Chest Pain

Feelings of pain or pressure in the chest area could signal a problem as simple as indigestion or as serious as a heart attack. Pay attention to those signals. Learn the signs of a heart attack, and call 911 if you have them!

Some of the causes of chest pain include:

Heart Attack

A heart attack almost always causes chest pain. This pain may be mild or severe. Pain from a heart attack does not go away quickly. Rest and medications don't completely relieve the pain. An exception to chest pain is in some elderly women who may experience nausea rather than chest pain.

Angina

Angina is pain or a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest . Angina may feel like a heart attack, but it is different. Most angina attacks last between 5 and 15 minutes.

Heartburn

Heartburn can cause a burning pain behind your breastbone.

Muscle Pain

The muscles and other tissues in the chest wall can become quite painful from strains caused by exercise, a fall, or coughing. Called chest-wall pain, this type of chest pain usually feels worse when you press on the sore area.

Panic Attacks

Panic disorder can include symptoms such as chest-pain as well as heart palpitations (a fast, strong, or uneven heartbeat) and shortness of breath. Other symptoms of panic disorder can be anxiety and fear of suffocation or dying.

Ulcers and Gallbladder Disease

Ulcers and gallbladder disease can cause pain that spreads to the chest.

Pulmonary Embolism

A pulmonary embolism is a clot blocking the arteries from the heart to the lungs. Risk factors for pulmonary embolism are surgery within the past 6 weeks, wearing a cast, prolonged sitting during airplane and car travel, and conditions that confine you to bed. Symptoms include sudden shortness of breath, sudden chest pain that is worse when you breathe, and sometimes a bloody cough.

Self-Care Steps if You Think You Are Having a Heart Attack

• Know the signs of a heart attack. If you think you are having a heart attack, call 911 and chew an aspirin, if you are not allergic to aspirin or to other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medicines.

• To ease a muscle strain in the chest, take a pain reliever such as aspirin or acetaminophen. Apply heat and get rest.

Know the Signs of a Heart Attack

• Crushing, squeezing, burning feeling in the chest

• Feeling of pressure or pain in the chest

• Pain that spreads to the jaw, arms, neck, or back

• Chest pain that lasts longer than 15 minutes

• Rest or prescribed drug doesn't relieve pain

• Nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, sweating

• Chest pain while you are resting or that wakes you from sleep

• An accompanying feeling of extreme anxiety or impending doom