Definition:
Chest pain is discomfort or pain that you feel anywhere along the front of your body between your neck and upper abdomen.
Alternative Names:
Chest tightness; Chest pressure; Chest discomfort
Considerations:
Many people with chest pain fear a heart attack. However, there are many possible causes of chest pain. Some causes are mildly inconvenient, while other causes are serious, even 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.
Common Causes:
Heart problems that can cause chest pain: Angina is a type of heart-related chest pain. This pain occurs because your heart is not getting enough blood and oxygen. The most common symptom is chest pain that occurs behind the breast bone or slightly to the left of it. It may feel like tightness, heavy pressure, squeezing, or crushing pain. The pain may spread to the arm, shoulder, jaw, or back. Heart attack pain can be similar to the pain of unstable angina, but more severe. Inflammation or infection in the tissue around the heart ( pericarditis) causes pain in the center part of the chest.
Lung problems that can cause chest pain: Pneumonia, which causes chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough A blood clot in the lung ( pulmonary embolism), collapse of a small area of the lung ( pneumothorax), or inflammation of the lining around the lung ( pleurisy) can cause chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough Asthma, which generally also causes shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing
Other causes of chest pain: - Strain or inflammation of the muscles and tendons between the ribs
- Inflammation where the ribs join the breast bone or sternum (costochondritis)
- Shingles (sharp, tingling pain on one side that stretches from the chest to the back)
- Anxiety and rapid breathing
Chest pain can also be related to the following digestive system problems: Stomach ulcer (burning pain occurs if your stomach is empty and feels better when you eat food) Gallbladder (pain often gets worse after a meal, especially a fatty meal)
In children, most chest pain is not caused by the heart.
References:
Brown JE, Hamilton GC. Chest Pain. In: Marx J, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2006:chap 19. Anderson JL, Adams CD, Antman EM, et al. ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina and Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee on the Management of Patients with Unstable Angina). Circulation. 2007;116:803-877. Cayley, Jr WE. Diagnosing the cause of chest pain. Am Fam Physician. 2005;72:2012-2021.
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