Chest pain is often a common symptom that patients have during an emergency. chest pain can occur due to many reasons. In this blog we will discuss the chest pain causes, its types and some home remedies to get relieve of the pain
Chest pain can represent itself as a discomfort in the chest which may range from a dull ache to a sharp crushing pain or burning sensation. Chest pain can be throbbing and can be radiating in nature where the pain spreads to the neck, shoulder or back. Chest pain can occur due to many reasons including swallowing large bolus of food, or due to trauma, and others.
Chest pain is often a common symptom that patients come with an emergency. chest pain can occur due to many reasons and can vary in its nature such as-
- Quality
- Severity
- Duration
- Location
What Are the Reasons for Chest Pain?
There can be many reasons for you to have chest pain, mostly people worry that they have a heart disease whenever they get chest pain. Heart related problems can be One of the reasons to have chest pain but it can happen due to other reasons as well. Some are discussed below-
Chest Pain Due to Gastrointestinal Problems
- Due to acid reflux, heartburn can be felt, it happens in a disease called GERD (gastro oesophageal reflux disorder)
- Esophageal sphincter contraction relaxation disorder
- Disorders in Esophageal contraction
- Pancreas or gallbladder inflammation
- Disorders in oesophagus can cause difficulty in swallowing
- Stones like gallbladder stones
- Injury to soft tissues
- Infections in organs
Chest Pain Due to Issues Related to Bones or Muscles
- Problems in ribs
- Due to chronic muscle train
- Due to chronic pain syndromes
- Fractures
- Fractures leading to nerve damage
Chest Pain Due to Heart-Related Disorders/Diseases
- Heart muscle diseases, such as cardiomyopathy which can make your heart difficult to pump blood in the body.
- Any blockage in heart blood vessels causing angina pectoris
- Chest can be due to heart attack
- Inflammation of the cover of the heart (pericardium) causing pericarditis.
- Inflammation of the heart muscles (myocardium) causing myocarditis
- Tearing of the main vessel coming from the heart, the aorta, is a rare condition known as aortic dissection can also cause chest pain.
Heart Pain Due to Problems Related to Lungs
- Pulmonary embolism- blockage in the pulmonary arteries due to blood clots.
- Bronchospasm- lack of air flowing in the lungs due to tightening of the muscles lining bronchi, narrowing airways.
- Acute bronchitis- viral inflammatory condition representing flu and cold like symptoms .
- Pneumonia- it is an infection of lungs with inflammation of air sacs. The fluid filled air sacs doesn't allow enough air to come in which leads to difficulty in breathing
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)- it is a combination of two diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis is a long term mucus cough. And emphysema is deteriorating lungs.
- Pneumothorax- when air leaks in the space present between the heart and the lungs which in turn makes the lungs collapse.
Other Reasons Causing Chest Pain
- Getting anxious
- During panic attacks
- Health problems like shingles
- While having palpitations
- While having pain in the chest or back
- While having tingling sensations in the body
- When Feeling dizzy
- Having shortened breath
What Are the Types of Chest Pain?
- Stent pain - pain in the middle or left side of the chest might be felt after having a stent placed. A stent is often placed to open the narrowed arteries
- GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disorder)- discomfort or burning sensation can be felt in the chest while you get acid reflux. Acid reflux is when the content of the stomach comes up the oesophagus in the mouth.
- Angina - when a certain part of heart muscles are not getting enough oxygenation or oxygen rich blood, it can lead to angina. The reduced blood flow to heart muscle can be due to narrowing of the blood vessels coming to the heart. Narrowing can happen due to fatty deposits on arterial walls. This causes angina.
- Pain in the right side of chest- it can be when you take a lot of stress, due to heartburn, muscle straining or other reasons. Right side chest pain is comparatively not serious as compared to left side chest pain.
- Pain in the left side of the chest- pain in the left side chest can be indicative of some serious problems. I may happen due to heart attack, inflammatory condition of heart, or other problems of the heart
- Heart attack- when cholesterol gets deposited in the vessels of the heart (coronary arteries), it causes blockage in the blood flowing to the heart which leads to damage to the heart muscles.
- Pulmonary embolism- it is caused due to blockage in the pulmonary vessels which may happen due to blood clot formation in the blood flow. The blockage can be the cause of chest pain.
- Pericarditis- the inflammation of the covering of the heart, known as pericardium is known as pericarditis. The pericardium is the covering of the heart that protects the heart from over expanding. Only severe cases of pericarditis need doctors intervention, the mild cases get resolved by themselves. Pericarditis pain can be sharp and stabbing which may cause heavy breathing as well.
- Pleuritic chest pain- Pleuritis is a condition when the pleura becomes inflamed or infected. The pleura is the covering of the lungs, it is a thin layer. In pleuritis or pleurisy, the pleura becomes inflamed, irritated and swollen which may cause sharp chest pain while breathing, sneezing or even while coughing.
How to Diagnose Chest Pain?
For heart-related problems
For Lungs related problems
- MRI scan
- CT scan
- PET scan
- USG
- Blood tests
- Physical examination
Other General Measures
- Blood tests
- Physical examination
- Checking for symptoms like dehydration, loose motions etc.
- Taking proper medical history
Home Remedies For Chest Pain
There are certain non serious conditions that can be treated at home although severe chest pains should not be ignored at all and medical help and advice should be taken. Some of the home remedies are-
- To prevent primarily, you should take a healthy diet
- Changing lifestyle habits like quitting smoking and drinking
- In acid reflux cases, almond milk can help neutralise the acid
- While having chest pain, you should die on a bed on your back and relax.
- Garlic with milk can also help relieve chest pain in certain cases.
- Blood pressure and cholesterol levels can be regulated by taking fenugreek seeds.
- In acid reflux cases, apple cider vinegar can also help.
- Turmeric has its antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties,drinking turmeric milk can also help.
- Heart rate can be stabilised by drinking aloe vera juice which helps reduce chest pain.
- Drinking hot drinks can help in gas problem elimination.
Conclusion
Chest pain can be very irritating and can potentially hamper your daily schedule as well. Often it is related to some serious health conditions. Getting diagnosed timely and not ignoring the signs can help improve the prognosis. So get a professional consultation timely to keep going on tension free.
