Why Does My Chest Hurt? Types & Causes of Chest Pain
Sometimes or other we all experience chest pain, but if the pain lasts for more than a few minutes or feels sharp pressure in your chest, or pain moves into your neck, left shoulder, arm or jaw, it’s an emergency call to see your doctor immediately. Call for help to support anyone to move to hospital or doctor’s chamber.
Chest pain is indeed a frightening symptom and demand immediate medical attention. The cause of chest pain can’t immediately predict but surely a pain that lasts for more than 15 minutes can be life-threatening. Chest pain can be caused by other parts of the body proximity to the chest such as the heart, lungs, esophagus, muscle, bone, and skin close to the chest. Chest pain also sometimes originates from other parts of the body because of the complexity of nerve distribution. Sometimes stomach can also reason of chest pain, acidity, or severe problem of the stomach results chest pain.
Life Threatening Causes Of Chest Pain
Heart Attack – Acute Myocardial Infarction or common heart attack is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the coronary arteries that supply the heart. When the blood flow is lowered, oxygen supply gets reduced and that results damage, deterioration and death of the heart muscle.
Angina – The imbalance between oxygen consumption and delivery can cause angina, a chest pain that occurs because of blockage or narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart.
FYi
Drug abuse can also cause chest pain such as cocaine induces chest pain due to constriction of blood vessels in the body. This leads to decrease blood flow to the heart, causing chest pain. Cocaine also accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis, a risk factor for a heart attack. |
Aortic Dissection – Aorta is the artery, which carries pure blood to the different part of the body. Sometimes tear in the inner lining of the aorta causes internal bleeding and block the blood flow.
Pulmonary Embolism – When blood clot in the blood vessel that carry blood to the lungs then also can cause a life threatening effect and result severe chest pain.
Spontaneous Pneumothorax – When air enters the space between chest wall and the lung tissue, the pressure balance of lungs is lost and it can’t re-expand, as a result inappropriate supply of oxygen to the parts of the body.
Perforated Viscus – When the gastrointestinal tract sees a hole or tear, allowing air to enter the abdominal cavity and aggravates the diaphragm, and causes chest pain.
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Normal (not life threatening) Cause Of Chest Pain
Acute Pericarditis – The pericardium is the sac that covers the heart and when inflammation is caused in the sac, chest pain is felt by the person.
Pneumonia – Pneumonia is caused by the infection of the lung tissue. Chest pain occurs because of the inflammation of the lining of the lungs.
Acid Reflux Disease – Sometimes gastroesophegeal reflux disease can cause severe heartburn and it happens when acidic digestive juices flow backward from the stomach into the esophagus.
Costochondritis – The inflammation of the cartilage between ribs can cause pain in the mid-chest. The pain may increase with deep breaths, movement, and deep touch.
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