Chest pain from behind the heart

Do you feel pain or discomfort in your chest, what to do about it? The decision may need to be taken in a hurry, say, in the middle of the night, with the inaccessibility of instant medical advice. Before discussing various possibilities, let me suggest the main rule that you should never forget: any adult who experiences sudden discomfort in the chest should assume that it is connected to the heart , and behave appropriately. If it turns out that this is a false alarm, you have not lost anything. But if it really is the heart, you could have saved your life! You will later read how heart pain usually manifests itself. But there are so many options, and the stakes are so high that if you're not 100% sure what's going on, you better take care. Call a doctor immediately or contact the nearest hospital. Remember, a heart attack is not always accompanied by pain. More often patients feel heaviness, squeezing, lack of air. Many cores on the questions: "Does it hurt in your chest?" Answer - "No". More typical are such answers as "something is wrong", "presses", "breathing is short", often equivalent to a certain "yes"!

Recommended actions after a sudden onset of an unfamiliar chest symptom :

• If you are 15 to 16 years old, it is unlikely that your pain or chest tightness is associated with coronary disease, and you do not need to call for an ambulance.
• If you are a man and have reached 40, a quick medical consultation will be reasonable for any doubt on your part.
• But differently in women, because they are relatively resistant to heart disease before menopause - if they do not smoke, do not take birth control pills, do not suffer from diabetes or hypertension, have not undergone ovarian removal and do not have a very high level of cholesterol in their blood. For both sexes, the possibility that a symptom in the chest is associated with a disease of the heart arteries is increased if any of these risk factors are present.

Now, if your heart is not a source of anxiety, what else can it be? The breast is a very active place with various organs and nerves, each of which can cause symptoms simulating the symptoms of a heart attack :

• Among the possible candidates should be called lung ( pleurisy - inflammation of the pulmonary membrane, sometimes indicative of pneumonia, embolism - blockage of the blood clot of small vessels of the lungs, can be mistaken for a heart attack);
• Esophagus (any disorder when passing food into the stomach can give pain that can actually be indistinguishable from the heart);
• Diaphragmatic hernia (when the area of ​​the stomach slips into the thoracic cavity and the acidic contents of the stomach gives a burning sensation in the heart);
• Damage or disease of the ribs (less likely to be confused with heart pain, but nevertheless one must remember this);
• Irritation of the nerves (from their squeezing when exiting the spine);
• Spasm of the muscles of the chest;
• Gallbladder disease ;
• Arthritis of the vertebrae .

Here is a brief description of each of the various common causes of chest pain, they should be distinguished from one another.

Many people think that the heartache is sharp, dagger and appears on the left side of the chest. Typical pain with a heart attack is pressing. It is located mainly in the center of the chest, behind the sternum, from which it can irradiate to any shoulder, neck, arms and hands (more often, but not always, in the left shoulder, arm and hand), jaw or ears. If the blockage of the artery of the heart is complete, the symptoms do not disappear, even if you stopped the occupation that was absorbed before it. A tablet of nitroglycerin under the tongue can give relief for a few minutes, but then the pain returns. The patient is pale, weak, breathing with difficulty, becomes covered with a cold sweat and is usually very frightened. There may be coughing, palpitations and dizziness. When sitting, it becomes a little easier.

This is a description of a classic heart attack, but the picture can vary greatly, depending on your sensitivity to pain, the depth and the place of damage in the heart. In fact, the infarction can proceed "silently", the patient does not notice it and is able to survive it without treatment - or to die.

The thoracic toad is another condition of the heart that gives a chest pain similar to that described in the case of a heart attack: squeezing or difficulty breathing, often beginning in the middle of the chest with recoil then into the left shoulder, arm and hand. Thoracic toad less acute condition, usually not accompanied by weakness, sweating and, most importantly, short. An attack of chest pain is often caused by some unusual stress - physical (too rapid ascent to the hill, especially in cold or windy weather) or emotional (a heated argument, an exciting football match) and quickly disappears when the stress or stress ends. The frog usually reflects partial, rather than complete, coronary artery occlusion with arteriosclerosis, which in most cases causes a heart attack. Repeated and increasing attacks of the angina pectoris, especially when they occur at rest or at night, indicate an impending heart attack. Consult a doctor immediately!

The thoracic toad does not necessarily mean physical blockage of the artery. It can also indicate a temporary arterial spasm. This requires treatment, since prolonged spasm can also lead to a heart attack.

The heart can give another type of pain, due to a completely different disease associated with the bag that covers the heart - the pericardium. With its inflammation or viral infection, pericarditis occurs . His symptoms are similar to the symptoms of a heart attack, except that the pain intensifies when you take a deep breath. The only reliable way to distinguish these two very different diseases is a good external examination and an electrocardiogram. Never put this diagnosis yourself. Simple viral pericarditis usually proceeds favorably and requires only rest and aspirin. However, it can arise from more serious causes - a heart attack, a tumor, any diseases that have spread to the pericardium. Treatment will depend on the underlying cause.