11/02/2022
What is chest pain?
Chest pain is pain in any area of your chest. You may feel the pain in your back, lungs, ribs, muscles or center of your chest. Chest pain can be sharp or dull. You may feel tightness, achiness, or you may feel like your chest is being crushed or squeezed. Chest pain is often intermittent (lasting for seconds, minutes to hours), but it can also be chronic, which means it lasts six months or longer.
What is angina?
Angina is a type of chest pain that happens when your heart is not getting enough oxygen-rich blood. Angina is a symptom of a heart problem. Angina can feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest. It can also cause discomfort in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw and back. Angina sometimes feels like indigestion.
What causes chest pain?
Although most people think of chest pain as a sign of a heart problem/heart attack, it can be caused by many things.
1. Heart and vascular problems
such as a heart attack, coronary artery disease (blockages in the blood vessels that carry blood to your heart), pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around your heart), aortic dissection (a tear in the wall of your aorta) or aortic aneurysm (a bulging section of your aorta).
2. Digestive problems
such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), an ulcer, gallstones, spasms in your esophagus, esophagitis, hiatal hernia or gastritis.
3. Lung problems
Such as a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in an artery inside your lung), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),Pneumonia, pleurisy or pleuritis (inflammation of the membrane around your lungs) or a pneumothorax (collapsed lung).
4. Musculoskeletal problems
Such as a broken rib or sprained chest muscle.
5. Cancer involving or effecting different structures in the chest.
6. Stress, anxiety or panic attacks.
What should I do if I have chest pain?
Do not ignore any type of chest pain or avoid getting treatment. If your chest pain goes away or comes and goes, see your healthcare provider as soon as possible to find out what is causing the pain, even if it is not severe.
If your chest pain is new, comes on suddenly, or lasts longer than five minutes after you rest or take medication, call for help or have someone take you to the closest emergency room.
How can I prevent chest pain?
You can reduce your risk of heart, vascular and other diseases by following a healthy lifestyle. This includes:
• A healthy diet. Your healthcare provider or registered dietitian can help you create an eating plan that is right for you.
• Managing health conditions you have, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
• Exercising most days of the week.
• Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink.
• Not smoking or using tobacco/nicotine products
