Causes of Chest Pain

Chest pain is discomfort or pain that you feel anywhere along the front of your body between your neck and upper abdomen. It is also known as chest tightness, chest pressure, chest discomfort. When people feel chest pains they automatically fear something wrong with the heart. People are terrified by the idea of having a heart attack because they are so dangerous and they kill so many people every year. However, there are many possible causes of chest pain. Some causes are mildly inconvenient, while other causes are serious, even life-threatening. Any organ or tissue in your chest can be the source of pain, including your heart, lungs, esophagus, muscles, ribs, tendons, or nerves.

Some Common Causes of Chest Pain

1. The pain which occurs due to heart is not getting enough blood and oxygen is called Angina. The most common symptom is chest pain that occurs behind the breast bone or slightly to the left of it. It may feel like tightness, heavy pressure, squeezing, or crushing pain. The pain may spread to the arm, shoulder, jaw, or back.
2. Heart attack pain can be similar to the pain of unstable angina, but more severe.
3. Aortic dissection causes sudden & severe pain in the chest and upper back.
4. Inflammation or infection in the tissue around the heart causes pain in the center part of the chest.
5. Pneumonia, which causes chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough
6. A blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism), collapse of a small area of the lung (pneumothorax), or inflammation of the lining around the lung (pleurisy) can cause chest pain that usually feels sharp, and often gets worse when you take a deep breath or cough
7. Asthma, which generally also causes shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing
8. Strain or inflammation of the muscles and tendons between the ribs
9. Inflammation where the ribs join the breast bone or sternum (costochondritis)
10. Shingles (sharp, tingling pain on one side that stretches from the chest to the back)
11. Anxiety and rapid breathing
12. Heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
13. Stomach ulcer (burning pain occurs if your stomach is empty and feels better when you eat food)
14. Gallbladder (pain often gets worse after a meal, especially a fatty meal)

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