the skin is pale with a bluish tint.
Aortic stenosis in the early stages has no clinical manifestations, as the patient develops, fainting may occur, dizziness appears when bending over, standing up, and shortness of breath. Puffiness appears and in especially severe cases there are attacks of suffocation.
Mitral stenosis with a small degree does not have characteristic symptoms, with more pronounced signs, a blue nasolabial triangle and nail plates are observed. In addition, there are signs of heart failure. Mitral stenosis in most cases is a consequence of congenital malformation of the heart valve and is detected at a very early age, ideally in the first year of life.
Stenosis of the stomach and duodenum 12 is most often localized in the pylorus (the place where the stomach passes into the duodenum 12). It develops gradually, in 3 stages. Characteristic symptoms: sour taste in the mouth, belching, feeling of not digesting food. With a further increase in stenosis, there is a feeling of fullness of the stomach and vomiting after eating, which brings relief. Painful sensations occur even after taking a small amount of food. Over time, vomiting becomes more frequent and the patient is threatened with exhaustion.
Stenosis of the esophagus is accompanied by discomfort when eating hard food, vomiting, belching, heartburn.
Diagnosis of stenosis
Methods for diagnosing stenosis also depend on its location:
Arterial stenosis can be determined by listening to the carotid artery with a conventional stethoscope, as additional methods, ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography are used;
With stenosis of the aortic orifice, the diagnosis is made on the basis of an electrocardiogram, X-ray examination, cardiac catheterization;
Endoscopic diagnostic methods, such as X-ray, with contrast agents, esophagoscopy, gastroduodenoscopy, can detect stenosis of the esophagus and pylorus;
Excretory urography, radioisotope x-rays, kidney scans, and angiography with x-ray contrast agents are indicated for suspected renal artery stenosis;
To establish the diagnosis of “stenosis of the larynx” quite simple methods – auscultation (listening) and examination of the patient, as well as a thorough history taking.
Treatment of stenosis
In the vast majority of cases, the treatment of stenosis is carried out with the help of surgical intervention. Drug treatment is very rarely effective, mainly used for stenosis of the larynx and stenosis of the pylorus in the postoperative period.
In any case, at the slightest discomfort of the general condition of the body, it is best to seek qualified medical help.