33 Causes of Chest Pain: Signs and Symptoms

Chest painis discomfort orpainanywhere from a person's neck to the upper part of the abdomen. The discomfort orpainmay be described as:

• Tightness
• Squeezing
• Crushing
• Tearing (or ripping)
• Stabbing
• Burning
• Aching
• Sharp
• Dull
• Palpitations(uneasiness or discomfort in chest because of a rapid heartbeat)
• Constant
• Intermittent

Chest painmay be caused by many different problems; although many people thinkchest painis due only to problems with theheart, this is not true.Chest painmay arise as a result of problems with any of the structures located between the neck and the upper part of the abdomen.

The following is a list of tissues and organs that when the disease is present may result in chestpain:

• 心
• Lungs
• Chest muscles
• Bones (ribs, sternum, and clavicles for example)
• Esophagus
• Nerves
• Stomach
• Pancreas
• Gastrointestinal tract
• Skin

Some causes of chestpainare medical emergencies (most heart problems, for example) and need to be evaluated immediately by medical caregivers. If you have chest pain and are unsure of the cause, seek medical attention immediately to have medical personnel evaluate you for the cause of your chest pain.

The following are 33 potential causes of chest pain stemming from all sorts of different conditions -- each discussed in detail in this article.

1. Coronary artery disease
2. Myocardial infarction
3. Viral infection of heart tissue
4. Myocarditis
5. 心palpitations
6. Gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)
7. Hiatal hernia
8. Rupture, perforation, or inflammation of theesophagus
9. Inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis)
10. Gallstones
11. Pancreatitis
12. Pancreatic duct blockage
13. Pancreatic cancer
14. Pulmonary embolism
15. Pulmonary hypertension
16. Pleurisy
17. Collapsed lung
18. Pneumonia
19. Trauma
20. Chest muscle overuse inflammation (as forcoughing)
21. Nerve paincaused bytraumadamage
22. Thenerve painfromshinglesor other infections causing damage
23. Ribfracture
24. Bone cancerin the ribs or sternum
25. Costochondritis
26. Anxiety
27. Panic attacks
28. Mentalstress
29. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)
30. Asthma
31. Diaphragminflammation
32. Mitral valve prolapse
33. COVID-19

心problems are a common cause of chest pain.Coronary artery diseasemay result in a reduced blood flow to the heart tissue. The sharp pain it can cause is termed心绞痛. This pain may spread to the left arm, both arms, shoulders, upper back, and even cause pain in the jaw. It may also cause pain in the back of the chest. Exercising, working hard, going up a flight of stairs or even emotionalstresscan trigger this chest pain. Another common cause of heart-related pain is amyocardial infarctionor “heart attack.” This is due to a significant reduction or complete blockage of blood flow to an area of the heart muscle. Myocardial infarction often causes crushing or squeezing pain and/ortightness in the chest; this heart problem is a medical emergency.

Other conditions may also cause heart muscle problems. In general, anything that causes the heart muscle to become inflamed (a viral infection of heart tissue, for example) can result inmyocarditis(damage to the heart muscle due to inflammation). This can result in discomfort orpalpitationsin the chest along withshortness of breath. Abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias) may result in regular or irregular heartbeats that can be too fast or slow. Fast heartbeats may result in palpitation symptoms, while slow heartbeats may result inweaknessand difficultybreathing. The major blood vessels that are connected to the heart can be damaged byweaknessor elevated pressure (hypertension) resulting in arterial dissection or tearing of the vessels. A person experiencing arterial dissection may have severe chest pain similar to that of myocardial infarction. This situation is also a medical emergency.

Some parts of the gastrointestinal tract lie between the neck and the upper abdomen. Problems with GI tract organs or organs or structures connected to the GI tract may causepain in the chestregion. The following problems may result in discomfort or pain that may be interpreted as chest pain:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD), resulting often in a burning pain
• Hiatalhernia(burning discomfort)
• Rupture, perforation, or inflammation of the esophagus, resulting in moderate to severe chest pain that increases withbreathing, swallowing, and/orvomiting
• Inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis),gallstones, or intermittent or complete bile duct blockage, resulting in intermittent or constant aching pain
• Pancreatitis, pancreatic duct blockage, orpancreatic cancer, producing relatively constant upper abdominal and/or lower chest pain that can radiate to the back and may increase when eating

Thelungsare a well-known source of chest pain when certain conditions are present. Some of the problems that cause chest pain include:

• Pulmonary embolism(ablood clotin a pulmonary artery can cause chest discomfort and/orshortness of breathwith pain that can be sharp, stabbing, burning, or aching)
• Pulmonaryhypertension(elevated pressure in the arteries that carry blood to the lungs can cause chest pressure or pain)
• Pleurisy(膜覆盖在肺部的炎症s causes intermittent chest pain with localized tenderness in the chest with breathing and/orcoughing)
• Collapsed lung (sudden onset of sharp chest pain on the side of the chest where the lung collapsed and shortness of breath that is relatively constant)
• Pneumonia(infection of the lungs that may cause sharp or stabbing chest pain especially with breathing and coughing, usually associated withfever, muscle aches, andfatigue)

Muscles in the chest and their supportive components such as ligaments can become injured during trauma or inflamed because of overuse even during severe coughing spells. The resulting chest pain is usually described as constant or intermittent and worsens (for example, goes from an ache to a sharp pain) with activity or coughing. The area is tender when it is pressed or moved.

Nervepain in the chestcan come from any chest nerves that are pinched, cut, or crushed by trauma. However, one source of burning and/or sharp pain in the chest can be caused byshingles.Herpes zostervirusesremain in the body for years after achickenpoxinfection and may later reactivate and follow the nerve distribution on the chest, usually producing a sharp pain in a band on one side of the chest. This chest pain may occur before the characteristicrashofshingles发展。

The ribs and the sternum are the two bone areas most often associated with chest pain. Trauma can cause ribfracturesthat produce sharp pain when moving the chest, especially when taking deep breaths. Ribcancersalso can produce chest pain. Pain and tenderness may occur at or near the site ofcancerwhile the affected bone area produces a more constant dull pain or aching in the chest. Inflammation may occur at the junctions where the ribs meet the sternum. This condition is calledcostochondritis. The area is tender when palpated and when the person moves in certain directions or takes deep breaths. This pain is often reproducible when palpating the sternum.

Psychological disorderssuch asanxiety, mentalstress, and/orpanic attackscan cause people to have sharp chest pains and rapid heartbeats that may result in a tightness or discomfort in the chest. Thepsychological disordersthat cause chest pain are usually accompanied by fear, a sense of doom, oranxiety. These disorders are often accompanied by shortness of breath,dizziness, rapid breathing, andsweatingalong with chest pain.

There are other potential causes of various types of chest pain. Some examples include metastaticcancersthat spread into the lungs,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD),asthma,diaphragmirritation,mitral valveprolapse (MVP), and others. Although many conditions may potentially cause chest pains, cardiac and lung problems are the chief causes of chest pain that may require emergency treatment.

If you are experiencing chest pain -- there are so many potential causes (some of which are medical emergencies) -- you should be evaluated by a medicalcaregiverto determine the underlying cause. If your chest pain is intermittent or you have problems swallowing or have afeverand/orchills, you should seek urgent evaluation by a medical caregiver.

Women who are experiencing aheart attackmay have some less pronounced and sometimes different symptoms than men. For example, pain of a heart attack may be only expressed as discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulders, and/or back. Women may have rightarm paininstead of leftarm painand complain more ofindigestion,nausea, andfatiguethan men. Nonetheless, women with these symptoms should be seen in an emergency department to be evaluated.

Some types of chest pain require emergency medical evaluation. This includes chest pain that:

• 是突然
• Has the characteristics of pressure, squeezing, and/or tightness underneath your sternum or in your left chest
• Radiates to your jaw, left arm, and/or back
• Is accompanied by shortness of breath,nausea,dizziness, rapid heart rate, or a very low heart rate,sweating,pale skincolor, and/ormental status changessuch asconfusion

If chest pain originates from an unknown source, the safest thing to do is to call 9-1-1 and be examined by a physician in an emergency department.