Chest Pain Symptoms

What you need to know about chest pain symptoms

So Many Reasons for Chest Pain Symptoms

Chest pain symptoms can definitely be as a result of anxiety and stress, but there’s more too.
When things start to go wrong

Chest Pains almost always begin without any warning. All of a sudden a person feels a pain in the chest. If the person
is young, he or she thinks nothing of it. But if the person is middle-aged or old, at once the person begins to worry and wonders if he or she is having a heart attack.
You start to get heart palpitations…your heart begins to beat so fast, it feels as though it is going to come out of your chest and it feels like your heart is being ripped out by some wild animal. That’s not all, at other times you have
had your chest feel so tight that it was hard to get any air down into your lungs, you sweat profusely.
So just what’s all this about and how can you chest pain symptoms?
When you go through such a feeling, these are times when you are going through physical symptoms of anxiety and stress, better known as an anxiety or panic attack.
At such times, even though you know that your heart is healthy, you are still scared into wondering if you are suffering from a heart attack. It is terrifying how bad the physical signs of anxiety and stress can be.

The bad effects of stress, anxiety and distress
There is a very close relation between your heart, stress, anxiety and distress and even depression. All of the above are linked to heart disease.
Therefore, when you are emotionally stressed out or something terrifies you to the point that you feel you cannot control your fears the body releases certain hormones such as cortisol that create the body natural “fight or flight”
response.
These hormones are bad…
They result in the triggering of physical symptoms like chest pain, much the same as when you experience a heart attack. One of the other symptoms of stress and anxiety is a rapid heartbeat, this occurs because anxiety releases
adrenaline into the blood stream making the heart beat fast.
But, you must understand something about the adrenaline rush in your body – it is totally harmless. All it does is just scare you, especially when you are not aware of what is going on to start with. Chest pain symptoms are many and if they get worse, there is only one course of action for you to take, get to a doctor, at once!

Chest Pain Symptoms Due to Panic Attack

Chest pain symptoms can also be as a result of panic attack symptoms.

Chest pains and their relation to heart attacks

It is very common to connect chest pains with heart attacks. When people feel chest pains they automatically fear something wrong with the heart. People are absolutely afraid of heart attacks as they are very dangerous and so many people die every year as a result of them.

When a person has a panic attack one of the main symptoms, other than a racing heart beat, is chest pains.

So what are chest pain symptoms when there is an anxiety attack?

Think about it…what happens when a person has a heart attack? The body of the person is in a state of fear. That means that the person will begin breathing harder in order to pump more blood. Without thought, the body of the person starts pumping chemicals needed to move as fast as possible to avoid to fight danger.

When you have a panic attack you have the same response, but without any visible or obvious danger.

Acid reflux is another reason for pains in the chest

Acid reflux is the second cause of chest pain. When you become stressed your body sends blood flow away from digestion to other parts of the body. During the fight or flight response especially, the body completely shuts off all digestion because it is not important.

The longer food stays in the stomach the worse, as the higher chances that acid will back up in your esophagus. This can cause chest pains and very painful throat pain.

How do you stop the pain?

When you first get the pain, it will be natural for you to start pressing panic buttons and start worrying. Your first instinct will be to worry and keep taking deep breaths. This is not at all good and in fact it is actually counter productive and chances are you won’t be able to catch your breath and this will only make you worry a lot more.

So what do you do?

The best thing that you can do is to breathe out as much as you can to relieve pressure on your chest. Then try to breathe in normally. Your second option is to use the paper bag method. This helps people when they are hyperventilating.

Whether you have chest pain symptoms as a result of panic attack symptoms or Acid reflux, if they get worse, you need to see a doctor immediately.

Chest Pain Symptoms and Acid Reflux Chest Pain

Chest pain symptoms and acid reflux chest pain, a better understanding of the difference helps a lot.

What are the symptoms of acid reflux?

These symptoms, as a result of acid reflux syndrome, are mainly heartburn and nausea. Some regurgitation of acid and/or foods may be present. While it is not a common symptom, some people do experience acid reflux chest pain.
But, it is very important to note here that, any chest pain should be thoroughly evaluated by a physician to rule out heart disease.

Chest pain symptoms not related to heart disease

According to studies, chest pain that is not related to heart disease is more likely than not caused due to acid reflux syndrome or GERD, which is gastro-esophageal reflux. The terms are used interchangeably.
For doctors to be able to know if a person is experiencing acid reflux chest pain, doctors may use tests to measure acid levels in the esophagus, this is the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach.

Keeping a “symptoms diary” is very useful

It is very good to keep what is termed as a “symptoms diary” as this is very beneficial in determining if the pain is acid reflux chest pain or another condition. If a person notes that the chest pain occurs when other acid reflux syndrome symptoms are present, then the doctor may conclude that the pain is caused by the acid reflux syndrome.
According to research studies, between 22 and 66 percent of patients who had chest pain that was not related to heart disease suffered from acid reflux syndrome. This is not to say that all non-cardiac chest pain is acid reflux chest pain, there are other possible causes.

Similar to heart pain?

Acid reflux chest pain can mimic heart pain, but most people experience a burning sensation rather than a sharp, squeezing pain. But, it should be noted that the intensity and the symptoms of acid reflux syndrome symptoms vary greatly.

Once it is confirmed that there no heart disease is present, treatment of acid reflux chest pain is no different form treatment of acid reflux syndrome without chest pain. Most commonly, antacids or proton pump inhibitors are prescribed.

Other remedies for acid reflux

There are many treatments available for acid reflux and some people prefer to treat this ailment with herbs or botanicals and dietary or lifestyle changes. If these effectively reduce stomach acid, then they should relieve the acid reflux chest pain and ease chest pain symptoms

Chest Pain Symptoms and an Anxiety Attack

Chest pain symptoms could also be due to an anxiety attack.

Anxiety Attack (also called “panic attack”) and Chest Pain

There are many symptoms of an anxiety attack which are very akin to those of a heart attack and thus the former is often mistaken for the latter. But the truth is that a pain in the chest is not necessarily a symptom of either event!
It is very true that there are different types of chest pain, but it is also true that not all of these are symptoms of heart attack.

Various Chest pain symptoms

Pinched nerves, injured ribs, gall bladder or pancreas problems, angina, indigestion pleurisy sore muscles are also some of the many reasons for the cause of chest pain. The problem with these is that the symptoms of some of these conditions can so perfectly mimic those of a heart attack, that only a doctor can determine the cause.
If you can locate the chest pain, it is good in helping you understand whether you are having a heart attack or anxiety attack. Chest pain from anxiety is located over the heart and is described as “sharp.” It increases with breathing in and out, and doesn’t usually last more than a few minutes. Applying pressure to the chest also makes the pain worsen.

What about the case of a heart attack?

In the case of a heart attack, the pain in the chest is located in the center of the chest and usually endures for longer than 10 minutes. This pain remains unaffected by pressing on the chest and breathing is usually normal unless fear of heart attack or dying triggers a panic attack, causing hyperventilation.
Pain in the chest as a result of a heart attack would feel as though the chest is being squeezed or crushed, as if by an enormous weight or pressure is on it. It is more severe and longer lasting than chest pain from anxiety attack.

Why anxiety attacks cause chest pains

Anxiety attacks can cause chest pains as a result of the person feeling threatened as in this case the adrenaline is automatically released to prepare the body for flight. Adrenaline speeds up the heart and breathing rates and causes muscles to contract.
The person may also experience heart palpitations as well. The chest pain symptoms felt during an anxiety attack may also be caused by the release of stomach acids and indigestion.

Chest Pain Symptoms | It Can Be So Many Different Things

Know What Is Causing Chest Pain Symptoms Before Treating Them

Before treatment of any kind of chest pain symptoms can be undertaken the cause of them must be identified first.

Most people when they start to suffer from any kind of chest pain automatically think that it is a problem related to their heart.

Yet the cause of their problem can in fact be something less serious indeed.

When you start to suffer from any kind of chest pain symptoms it is of course important that you seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Your doctor will then be able to quickly identify the underlying cause for them.

Remember it is better to be safe than sorry.

If you attempt to try and treat such symptoms yourself you could in fact make the condition much worse.

The kinds of things that can also lead to a person suffering chest pains is they suffer from the medical condition known as GERD where the acids created in the stomach are able to flow back up through the esophagus.

 

How To Differentiate Between Heart Attack And Chest Pain Anxiety Symptoms

Be aware that the symptoms associated with an anxiety often can often mimic certain types of chest pain symptoms.

In fact when suffering chest pain anxiety symptoms many people think that what they are dealing with is in fact the beginning of a heart attack.

But this isn’t the case.

So in order to make sure that you don’t get mistaken we’ll take a look at what exactly happens when you suffer chest pain anxiety symptoms.

The first thing you need to look at when suffering any kind of pains to the chest is where it is actually located.

If the pain you are feeling is located actually over your heart then this is the symptom associated with an anxiety attack.

However if the pain is located more towards the center of your chest then it is increasing the chances of you suffering from a heart attack.

But either way you should seek medical assistance as soon as possible.

 

Some Causes Of Right Chest Pain Symptoms

Although right chest pain symptoms may be as a result of a cardiovascular problem you need to be aware that other things can cause these as well.

Did you know that the right chest pain symptoms you are feeling could be as a result of a problem with your liver or gallbladder, which have become inflamed?

But this may not be the only reason for suffering pain in this area of your chest.

Some other causes of such pain can be as a result of you actually over exerting the muscles in your chest.

This can be caused if you haven’t warmed up properly before performing such exercises as lifting weights.

Also your pain may be as a result of you suffering from a viral infection, which has developed when you are suffering from a cold.

Most of the time the pain you feel in this area of the chest will occur when you attempt to breath deeply or when you cough.

 

Two Possible Causes Of Musculoskeletal Chest Pain Symptoms

Before a doctor can prescribe any form of treatment for musculoskeletal chest pain symptoms they need to determine what is causing them first.

There are numerous things that cause a person to suffer from such symptoms and how each type is treated is different.

One major cause of a person suffering from musculoskeletal chest pain symptoms is if they suffer from conditions known as Costochondritis or Tietze syndrome.

With the first syndrome there will be a great deal of tenderness and pain around the costochondral joints.

Whilst with the second type along with all the symptoms already mentioned there will be swelling around the joints as well.

Another condition that could be the cause of such chest pain symptoms is that know as Fibromyalgia.

As well as certain points around the chest feeling tender they will also feel very fatigued as they find that they don’t sleep as well as they would normally.

Chest Pain Symptoms Checker | Why Am I Having Them?

When you are experiencing chest pain symptoms, it’s a good reason enough you should go see your doctor . While heart related disorders are the first thing that comes to mind if chest pain occurs, there are also many other reasons you might be having that.

Since the biggest risk, let’s say it, is you’re having a heart attack, I put together a list from various authority sites that are the most common symptoms of chest pain related to it …

  • You feel that your chest is heavy or tight
  • You feel pain increasing when you’re on the move in some way and if you stop and relax you feel better
  • You already have heard about pain that spreads into your arm
  • You feel a heavy sharp pain that goes all the way through to your back, your neck, shoulders and arm again
  • You feel breathless
  • You feel nausea
  • You start sweating
  • You feel constant pain for a few minutes, stops, comes back, sometimes worse, sometimes better
  • You feel dizzy

I don’t think that after any of those you don’t want to go see your doctor.

What other causes are there to chest pain symptoms?

If your heart is minding his own business while you are having pain symptoms, there are few answers to that … lung problems can cause pain symptoms, but also a panic attack, a digestive issue, or even shingles. In these cases the pain symptoms involved have been described in the following manners …

  • Swallowing difficulties
  • Coughing causes pain
  • Breathing deeply causes pain
  • The position of the body is connected to how much pain you feel
  • If you push your hands on your chest and push it feels kind of tender

Especially if you experience all of a sudden chest pain symptoms, your first thought being it the heart, might be a winner. But there are also many other reasons we can investigate about that are the cause of your discomfort and the bottom line will always be to being checked by a physician.