Chest Pains.
Chest Pain is one symptom which frightens the patient and puts his physician on high alert. You may have Left chest pain, chest pain on right side or Back chest pain. The alert antenna goes up! A Sharp Chest Pain without a precedent can be even more frightening.
This is because the chest pain causes can be very serious and accordingly the patient is put through a serious of tests to rule out these serious causes. However, not all causes of chest pain are serious.
Causes of Chest Pain.
Testing for chest pain includes ICCU monitoring, pathology, radiology, ECG, Echo, etc. However, there are other chest pain causes and not all of them are serious. Let us see what are those various causes of chest pain.
Cause of Chest Pain.
The cause of chest pain could belong to the various systems and we will take them up, system wise.
A) Cardiovascular system. (relating to the heart and the blood vessels)
B) Pulmonary system. (relating to the lungs)
C) Digestive system
D) The Bony system
E) The muscular system
F) The Skin
A) The Cardiovascular Causes of Chest Pain:
- Angina causes left chest pain and is a result of deficient blood supply to the heart due to narrowing of the lumen of an artery supplying blood to the heart and results in pain in the chest which may radiate to the left shoulder and arm, or the neck, or it may radiate to the back. Sometimes the pain may be felt only at the back when the ischemia (deficient blood supply) is at the inferior wall of the heart. This and the pain of heart attack is what is commonly referred to as Heart Pain.
- Heart attack. ( Myocardial infarct). The nature of chest pain and the causes are similar to those of angina except that the severity is more in an heart attack. This is because, in an heart attack, the extent of obstruction is more and the blockage can even be absolute. This can be Life threatening.
Image of Myocardial infarct
- Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium which is the sac covering the heart. There may also be collection of fluid inside the sac. The pain here, is usually felt in the front and centre of the chest.
Image of pericarditis
Aortic tear or aneurysm of aorta: Aorta is the main artery in the body which starts from the heart. A tear in the wall of the aorta causes a severe sharp chest pain, which radiates to the back. Similarly an aneurysm of the aorta too causes chest pain. This is Life threatening.
Image of Aortic Anneurysm
B) The Pulmonary Causes of Chest Pain:
- Pulmonary Embolism is a blockage of the pulmonary artery in the lungs due to an embolus which is basically a clot which has migrated from elsewhere. There is sharp Chest Pain which is severe and sudden. —- Life threatening.
Image of pulmonary embolism.
- Pneumonia is infection in part of the lungs. This causes chest pain when breathing, which increases on taking a deep breath.
- Pnemothorax is a collapse of a part of the lung and is due to introduction of air between the lung and pleura (Sac covering the lung). There is sharp chest pain which is severe and sudden. The seriousness depends upon the extent of the lung that is collapsed.
Image of Pneumothorax showing collapse of left lung.
- Pleurisy is inflammation of the pleura which is the sac covering the lungs. The sac may get filled with fluid.
C) The Digestive System Causes of Chest Pain:
- GERD or gastro esophageal reflux disease. This results in reflux of the acidic contents from the stomach into the esophagus giving rise to a burning sensation in the chest.
- Gastric ulcer pain can be referred to the chest. This pain is felt just after meals.
- Gall bladder pain due to stones or any other pathology is sometimes referred to the chest.
- Hiatus Hernia without GERD can also refer the pain to the chest.
Image showing Hiatus hernia
- Gaseous Distension of the stomach causes referred pain in the chest.
- Pancreas: Inflammation of the pancreas can cause referred pain in the chest.
- Achalasia is a condition wherein the sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach does not open to let the food pass into the stomach. The food therefore, backs up into the esophagus and the distended and stretched esophagus produces pain in the chest.
D) The Bony system Causes of Chest Pain:
- Costochondritis: This is a condition wherein a joint between the Ribs and the sternum (breast bone) gets inflamed. This chest pain increases on applying pressure on the site of pain with your fingers. (tenderness). The cause is not yet known and this condition subsides on its own.
E) The Muscular System Causes of Chest Pain:
Any inflammation or muscle tear or tendon tear, as a result of over straining of that part can result in this condition. The pain increases on movement of that part or may even show tenderness. In case of inflammation of the muscles between the ribs, a deep breath may aggravate the pain.
F) The Skin Causes of Chest Pain:
Any inflammatory condition like Herpes Zoster on the skin of the chest gives rise to sharp pain over the infected area which stretches from the front to the back. This condition is caused by a virus and gives rise to a rash which spreads from front to the back.
Your action step.
If you feel this article could be useful, do share it on social media and pass a comment below.
Medic On WebRelated posts:
