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Archive for the ‘Pain Chest’ Category

It’s the middle of the night or maybe the beginning of a busy workday when you suddenly feel pain in your chest. You try to ignore it at first, but your chest pain has you scared and worried. Could you be having a heart attack? Should you go to the emergency room?

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons people call for emergency medical help. Every year emergency room doctors evaluate and treat millions of people for chest pain.

Fortunately, chest pain doesn’t always signal a heart attack. Often chest pain is unrelated to any heart problem. But even if the chest pain you experience has nothing to do with your cardiovascular system, the problem may still be important — and worth the time spent in an emergency room to have your chest pain evaluated.

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, occurs when a single of some-more regions of a heart flesh knowledge a serious or enlarged diminution in oxygen supply caused by shut off red blood upsurge to a heart muscle.

The blockage is mostly a outcome of atherosclerosis – a buildup of plaque, well known as cholesterol, alternative greasy substances, as wThe cause of a heart attack is a blood clot that forms within the plaque-obstructed area.

If the blood as well as oxygen supply is cut off exceedingly or for a prolonged duration of time, muscle cells of the heart suffer severe and devastating damage and die. The result is damage or death to the area of the heart that became affected by reduced blood supply.

When you have heart attack, call your doctor or call Emergency Center immediately.

The characteristics of pain chest vary depending on what may be the cause. Pain chest symptoms may include:

Cardiac causes

Heart attack. A heart attack can cause pressure, fullness or a crushing pain in your chest that lasts more than a few minutes. The pain may radiate to your back, neck, jaw, shoulders and arms, especially your left arm. Other signs and symptoms may include shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness and nausea. All, some or none of these may accompany your pain chest.

Angina. Restricted blood flow to your heart can cause recurrent episodes of pain chest — angina pectoris, or angina. Angina (pronounced an-JI-nuh or AN-juh-nuh) is often described as a pressure or tightness in the chest. It’s usually brought on by physical or emotional stress. The pain usually goes away within minutes after you stop the stressful activity.

Pericarditis. Inflammation of the sac surrounding your heart (pericarditis) causes sharp, piercing and centralized pain chest. You may also have a fever and feel sick.

Aortic dissection. In this condition, the inner layers of the main artery leading from your heart (aorta) separate, forcing blood between them. Symptoms are sudden and tearing chest and back pain.

Coronary artery spasm. Coronary spasm can cause varying degrees of chest discomfort. In coronary spasm, arteries that supply blood to your heart go into spasm, temporarily closing down blood flow to your heart. It can occur with activity or at rest. A spasm may even wake you from sleep.

Noncardiac causes

Heartburn. Heartburn is a painful, burning sensation behind your breastbone (sternum). Often this feeling is accompanied by a sour taste and the sensation of food re-entering your mouth (regurgitation). Heartburn-related pain chest usually follows a meal and may last for hours. Signs and symptoms occur more frequently when you bend forward at the waist or lie down. Pain can also occur when you swallow.

Panic attack. Symptoms of a panic attack include intense fear accompanied by pain chest, rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing (hyperventilation), profuse sweating and shortness of breath.

Pleurisy. Symptoms of pleurisy, an inflammation of the membrane that lines your chest cavity, include sharp, localized pain chest that’s made worse when you inhale or cough.

Costochondritis. In this condition, the cartilage of your rib cage becomes inflamed. The pain from costochondritis may occur suddenly and be intense, leading you to assume you’re having a heart attack. Yet the location of the pain is different. Costochondritis causes your chest to hurt when you push on your sternum or on the ribs near your sternum. Heart attack pain is usually more widespread, and the chest wall usually isn’t tender.

Pulmonary embolism. This condition involves blockage of a lung artery. Symptoms can include sudden, sharp pain chest that begins or worsens with a deep breath or cough. Other symptoms can include shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, anxiety and faintness.

Sore muscles. Muscle-related pain chest tends to come on when you twist side to side or when you raise your arms, and can occur in conditions such as fibromyalgia.

Injured ribs or pinched nerves. Symptoms of a bruised rib, broken rib or a pinched nerve can be pain chest that tends to be localized and sharp.

Espophageal spasms. This disorder of the esophagus, the tube that runs from your throat to your stomach, can make swallowing difficult and even painful. The muscles that normally move food down the esophagus are uncoordinated, resulting in painful muscle spasms.

Achalasia. In this swallowing disorder, the valve in the lower esophagus doesn’t open properly to allow food to enter your stomach. Instead, food backs up into your esophagus, causing pain.

Shingles. Symptoms of this reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox include pain and a band of blisters from your back around to your chest wall. The sharp, burning pain may begin several hours to a day or so before blisters appear.

Gallbladder or pancreas problems. Symptoms can include acute abdominal pain chest that radiates to your chest.