Chest pain is one of the common reasons that many people worry. However, not all chest pain is a sign of a serious illness. So what should you pay attention to when chest pain symptoms appear?
Causes of chest pain
Chest pain due to cardiovascular damage (this is a chest pain situation that requires immediate emergency care and timely treatment at the hospital): Acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, stable angina, acute aortic syndrome (aortic dissection, aortic thrombus, penetrating aortic ulcer), myocarditis...
Chest pain due to respiratory system damage: Pneumonia with pleural inflammation, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, pulmonary infarction, cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, pleural tuberculosis, empyema...
Chest pain due to digestive system damage: Reflux esophagitis, esophageal cancer, ruptured esophageal varices...
In addition, chest pain is caused by chest wall damage, nerve damage or other causes such as: mediastinal tumors, neuropsychiatric disorders, breast tumors, mastitis...
Chest pain suspected to be due to coronary artery disease: The pain is usually located behind the sternum and is an area (not a point), the pain can spread to the neck, shoulders, arms, jaw, epigastric region, back...
The most common direction is to spread to the left shoulder and then down the inside of the left hand, sometimes down to the 4th and 5th fingers.
Pain often occurs when exerting oneself, experiencing strong emotions, being cold, after a heavy meal or smoking, and the pain quickly decreases or disappears within a few minutes when the above factors are reduced.
The pain may appear spontaneously. In some cases, angina may appear at night, when changing position or when accompanied by a rapid heartbeat.
Most people describe chest pain as tightness, constriction, or pressure in the chest, and sometimes as a sharp, burning sensation.
Some patients have difficulty breathing, fatigue, headache, nausea, sweating...
Chest pain usually lasts for a few minutes (3 - 5 minutes), can be longer but usually does not exceed 20 minutes (if the pain lasts longer and appears even at rest, consider unstable angina or myocardial infarction).
Pain caused by emotion usually lasts longer than pain caused by exertion. Pain that lasts less than a minute should be considered for causes other than the heart.
Chest pain is one of the common reasons that many people worry.
Chest pain symptoms requiring hospitalization
In fact, the characteristics and nature of chest pain partly reflect the severity of the disease causing chest pain.
If the patient has a sharp chest pain that lasts for a few seconds, it is rarely due to dangerous diseases. One can think of intercostal neuralgia, costochondritis, stomach pain...
Pain that increases when pressing on the painful area or after taking a deep breath is usually due to a chest wall cause. If the pain persists for several weeks or longer, it is often due to a chest wall cause, digestive tract cause, or cancer cause... requiring hospitalization for treatment.
If the pain appears suddenly, lasts from a few minutes to hours, recurs many times in a short period of time, and radiates to the shoulder or back, it could be due to acute coronary syndrome or aortic dissection. Sudden, severe, tearing pain that develops quickly could be due to pneumothorax... and you also need to be hospitalized immediately.
It is especially important to pay attention to sudden, severe chest pain accompanied by dangerous warning symptoms that require immediate emergency care such as:
- Increasing shortness of breath.
- Sweating, pale.
- Hemodynamic disorders: Hypertensive emergency or hypotension.
- Arrhythmia: Fast or slow heartbeat, irregular heartbeat…
- Coughing up blood.
- Disorder of consciousness.
However, regardless of the cause of chest pain, patients need to be carefully examined at a hospital or clinic. Patients should clearly understand the characteristics of their chest pain so that they can go to the hospital promptly and describe their chest pain to emergency doctors fully and accurately so that they can be treated promptly and appropriately.
Dr. Ngo Hong Hanh
Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/can-luu-y-gi-khi-xuat-hien-trieu-chung-dau-nguc-172250308131516728.htm
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