GERD can cause chest pain that mimics a heart attack. Described as a squeezing pressure behind the breast bone, GERD-related chest pain can last for hours.
Typical features of heartburn include: A burning sensation in the chest that may also involve the upper abdomen. Usually occurs after eating or while lying down or bending over. May awaken you from sleep, especially if you have eaten within two hours of going to bed.
GERD-related chest pain can be squeezing or burning in nature, substernal in location, and may radiate to the back, neck, jaws, or arms. The pain may be worse after meals and wake the patient from sleep.
Physical trauma, costochondritis, and muscle strains are common causes of sternum pain. Conditions such as pneumonia, pleurisy and GERD can also cause pain in nearby tissue that people may mistake for sternum pain.
Sternum pain is usually caused by problems with the muscles and bones near the sternum and not the sternum itself. Pain felt just behind or below the sternum is called substernal pain and is sometimes caused by gastrointestinal problems. Some of the most common causes of sternum and substernal pain are: costochondritis.
The main symptoms are persistent heartburn and acid regurgitation. Some people have GERD without heartburn. Instead, they experience pain in the chest, hoarseness in the morning or trouble swallowing. You may feel like you have food stuck in your throat, or like you are choking or your throat is tight.
Reflux symptoms can also include a weird feeling in your throat, chest pain, and more.
Signs more typical of heartburn include: You have a sharp, burning feeling just below your breastbone or ribs. The chest pain can be accompanied by an acidic taste in your mouth, regurgitation of food, or a burning in your throat. Pain generally doesn't spread to your shoulders, neck, or arms, but it can.
Indigestion can cause acid reflux, which can cause pain in the esophagus just behind the breastbone. Due to the location of the pain, it is often mistaken for a heart attack. With acid reflux, symptoms may include pain that spreads up to the throat but not to the extremities.
Common signs and symptoms of GERD include: A burning sensation in your chest (heartburn), usually after eating, which might be worse at night or while lying down. Backwash (regurgitation) of food or sour liquid. Upper abdominal or chest pain.
You may have chest pain that feels sharp or stabbing, and chest pain/discomfort may spread to other parts of your body. If the inflammation in your heart muscle also affects the lining of the heart (pericardium), your chest pain may feel better when you lean forward, and worse when you lie back.
This can lead to damage as well as leave a lingering taste in the mouth as the acid creeps upward. Partnered with difficulty swallowing, coughing, and belching with GERD, many patients feel nauseated or experience vomiting. Indigestion has also been reported by some patients.
Causes Esophageal Ulcers
GERD is the leading cause of ulcers in the esophagus. They make it difficult to swallow, and give you chest pains and nausea. See Digestive Health Services about treatment for this painful condition.
In most people, noncardiac chest pain is actually related to a problem with their esophagus, most often gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Stress, anxiety and depression can also manifest as chronic chest pain.
While acid reflux will not usually be a direct cause of heart palpitations, it may lead to them indirectly. For instance, if a person with GERD feels stressed or anxious about their symptoms, this may lead to palpitations. Several factors may also trigger both acid reflux and heart palpitations.
If your chest pain is centered beneath your breastbone, gets worse with exertion, improves with rest or radiates to both arms, it is more likely to be angina. Chest pain that gets worse when lying down or bending over is more likely to be caused by GERD.
(GERD), caused by stomach acid splashing up into the esophagus, can cause a burning sensation or a tightness under the breastbone (sternum), which may resemble the pain of heart disease.
Symptoms of esophageal spasms include: Squeezing pain in your chest. The pain is often intense, and you might mistake it for heart pain, also known as angina. Difficulty swallowing solids and liquids, sometimes related to swallowing specific substances.
As the hernia enlarges and takes up more space, it can compress the arteries in the heart and lungs. This may cause a part of the lung to collapse, which can lead to the following: trouble breathing. an intense tightness in the chest.
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.
Costochondritis is inflammation where your ribs join the bone in the middle of your chest (breastbone). It can cause sharp chest pain, especially when moving or breathing. It usually gets better on its own over time.