Is chest pain normal? No. Chest pain isn't normal. If you have chest pain, contact your healthcare provider or 911 right away.
Immediate action required: Phone 999 immediately if: You or someone else has symptoms like: central chest pain or discomfort in the chest that doesn't go away – it may feel like pressure, tightness or squeezing. pain that radiates down the left arm, or both arms, or to the neck, jaw, back or stomach.
Heart-related chest pain
Chest pain is often associated with heart disease. But many people with heart disease say they have a mild discomfort that they wouldn't really call pain. Chest discomfort due to a heart attack or another heart problem may feel like: Pressure, fullness, burning or tightness in the chest.
Noncardiac chest pain is defined as recurring pain in your chest — typically, behind your breast bone and near your heart — that is not related to your heart. In most people, noncardiac chest pain is actually related to a problem with their esophagus, most often gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Sometimes chest pain is just chest pain. Sometimes it's only a muscle strain, heartburn or bronchitis. More often than not there are benign reasons, but you should be evaluated by a healthcare professional if you're worried. Chest pain can signal a serious condition, heart-related or otherwise.
Lung issues, including infection (pneumonia) or a blood clot (pulmonary embolism) Muscle pain, such as inflammation or injury to the muscles in the chest wall. Other digestive issues, such as inflammation or spasms in the pancreas, gallbladder or esophagus. Panic attack, or very intense anxiety.
Oftentimes, it's an unrelenting intense pressure or heaviness and not a distinct pain.” If this feeling or any of these symptoms lasts longer than a few minutes, you should call 911 or your local emergency services and seek medical attention immediately.
Angina is also called angina pectoris. Angina pain is often described as squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness or pain in the chest. It may feel like a heavy weight lying on the chest. Angina may be a new pain that needs to be checked by a health care provider, or recurring pain that goes away with treatment.
When you're anxious, your brain sends a surge of adrenaline and cortisol through your body. These hormones immediately trigger a rapid rise in your heart rate and blood pressure. As a result, many people experience chest pain and sweating, or have a hard time breathing.
Share on Pinterest Chest pain that comes and goes might be due to a heart problem or respiratory or digestive issues. Pain in the chest that comes and goes may signal a problem with the heart, respiratory system, or digestion. Also, in some people, it occurs during panic attacks.
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint.
In general, though, anxiety chest pain may feel like: Tension, tightness, and pressure: You might experience a mild, constant tightness or a sudden, intense tightness in your chest. You may also feel like it's difficult to breathe or that your heart is beating out of your chest.
Catch the signs early
Pay attention to your body and call 911 if you experience: Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes – or it may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
Can chest pain go away on its own? Depending on the underlying condition that is causing your chest pain, it is possible that it may go away on its own. The more serious the underlying causes of chest pain are, the more likely they will keep coming back.
Chest pain on the left side is often due to muscular injury, but it can also indicate a heart attack, a lung problem, or inflammation of the lining around a person's heart.
Chest pain is frightening and must be taken seriously. So know this: If you are having severe discomfort in the chest—especially if the chest pain is radiating to your neck, jaw or arms—and it's accompanied by shortness of breath, dizziness and sweating, call 911 immediately.
A: Not necessarily. While some heart attacks do feature classic symptoms like chest and arm pain, the idea that they all do is FALSE.
You may have a perfectly normal ECG, yet still have a heart condition. If your test is normal but your doctor suspects that you have a heart problem, he may recommend that you have another ECG, or a different type of test to find out for sure.
Heart pain may radiate to the left arm or neck. If your pain is on your right side, a heart attack is unlikely. Heart attack pain may start with chest pressure that comes and goes, sometimes with exertion. If the pain becomes continuous, seek medical attention immediately and consider calling 911.
It's a symptom of an underlying heart problem, usually coronary heart disease (CHD), also known as coronary artery disease (CAD).There are many types of angina, including stable, unstable, microvascular, and angina caused by a spasm in the coronary arteries (vasospastic or variant).
Electrocardiogram (EKG) checks for the possibility of a heart attack. Certain EKG patterns are associated with variant angina and unstable angina. These patterns may indicate serious heart disease or prior heart damage as a cause of angina.