Chest pain: Definitio, Causes, Consequences, Solutions

How can we define chest pain?

The chest pain may manifest in various ways, whether specific pain points, feeling of tightness or Heavy, a pain type "stabbing", etc.

They may extend from the neck to the sternum be diffused or localized.

Chest pain can have different origins but should lead to be consulting quickly. It can indeed be front-runners pain of myocardial infarction (heart attack), although there are many other possible causes.

What are the causes of chest pain?

There are many causes of chest pain, but the most worrying are the cardiac and pulmonary causes.

cardiac causes

Various heart conditions can lead to chest pain, which sometimes manifest as a slight feeling of tightness or discomfort.

Chest pain can also cause a violent crushing sensation that radiates to the neck, jaw, shoulders and arms (especially the left). It takes several minutes, and worsens during physical stress, decreases resting.

It may be accompanied by shortness of breath.

Chest pain can be caused by:

• a heart attack or myocardial infarction: the pain is intense, brutal and needs calling the emergency services quickly.

• what is called angina pectoris or angina, that is to say an insufficient blood irrigation from the heart. This bad irrigation is usually due to coronary artery disease, the vessels that bring blood to the heart (they get blocked). It is a chronic disease that can lead to heart attack. About 4% of adults with coronary artery disease. The chest pain is typically located behind the sternum, triggered by stress. It may radiate to the neck, jaw, shoulders or arms, locations that are sometimes isolated.

• dissection of the aorta, which corresponds to the blood inlet inside the wall of the aorta

• pericarditis, that is to say, an inflammation of the lining around the heart, pericardium, or myocarditis, inflammation of the heart itself

• hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (disease that leads the heart wall to thicken)

• other causes

Other causes of chest pain

• Other organs that the heart can be the cause of chest pain:

• pulmonary causes: pleurisy, pneumonia, abscess from lung, pulmonary embolism, etc.

• digestive causes gastroesophageal reflux (heartburn behind the sternum), diseases of the esophagus, gastric ulcers, pancreatitis ...

• muscle or bone pain (rib fracture, for example)

• anxiety and panic attacks

• other causes

What are the consequences of chest pain?

Everything depends on the cause of the chest pain. In all cases, in addition to being disagreeable, sensation generates stress because  chest pain are reminiscent of a heart disorder. To know the causes and reassurance, it is important to consult your doctor immediately.

In case of stable angina, the chest pain can limit physical activity and being anxiety. Medication and proper medical monitoring should help to limit the inconvenience associated with angina.

What are the solutions in case of chest pain?

Once the cause consulted by the doctor, aan ppropriate treatment will be offered.

In case of angina, for example, it is important to keep with you  all times a medication called nitro derivative (sublingual spray, tablets), to be taken as soon as the chest pain occurs.

The purpose of the stable angina treatment is to avoid the recurrence of "anginal attacks" (antianginal therapy) and to prevent disease progression (DMARD).

In all cases of chest pain, the matter to be cardiac, pulmonary or digestive, smoking must be stopped as quickly as possible.