Chest pain

Chest pain is  commonly considered as the warning of heart problems. Most of the people believe that chest pain is the clear sign of heart attack. In some ways, it is true. It is strongly recommended to visit a medical emergency room in case one feel chest pain. There are other reasons too for this pain. We will talk about them in our article.

Contents :

• Chest pain.
• Causes of  pain.
• Symptoms of chest pain.
• Other symptoms of pain, not related to heart problems;
• Chest pain diagnosing.
• Chest pain treatment.

Chest pain :

Chest pain and Angina are different  conditions. Angina is chest pain or discomfort that keeps coming back. It happens when some part of our heart does not get enough blood and oxygen. Angina is a symptom of coronary artery disease. This occurs when arteries that carry blood to our heart become narrowed and blocked because of atherosclerosis or a blood clot. If  you  feel  a pain pressing, squeezing or crushing pain under your breastbone or short breathing , consider it as Angina . If these symptoms occur when you are walking, then stop walking . Sit down and let the symptoms go away. It is recommended to consult a doctor immediately.

If you have Angina, and like to be safe from it, do the following:

• Manage your high blood pressure.
• Quit cigarettes smoking.
• Try to reduce your high blood cholesterol levels. For more information about cholesterol, pl. read our article ” Let us know our cholesterol-part 1 “
• Eat less saturated fat.
• Exercise regularly.
• Maintain your weight.

On the other hand, chest pain is different in duration, quality  ,intensity and location. It is considered as a serious heart related problem. We will discuss it in details.

Causes of chest pain:

The pain is usually considered as the alarming sign of heart attack. There are many  other  less serious conditions that cause this pain. We will talk about them in detail . They are:

Heart related causes:

• Heart attack.
• Angina.
• Myocarditis (Inflammation of the heart muscles).
• Pericarditis (Inflammation of the sac around the heart
• Cardiomyopathy ( A disease of the heart muscle ).
• Aortic dissection ( A rare condition which involve a tear of the Aorta  that comes off of the heart, (The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. This artery is responsible for transporting oxygen rich blood from our heart to the rest of our body. The aorta begins at the left ventricle of the heart, extending upward into the chest to form an arch

Anatomy of heart.

Lung related causes.

• Pneumonia – The chest pain get worse while breathing.
• A blood clot- causes a sharp pain while breathing.
• Viral bronchitis – can cause soreness around chest and muscle ache.
• Bronchospasm – It causes chest tightness. It commo0nly occur in people with asthma and related disorders.

Gastrointestinal causes:

• Acid reflux or heartburn. especially after eating.
• Gallstones  causes upper abdominal pain or pain after eating.
• Inflammation of gallbladder or pancreas.
• Swallowing , due to disorder of the esophagus . The esophagus, historically also spelled esophagus, is a tubular, elongated organ of the digestive system which connects the pharynx to the stomach. The esophagus is the organ that food travels through to reach the stomach for further digestion.

Muscle or bone related causes.

• Compression fractures causes pressure on a nerve.
• Broken ribs due to an injury to chest.
• Sore muscles.

Symptoms of chest pain:

Heart related symptoms;

Chest pain is a common symptom of heart problem . Beside that, some other symptoms can occur like :

• Back pain or arm pain.
• Chest pressure or tightness.
• Fatigue,
• Dizziness.
• Abdominal pain.
• Lightheadedness.
• Nausea.
• Pain during exertion.

Other symptoms of  pain, not related to heart problems.

• Aches.
• A sour or acidic taste in mouth.
• Back pain that effects the front of chest.
• Cough.
• Chills.
• Feelings of panic.
• Hyperventilation.
• Fever.
• Difficulty to swallow.
• A pain after eating.
• A pain which is better or worse, upon  your body position.
• A pain become worse when you breath or cough.
• Runny nose.

Chest pain diagnosing.

It is strongly recommended to consult a doctor if your  pain is new, unexplained or it lasts some months. Share your medical history , symptoms , treatments and other medical conditions with your doctor. It will help the doctor to prescribe most suitable treatment of your pain. Your doctor will ask you the following test to find out the medications that will provide you relief from chest pain :

• • A chest x-ray.
  • Blood test.
  • ECG or EKG.
  • Echo test.
  • Stress test.
  • MRI.
  • Angiography.

Chest Pain treatment.

Upon examining above tests, the doctor can treat your pain with medication, surgery, noninvasive procedures ( Noninvasive procedures do not involve tools that break the skin or physically enter the body. Examples include x-rays, a standard eye exam, CT scan, MRI, ECG, and Holter monitoring. Noninvasive devices include hearing aids, external splints, and casts) or a combination of these methods. Doctor will start treatment on the causes of pain as under:

Heart related causes:

• Medications —-Doctor may suggest  you to take Nitroglycerin and other medications which open partially closed arteries. Blood thinners and clot busting drugs are also useful.
• Use of balloons or stents to open blocked arteries.
• Artery bypass grafting .

Other causes ;

• Lung reinflation for a collapsed lung. Doctor may insert a chest tube or related device.
• Anti anxiety medication. To treat panic attacks.

Be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions. Take the prescribed medication on time. Tell your doctor if something goes wrong during treatment.

source : healthline.com

Last words;

Health is wealth. Try to keep yourself healthy and strong. Be happy all the times. Try to help others as much as you can . I always pray to All-Mighty Allah to bless every body with happiness and success.