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GURIEL-GALGADUD
Chest pain
Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull
ache. Sometimes chest pain feels crushing or burning. In certain cases,
the pain travels up the neck, into the jaw, and then radiates to the back
or down one or both arms.
Many different problems can cause chest pain. The most life-threatening
causes involve the heart or lungs. Because chest pain can indicate a
serious problem, it's important to seek immediate medical help.
Chest pain can cause many different sensations depending on what's
triggering the symptom. Often, the cause has nothing to do with your
heart — though there's no easy way to tell without seeing a doctor.
Heart-related chest pain
Although chest pain is often associated with heart disease, many people with heart
disease say they experience a vague discomfort that isn't necessarily identified as
pain. In general, chest discomfort related to a heart attack or another heart
problem may be described by or associated with one or more of the following:
Pressure, fullness, burning or tightness in your chest
Crushing or searing pain that radiates to your back, neck, jaw, shoulders, and one
or both arms
Pain that lasts more than a few minutes, gets worse with activity, goes away and
comes back, or varies in intensity
Shortness of breath
Cold sweats
Dizziness or weakness
Nausea or vomiting
Other types of chest pain
It can be difficult to distinguish heart-related chest pain from other types of chest
pain. However, chest pain that is less likely due to a heart problem is more often
associated with:
A sour taste or a sensation of food re-entering your mouth
Trouble swallowing
Pain that gets better or worse when you change your body position
Pain that intensifies when you breathe deeply or cough
Tenderness when you push on your chest
Pain that is persistently present for many hours.
Causes
Heart-related causes
Examples of heart-related causes of chest pain include:
Heart attack. A heart attack results from blocked blood flow, often from a blood clot, to
your heart muscle.
Angina. Angina is the term for chest pain caused by poor blood flow to the heart. This is
often caused by the buildup of thick plaques 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 (aorta). If the inner layers of this blood vessel separate, blood is forced between
the layers and can cause the aorta to rupture.
Pericarditis. This is the inflammation of the sac surrounding your heart. It usually causes
sharp pain that gets worse when you breathe in or when you lie 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 tube that connects your throat
to your stomach (esophagus).
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, including:
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 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 worsens when you inhale or cough.
Collapsed lung. The chest pain associated with a collapsed lung typically begins
suddenly and can last for hours, and is generally associated with shortness of
breath. A collapsed lung occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and
the ribs.
Pulmonary hypertension. This condition occurs when you have high blood
pressure in the arteries carrying blood to the lungs, which can produce chest pain.
Dyspnea
Shortness of breath (SOB), also known as dyspnea, is a feeling of not being able to breathe well
enough.
Dyspnea can happen as a result of overexertion, spending time at high altitude, or as a symptom of a
range of conditions.
Signs that a person is experiencing dyspnea include:
shortness of breath after exertion or due to a medical condition
feeling smothered or suffocated as a result of breathing difficulties
labored breathing
tightness in the chest
rapid, shallow breathing
heart palpitations
wheezing
coughing
If dyspnea occurs suddenly or if symptoms are severe, it may be a sign of a serious medical condition.
Causes
An episode of dyspnea is not always directly related to an individual’s health. A person can feel short of breath
after intense exercise, when traveling to a high altitude, or going through major temperature changes.
Dyspnea caused by medical conditions covers a wide range of health concerns. While they should all be
evaluated by a doctor, conditions that bring on sudden breathlessness should be treated as emergencies. These
include:
heart failure
low blood pressure
pneumonia
pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs)
carbon monoxide poisoning
stress or anxiety
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which covers emphysema and chronic bronchitis
interstitial lung disease (scarring of lung tissue)
poor physical conditioning
obesity
heart disease
Functional classes
Degree of dyspnea
grades