Chest Pain
There are many types of, and reasons for, chest pain. Chest pain may manifest as sharp and stabbing, dull and aching, or even burning or crushing. At times, chest pain radiates up into the neck, shoulder, back or jaw, or down the arms. While chest pain may be the result of many injuries or disease conditions, the most life-threatening conditions causing chest pain involve the lungs or the heart.
Causes of Chest Pain
Any chest pain should be medically evaluated, and many chest pains require medical, or even surgical, intervention.
Digestive Causes of Chest Pain
Some chest pain is caused by digestive problems of varying degrees of seriousness. These include:
- Heartburn or acid reflux
- Gas
- Swallowing disorders
- Disorders of the gallbladder or pancreas
Heart-Related Causes of Chest Pain
There are a variety of heart-related causes for chest pain, including:
- Heart Attack
- Angina
- Aortic dissection
- Pericarditis
Lung-Related Causes of Chest Pain
In many cases, chest pain is caused by conditions or diseases that affect the lungs. These include:
- Pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchitis
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Pulmonary embolism, a clot in the lung
- Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)
Other Causes of Chest Pain
There are numerous other causes of chest pain, some related to injuries and others to localized or systemic disease conditions. These include
- Costochondritis, inflammation of rib cage cartilage
- Bruised or broken ribs
- Sore muscles
- Chronic pain syndrome or fibromyalgia
- Shingles
While chest pain may not indicate a serious medical disorder, and is a common symptom of panic attacks, it is always best to be cautious and have any chest pain medically evaluated.
Symptoms
At times, the symptoms associated with chest pain are indicators of the pain's origin. Heart-related chest pain is more like to be described as crushing of burning, and is more likely to radiate to the jaw, neck, back, or shoulders and arms, particularly the left arm. Heart-related pain is also most often associated with shortness of breath, dizziness, cold sweats and nausea or vomiting. It may also be experienced as chest tightness and may vary in intensity.
Chest pain not related to the heart, on the other hand, may be associated with a sour taste in the mouth, regurgitation, trouble swallowing, improvement when the patient changes position, or tenderness when the chest in pushed on.
Diagnosis of Chest Pain
Medical evaluations of chest pain, which usually take place in an emergency room, test first for the most dangerous possibilities in order to rule out or treat life-threatening conditions as quickly as possible. Immediate tests usually performed to diagnose chest pain include:
- Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
- Chest X-ray
- Blood tests for enzymes
- CT scan
If the results of these immediate tests are inconclusive or require further exploration, follow-up tests may be administered, including tests for heart disease, such as echocardiogram, stress test, or angiogram, or tests to explore the possibility of injuries, other disease processes or digestive disorders.