Chest Pain
CHEST PAIN
Chest Pain Overview
If you are having severe pain, crushing, squeezing, or pressure in your chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or if the pain moves into your neck, left shoulder, arm, or jaw, go immediately to a hospital emergency department.
Chest pain is one of the most frightening symptoms a person can have. It is sometimes difficult even for a doctor or other medical professional to tell what is causing chest pain and whether it is life-threatening. * Any part of the chest can be the cause of the pain including the heart, lungs, esophagus, muscle, bone, and skin. * Because of the complex nerve distribution in the body, chest pain may actually originate from another part of the body. * The stomach or other organs in the belly (abdomen), for example, can cause chest pain.
Potentially life-threatening causes of chest pain are as follows:
Causes of Chest Pain 1. Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction): A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the arteries that supply the heart (coronary arteries) becomes blocked. With decreased blood flow, the muscle of the heart does not receive enough oxygen. This can cause damage, deterioration, and death of the heart muscle. 2. Angina: Angina is chest pain related to an imbalance between the oxygen demand of the heart and the amount of oxygen delivered via the blood. It is caused by blockage or narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. Angina is different from a heart attack in that the arteries are not completely blocked, and it causes little or no permanent damage to the heart. "Stable" angina occurs repetitively and predictably while exercising and goes away with rest. "Unstable" angina results in unusual and unpredictable pain not relieved totally by rest, or pain that actually occurs at rest. 3. Aortic dissection: The aorta is the main artery that supplies blood to the vital organs of the body, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and intestines.
Chest Pain Overview
If you are having severe pain, crushing, squeezing, or pressure in your chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or if the pain moves into your neck, left shoulder, arm, or jaw, go immediately to a hospital emergency department.
Chest pain is one of the most frightening symptoms a person can have. It is sometimes difficult even for a doctor or other medical professional to tell what is causing chest pain and whether it is life-threatening. * Any part of the chest can be the cause of the pain including the heart, lungs, esophagus, muscle, bone, and skin. * Because of the complex nerve distribution in the body, chest pain may actually originate from another part of the body. * The stomach or other organs in the belly (abdomen), for example, can cause chest pain.
Potentially life-threatening causes of chest pain are as follows:
Causes of Chest Pain 1. Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction): A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the arteries that supply the heart (coronary arteries) becomes blocked. With decreased blood flow, the muscle of the heart does not receive enough oxygen. This can cause damage, deterioration, and death of the heart muscle. 2. Angina: Angina is chest pain related to an imbalance between the oxygen demand of the heart and the amount of oxygen delivered via the blood. It is caused by blockage or narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. Angina is different from a heart attack in that the arteries are not completely blocked, and it causes little or no permanent damage to the heart. "Stable" angina occurs repetitively and predictably while exercising and goes away with rest. "Unstable" angina results in unusual and unpredictable pain not relieved totally by rest, or pain that actually occurs at rest. 3. Aortic dissection: The aorta is the main artery that supplies blood to the vital organs of the body, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and intestines.