Health Tips

Many people with chest pain fear a heart attack. However, there are many possible causes of chest pain. Some causes are not dangerous to your health, while other causes are serious and, in some cases, life-threatening.

Any organ or tissue in your chest can be the source of pain, including your heart, lungs, esophagus, muscles, ribs, tendons, or nerves. Pain may also spread to the chest from the neck, abdomen, and back.

CAUSES

Heart or blood vessel problems that can cause chest pain:

Angina or a heart attack

• The most common symptom is chest pain that may feel like tightness, heavy pressure, squeezing, or crushing pain. The pain may spread to the arm, shoulder, jaw, or back.

Aortic dissection

• A tear in the wall of the aorta, the large blood vessel that takes blood from the heart to the rest of the body causes sudden, severe pain in the chest and upper back.

Pericarditis

• Swelling (inflammation) in the sac that surrounds the heart causes pain in the center part of the chest.

Lung problems that can cause chest pain:

 Pulmonary embolism

• A blood clot in the lung

Pneumothorax

• Collapse of the lung 

Pneumonia 

• causes a sharp chest pain that often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough.

Pleurisy

• Swelling of the lining around the lung can cause chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough.

Psychological causes :

Panic attack

• which often occurs with fast breathing.

Musculoskeletal causes:

Costochondritis

• Inflammation where the ribs join the breast bone or sternum

Neurological causes:

Shingles

• which causes sharp, tingling pain on one side that stretches from the chest to the back, and may cause a rash.

Chest pain can also be due to the following digestive system problems:

Spasms or narrowing of the esophagus 

• the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach

Gallstones 

• cause pain that gets worse after a meal (most often a fatty meal)

GERD

• Heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux

Stomach ulcer or gastritis

•  Burning pain occurs if your stomach is empty and feels better when you eat food

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References:

1.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321650.php&ved=2ahUKEwjCuIvtuNPlAhXJL48KHVs2ABAQFjACegQIDhAO&usg=AOvVaw3Gi1nD7KYnORsW71u5ExlE

2.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.healthline.com/health/causes-of-chest-pain&ved=2ahUKEwjCuIvtuNPlAhXJL48KHVs2ABAQFjANegQIBRAC&usg=AOvVaw1bmPQUS33bPFDM_98mJcd2

Images:

1.https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/heart-and-vascular-blog/2018/august/signs-of-a-heart-attack

2.https://www.verywellhealth.com/chest-pain-common-potential-causes-1745274

3.https://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/tobacco/reports-resources/sotc/by-the-numbers/9-of-the-worst-diseases-you.html

4.https://www.verywellmind.com/top-symptoms-of-panic-attacks-2584270

5.https://health.clevelandclinic.org/gastroparesis-a-mysterious-stomach-disorder-thats-on-the-rise-in-teenage-girls-and-women-in-their-20s/amp/

Written by

Dr Veronica Caroline Thomas