Symptom

Chest Pain

Overview | Possible Causes | Care and Treatment | HOME REMEDies | When to Call the Doctor | References

Chest Pain

Overview

Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull ache. Sometimes chest pain feels crushing or burning. In certain cases, the pain travels up the neck, into the jaw, and then radiates to the back or down one or both arms.

Many different problems can cause chest pain. The most life-threatening causes involve the heart or lungs. Because chest pain can indicate a serious problem, it's important to seek immediate medical help.

Possible Causes

Chest pain has many possible causes, all of which need medical attention.

Heart-related causes

Examples of heart-related causes of chest pain include:

Heart attack. A heart attack results from blocked blood flow, often from a blood clot, to your heart muscle.
Angina. Angina is the term for chest pain caused by poor blood flow to the heart. This is often caused by the buildup of thick plaques on the inner walls of the arteries that carry blood to your heart. These plaques narrow the arteries and restrict the heart's blood supply, particularly during exertion.
Aortic dissection. This life-threatening condition involves the main artery leading from your heart (aorta). If the inner layers of this blood vessel separate, blood is forced between the layers and can cause the aorta to rupture.
Pericarditis. This is the inflammation of the sac surrounding your heart. It usually causes sharp pain that gets worse when you breathe in or when you lie down.

Digestive causes

Chest pain can be caused by disorders of the digestive system, including:

Heartburn. This painful, burning sensation behind your breastbone occurs when stomach acid washes up from your stomach into the tube that connects your throat to your stomach (esophagus).
Swallowing disorders. Disorders of the esophagus can make swallowing difficult and even painful.
Gallbladder or pancreas problems. Gallstones or inflammation of your gallbladder or pancreas can cause abdominal pain that radiates to your chest.

Muscle and bone causes

Some types of chest pain are associated with injuries and other problems affecting the structures that make up the chest wall, including:

Costochondritis. In this condition, the cartilage of your rib cage, particularly the cartilage that joins your ribs to your breastbone, becomes inflamed and painful.
Sore muscles. Chronic pain syndromes, such as fibromyalgia, can produce persistent muscle-related chest pain.
Injured ribs. A bruised or broken rib can cause chest pain.

Lung-related causes

Many lung disorders can cause chest pain, including:

Pulmonary embolism. This occurs when a blood clot becomes lodged in a lung (pulmonary) artery, blocking blood flow to lung tissue.
Pleurisy. If the membrane that covers your lungs becomes inflamed, it can cause chest pain that worsens when you inhale or cough.
Collapsed lung. The chest pain associated with a collapsed lung typically begins suddenly and can last for hours, and is generally associated with shortness of breath. A collapsed lung occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and the ribs.
Pulmonary hypertension. This condition occurs when you have high blood pressure in the arteries carrying blood to the lungs, which can produce chest pain.

Other causes

Chest pain can also be caused by:

Panic attack. If you have periods of intense fear accompanied by chest pain, a rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, profuse sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and a fear of dying, you may be experiencing a panic attack.
Shingles. Caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus, shingles can produce pain and a band of blisters from your back around to your chest wall.

Care & Treatment

Diagnosis

Chest pain doesn't always signal a heart attack. But that's what emergency room doctors will test for first because it's potentially the most immediate threat to your life. They may also check for life-threatening lung conditions — such as a collapsed lung or a clot in your lung.

Immediate tests

Some of the first tests your doctor may order include:

Electrocardiogram (ECG). This test records the electrical activity of your heart through electrodes attached to your skin. Because injured heart muscle doesn't conduct electrical impulses normally, the ECG may show that you have had or are having a heart attack.
Blood tests. Your doctor may order blood tests to check for increased levels of certain proteins or enzymes normally found in heart muscle. Damage to heart cells from a heart attack may allow these proteins or enzymes to leak, over a period of hours, into your blood.
Chest X-ray. An X-ray of your chest allows doctors to check the condition of your lungs and the size and shape of your heart and major blood vessels. A chest X-ray can also reveal lung problems such as pneumonia or a collapsed lung.
Computerized tomography (CT scan). CT scans can spot a blood clot in your lung (pulmonary embolism) or make sure you're not having aortic dissection.

Follow-up testing

Depending upon the results from these initial tests, you may need follow-up testing, which may include:

Echocardiogram. An echocardiogram uses sound waves to produce a video image of your heart in motion. A small device may be passed down your throat to obtain better views of different parts of your heart.
Computerized tomography (CT scan). Different types of CT scans can be used to check your heart arteries for blockages. A CT coronary angiogram can also be done with dye to check your heart and lung arteries for blockages and other problems.
Stress tests. These measure how your heart and blood vessels respond to exertion, which may indicate if your chest pain is heart-related. There are many kinds of stress tests. You may be asked to walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike while hooked up to an ECG. Or you may be given a drug intravenously to stimulate your heart in a way similar to exercise.
Coronary catheterization (angiogram). This test helps doctors identify individual arteries to your heart that may be narrowed or blocked. A liquid dye is injected into the arteries of your heart through a long, thin tube (catheter) that's fed through an artery, either through your wrist or your groin, to arteries in your heart. As the dye fills your arteries, they become visible on X-rays and video.

Treatment

Treatment varies depending on what's causing your chest pain.

Medications

Drugs used to treat some of the most common causes of chest pain include:

Artery relaxers. Nitroglycerin — usually taken as a tablet under the tongue — relaxes heart arteries, so blood can flow more easily through the narrowed spaces. Some blood pressure medicines also relax and widen blood vessels.
Aspirin. If doctors suspect that your chest pain is related to your heart, you'll likely be given aspirin.
Thrombolytic drugs. If you are having a heart attack, you may receive these clot-busting drugs. These work to dissolve the clot that is blocking blood from reaching your heart muscle.
Blood thinners. If you have a clot in an artery feeding your heart or lungs, you'll be given drugs that inhibit blood clotting to prevent the formation of more clots.
Acid-suppressing medications. If your chest pain is caused by stomach acid splashing into your esophagus, the doctor may suggest medications that reduce the amount of acid in your stomach.
Antidepressants. If you're experiencing panic attacks, your doctor may prescribe antidepressants to help control your symptoms. Psychological therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, also might be recommended.

Surgical and other procedures

Procedures to treat some of the most dangerous causes of chest pain include:

Angioplasty and stent placement. If your chest pain is caused by a blockage in an artery feeding your heart, your doctor will insert a catheter with a balloon on the end into a large blood vessel in your groin, and thread it up to the blockage. Your doctor will inflate the balloon tip to widen the artery, then deflate and remove the catheter. In most cases, a small wire mesh tube (stent) is placed on the outside of the balloon tip of the catheter. When expanded, the stent locks into place to keep the artery open.
Bypass surgery. During this procedure, surgeons take a blood vessel from another part of your body and use it to create an alternative route for blood to go around the blocked artery.
Dissection repair. You may need emergency surgery to repair an aortic dissection — a life-threatening condition in which the artery that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body ruptures.
Lung reinflation. If you have a collapsed lung, doctors may insert a tube in your chest to reinflate the lung.

Home Remedies

There are several things a person can try at home to help alleviate heart pain when it occurs and to prevent future occurrences.

The home remedies below should only be used when a person has been examined by a doctor and is certain that the chest pain is not caused by something serious, such as a heart attack.

1. Cold pack

A common cause of heart or chest pain is a muscle strain. In these cases, a person can have pain in the chest due to strain from exercise, other activities, or blunt trauma.

In any of these cases, icing the area with a cold pack is a widely accepted method to help reduce swelling and stop the pain.

2. Hot drinks

A hot drink may help to eliminate gas when a person’s pain is due to gas or bloating. The hot liquid can also help boost digestion.

Some drinks may be better than others in this respect. For example, hibiscus tea has been found to have several benefits beyond helping with bloating.

Hibiscus may also play a role in lowering blood pressure and reducing cholesterol. These added benefits may help prevent heart complications.

3. Aspirin

A person may want to take aspirin if they have chest pain. A pain reliever, such as aspirin, can help alleviate the heart pain associated with less severe cases.

4. Lie down

When heart pain strikes, lying down immediately with the head elevated above the body may bring some relief. A slightly upright position helps when the pain is due to reflux.

5. Ginger

Similarly to other herbs, ginger is believed to have anti-inflammatory effects. More importantly, ginger may help to ease stomach issues and prevent vomiting.

6. Turmeric milk

Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties that may alleviate pain symptoms in the chest.

Turmeric milk combines about a teaspoon of turmeric spice with a cup of warm milk. The mixture should be drunk before bed to help alleviate pain.

When to Call the Doctor

It may not be easy to tell the difference between this benign pain and more serious conditions. When in doubt, people should always seek medical attention.

A person must receive urgent medical care when: