Chest pain. The first thing you may think of is heart
attack. Certainly chest pain is not something to
ignore. But you should know that it has many
possible causes. Chest pain may also be caused by
problems in your lungs,esophagus , muscles, ribs, or
nerves, for example. Some of these conditions are
serious and life threatening.
You may feel chest pain anywhere from your neck
to your upper abdomen. Depending on its cause,
chest pain may be:
Sharp, dull, burning, aching, stabbing a tight,
squeezing, or crushing sensation
Chest pain has many possible causes, all of which
deserve medical attention.
Heart-related causes
Examples of heart-related causes of chest pain
include:
Heart attack. A heart attack is a result of a blood
clot that's blocking blood flow to your heart
muscle.
Angina. Thick plaques can gradually build up on the
inner walls of the arteries that carry blood to your
heart. These plaques narrow the arteries and
restrict the heart's blood supply, particularly during
exertion.
Aortic dissection. This life-threatening condition
involves the main artery leading from your heart —
your aorta. If the inner layers of this blood vessel
separate, blood will be forced between the layers
and can cause the aorta to rupture.
Pericarditis. This condition, an inflammation of the
sac surrounding your heart, usually causes sharp
pain that gets worse when you breathe in or when
you lay down.
Digestive causes
Chest pain can be caused by disorders of the
digestive system, including:
Heartburn. This painful, burning sensation behind
your breastbone occurs when stomach acid washes
up from your stomach into the esophagus — the
tube that connects your throat to your stomach.
Swallowing disorders. Disorders of the esophagus
can make swallowing difficult and even painful.
Gallbladder or pancreas problems. Gallstones or
inflammation of your gallbladder or pancreas can
cause abdominal pain that radiates to your chest.
Muscle and bone causes
Some types of chest pain are associated with
injuries and other problems affecting the structures
that make up the chest wall. Examples include:
Costochondritis. In this condition, the cartilage of
your rib cage, particularly the cartilage that joins
your ribs to your breastbone, becomes inflamed and
painful.
Sore muscles. Chronic pain syndromes, such as
fibromyalgia, can produce persistent muscle-related
chest pain.
Injured ribs. A bruised or broken rib can cause
chest pain.
Lung-related causes
Many lung disorders can cause chest pain,
including:
Pulmonary embolism. This cause of chest pain
occurs when a blood clot becomes lodged in a lung
(pulmonary) artery, blocking blood flow to lung
tissue.
Pleurisy. If the membrane that covers your lungs
becomes inflamed, it can cause chest pain that's
made worse when you inhale or cough.
Collapsed lung. The chest pain associated with a
collapsed lung typically begins suddenly and can
last for hours. A collapsed lung occurs when air
leaks into the space between the lung and the ribs.
Pulmonary hypertension. High blood pressure in the
arteries carrying blood to the lungs (pulmonary
hypertension) also can produce chest pain.
Other causes
Chest pain can also be caused by:
Panic attack. If you have periods of intense fear
accompanied by chest pain, rapid heartbeat, rapid
breathing, profuse sweating, shortness of breath,
nausea, dizziness and a fear of dying, you may be
experiencing a panic attack.
Shingles. Caused by a reactivation of the
chickenpox virus, shingles can produce pain and a
band of blisters from your back around to your
chest wall.
If you have unexplained chest pain, the only way to
confirm its cause is to have a doctor evaluate you.
