Has chest pain ever convinced you that you are about to have a heart attack? Maybe your friends even called Bakersfield chest pain specialists and rushed you to an emergency room only for the healthcare professionals to disqualify the pain and ascertain that the ‘attack’ was actually a muscle strain. The sharp pain in your chest is not always easy to quantify. Though the pain might sometimes be a nuisance, in other instances, the cause can be life-threatening, forcing you to seek emergency medical help.

What are the crucial facts about chest pains?

You must have heard of an individual suffering from a heart attack complain of chest pains. The truth is, not all chest pains symbolize a heart attack in waiting. Some of the facts you should know about chest pains include:

• It may be angina

You are likely to have angina when the level of blood flowing to your heart muscles fails to meet your heart’s demand. Atherosclerosis (fatty plaque build-up) is a major contributing factor that lowers the amount of blood reaching your heart muscle. When your heart’s blood flow increases in your constricted arteries, you might experience angina symptoms. The signs you will likely have include pressure, tightness, squeezing, or a burning sensation in your chest. Angina can either be stable (during an activity or emotional stress) or unstable (at rest).

• A combination of heart conditions can contribute to your pain

Though complications with your coronary artery are the primary causes of chest pain, an expert cardiologist can affirm that you are likely to experience painful symptoms without a partial or complete blockage of the blood vessel.

Some of the heart conditions that may force you to have chest pains include:

Pericarditis– is an infection or an inflammation of the sac surrounding your heart. The condition may force the pain to radiate along your upper neck, traversing through your shoulder muscle. The pain mainly worsens when you lie on your back, swallow food or breathe.

Myocarditis– inflammation of your heart muscle that results in fatigue, fever, and difficulty breathing

Mitral valve prolapse– happens when your heart’s mitral valve fails to close efficiently.

Aortic dissection– a tear in your aorta that results in a tearing sensation in your back, abdomen, and neck

Coronary microvascular disease– a condition affecting the thin walls of your heart’s smallest arteries

• The pain could be resulting from other organs

Chest pains do not necessarily mean that they originate from your heart. Sometimes the pain may be coming from other organs found in your chest.

• Not all chest pains are heart attack symptoms

Not everyone suffering from a heart attack experiences chest pains. While you might feel that throbbing and crushing chest pain when you have a heart attack, another person may feel nothing.

• Do not hesitate with chest pains

Avoid waiting for your symptoms to resolve when you feel like the chest pains interfere with your everyday life. Contact professional help immediately to allow your doctor to determine your pain’s source to help relieve your symptoms and prevent severe health complications you might be facing.

Though chest pain might not necessarily mean you are about to have a heart attack, you must seek medical help when you experience persistent pressure in your chest. Schedule an appointment with your doctor to learn more about chest pains.  

Joyce Laroche