When experienced a chest pain people react in different ways. Some assume the worst, a heart attack. Others pay no attention to it thinking as a sign of tiredness.
There are many reasons for chest pain in between those two ends.
However, only a qualified person, a Medical Doctor can determine the cause for particular chest pain. Therefore, it is important not to panic fearing the worse and also ignoring it.
A Doctor after diagnosis would tell the type of ailment that caused the pain in the chest.
There have been cases of people dying ignoring that as some muscle pain or gastritis. At the same time, the illness may get aggravated if you panic.
The common belief that chest means the heart is not correct, because a pair of lungs is also in the chest. An ailment of lungs also can cause chest pain.
Let us look into serious and not so serious cases:
Chest pain or Myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction also called a heart attack, occurs when a part of the heart muscle does not receive enough blood flow. This is very serious. No blood flow means the muscle tissues would start dying.
This gives severe pain and feels like the chest is squeezing. The pain goes along the left side of the body and left arm and left jaw start aching. Feeling nausea and sweating are other symptoms of myocardial infarction.
Immediate medical attention is necessary for myocardial infarction patients.
If you are already taking treatments you may have chewable aspirin or other such medicines prescribed by the Doctor. If so take them immediately as the Doctor advised.
Keeping your cool is most important.
Myocardial infarction, though a fatal disease the Medical Science has developed medicines to cure. Medicines are available to clear blocked blood vessels. Doctors expand blood vessels with steins. Or they bypass the blocked vessel in a surgery. So, no need to panic.
Acute pericarditis
Pain in your chest that becomes worse when you lie down is a sign of Acute Pericarditis.
There is a thin sac around the heart with a small amount of clear fluid. In acute pericarditis this fluid gets infectious.
This could be due to viral, bacterial infections, parallel inflammatory conditions or due to an unexplained cause.
Sometimes strong medicine used to treat other ailments caused Acute Pericarditis.
Pneumonic thorax
The portion of the body that contained lungs and rib cage is called Thorax. Pneumonia is an irritating condition inside the lung affecting primarily the small air sacs known as alveoli.
Then the lungs cannot function properly. This may be due to an injury in the Thorax or a functional problem of the respiratory system.
When breathing the pain increases making inhaling very difficult.
Here the chest pain takes a different form, directed towards sides.
This needs immediate medical attention like the two conditions mentioned above.
Gastritis / Peptic ulcer disease
This is a common problem among all ages. The symptom of chest pain sometimes misunderstand as a heart attack but some people misunderstand heart attack as gastritis.
Gastritis is caused by inflammation in the stomach lining. Lining erosion leads to upper abdominal pain. This condition may cause bleeding, stomach ulcers, and stomach tumours.
Modern age lifestyle and diet play a huge role in causing this.
However, bacteria and some medications could be causing this too.
Have you heard of the name H. Pylori before? A bacterium named Helicobacter Pylori that can cause gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
Antacids that neutralise stomach acidity use to relieve the discomfort and pain. Antacids may not work for some after prolonged use. You may have to consult a Doctor for stronger varieties of Antacids.
Muscular chest pain
Only a doctor can decide about the cause of chest pain. If it is a muscular pain or a pain due to tiredness he would prescribe appropriate medication.
Above mentioned are a few possibilities of chest pain, nonetheless, there are many health-related causes that lead to chest pain.
We cannot decide our own about the cause without proper knowledge of the subject. So whenever you get a chest pain promptly consult a Doctor.