Causes of Chest Pain, Insights and Treatment
Sometimes chest pain can be caused by gas, indigestion, stress, muscle pain, etc, and sometimes it can also be triggered by lung, heart, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and other issues too., Among these, the heart and lungs are the most life-threatening. Hence, it is very important to understand the causes of chest pain, which helps you to figure out whether you need medical attention or not.
Chest pain which experienced by every person once in their life. The pain can be harmless and can be too serious, which needs medical attention immediately. It can be a sharp, dull ache; moreover, some people might experience chest pain as a burning, squeezing, or crushing feeling on their chest. It can be life, middle, or right side of your chest.
Causes of chest pain
When you get chest pain, the first thing that strikes you is a heart attack, but other problems also cause chest pain. The causes of chest pain are:
1. Heart causes
- Heart attack: The most typical sign of cardiac arrest, when the blood flow to the arteries is blocked, causing irreversible damage to the cardiac muscles.
- Angina: Plaque buildup in the blood vessels leading to the heart, resulting in chest pain.
- Myocarditis: This is when the heart muscles are inflamed. This diminishes the capacity to circulate blood.
- Pericarditis: A swelling in the tissue surrounding the heart. It is similar to angina, except that the pain can be acute.
- Aortic dissection: a tear in your largest artery.
- Aortic stenosis: This condition occurs when the heart valve obstructs blood flow.
2. Lung causes:
- Pneumonia: An infection in the lungs that results in chest pain when breathing and coughing.
- Pulmonary Embolism: A blood clot in your lungs that can cause stabbing and sudden chest pain.
- Pneumothorax: Air leak between the lung walls and the chest, which is usually precipitated by a chest injury.
- Pleuritis: This happens due to bacteria or viral infection, which leads to an inflamed lining of the lungs and chest.
3. Gastrointestinal Causes:
- Gallbladder Disease: After eating heavy meals, you might experience sudden pain in your right lower chest area or right upper side of your abdomen. It’s like a mini heart attack.
- Acid Reflux: Can cause chest pain when stomach acid leaks into the esophagus.
- Esophagitis: Inflamed food tube.
- Pancreatitis: If you have pain in the lower chest, then you may have pancreatitis
- Peptic Ulcers: You can have ulcers (sores) on the inside lining of the stomach and the upper part of the small intestine.
4. Musculoskeletal Causes:
- Rib Fracture: A fracture of a rib
- Muscle Strain: Damage to chest muscles.
- Costochondritis: Inflammation or swelling of the cartilage in the chest
Other causes of chest pain:
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Stress and depression
- Asthma
- Shingles, i.e., infection and rash
Treatment of Chest Pain
Treatment of chest pain depends on the underlying causes. If you are experiencing chest pain, then your doctor might recommend that you:
- Antibiotics and painkillers
- Anti-anxiety medicine
- If you have blocked arteries, then angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery can be recommended.
- Blood thinners
- Physical therapy or painkillers can be given for musculoskeletal causes.
- Antacid medicines can be given for inflammation and to relieve pain in your esophagus.
- Psychological counselling for anxiety-related chest pain
- Lifestyle changes like eating small meals, staying hydrated, exercising, sharing your thoughts with others, etc.
Chest pain can be serious or not. If it is not serious, then it can be cured on its own. But if it is persistent, then you might need a doctor. Like this, the treatment of chest pain depends on your situation only. If it is not too much, then the doctor may recommend medication and lifestyle-changing methods, but if the pain is more severe, then the doctor might recommend interventional cardiology like angioplasty, bypass surgery, etc.
After understanding the whole thing that if your chest pain persists, then it needs to be consulted or treated because many issues can cause it. Thus, it is important to understand the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of chest pain before it leads to any other condition. If you are looking for Chest Pain Treatment in Jaipur, then you should consult with an Interventional Cardiologist in Jaipur, Dr. Ankit Gupta, who provides advanced diagnostics and solutions for every cause of chest pain. He has extensive experience that helps you figure out whether your chest pain is serious or not.
