Severe chest pain: causes, trauma and remedies

 

  • Chest pain: that’s when it is a symptom of a heart attack
  • Main causes of sternum pain
  • Symptoms
  • When to see your doctor
  • Care
  • Questions and answers

Severe chest pain is not always a symptom of a heart attack . The sternum area contains, in addition to the heart, other very important organs of the body: stomach and lungs. Precisely for this reason, pain can be due to very different situations, more or less serious, and also of psychological origin. The breastbone, by itself, is a flat, elongated bone found in the central front of the chest. When we talk about sternum pain, we are therefore not referring so much to bone pain, but to one of the various forms of chest pain. In most cases, retrosternal pain is due to conditions that have to do with the muscles, bones, lungs, or digestive tract, rather than the heart. It is therefore important to distinguish the various symptoms, if the pain occurs on the right or left, at rest, lying down or in motion, if it is sudden, severe, continuous or discontinuous. The location and type of pain help identify the root cause of the disorder.

Chest pain: that’s when it is a symptom of a heart attack

Pain in the sternum is one of the scariest symptoms because it is often automatically associated with a heart attack. In this case the symptom is triggered by the death (necrosis) of a part of the heart muscle following the obstruction of one of the coronary arteries, that is, of the arteries responsible for its supply.

Not surprisingly, sudden chest pain is among the main reasons for accessing the emergency room. In fact, if the sternum pain is not associated with other clinical symptoms, such as wheezing (difficulty in breathing) and tightness in the chest and pain in the left arm, a heart attack is unlikely.

In this regard it is useful to remember that in myocardial infarction, for example, pain generally occurs in the left area located below the breastbone and later tends to radiate to the entire left arm. Rarely, however, the right arm may also be affected. Symptoms can be different in men and women (gender difference).

In women and young people often, unlike men, heartburn, nausea and fatigue can also occur .
If these conditions occur, it is advisable to go to the emergency room as soon as possible for tests such as electrocardiogram (ECG). The situation is different in the case of angina pectoris(literally chest pain), a condition in which the pain is due to the heart muscle suffering from a reduced blood supply.

Unlike heart attack, in angina the drop in blood flow is transient, so there is not without tissue necrosis, but momentary suffering. In the presence of angina pectoris, pain always starts from the left substernal area, but tends to radiate to the neck, jaw, shoulder and central area of ​​the upper abdomen.

The doctor should be described the type of pain felt (tearing, dull, stabbing, burning, i.e. burning, etc.) because this can be of considerable help in the diagnosis.

Main causes of sternum pain

Chest pain is very common because there are so many pathological conditions, of more or less severe severity, which include it among the symptoms that characterize them. Moreover, in the chest area, in addition to the heart, there are other very important organs such as the lungs, stomach and the first section of the intestine.

The most common cause of sternum pain is costochondritis, an inflammation of the cartilages connected to the upper ribs of the rib cage. This condition doesn’t always have a specific cause, but it is often the result of a chest injury, tension from physical activity, or osteoarthritis. Symptoms include: sharp pains on one side of the breastbone and pain or discomfort in one or more ribs. Typical of this condition is the exacerbation of pain when coughing or taking deep breaths.

The injuries to the muscles and bonesfound in the sternum area, such as the ribs, as a result of trauma, falls or chest surgery, are another of the most common causes of sternal pain. Common symptoms include: slight pain or swelling in the upper chest and collarbone area, crunching of the bones, and stiffness around the shoulder joints.
If the trauma involves the collarbone, in addition to swelling, bruising around the injury, severe pain, or popping occurs when you try to move your arm upward.
Fractures to the sternum, while quite rare compared to breaking or cracking the ribs, can cause a lot of pain and swelling because the sternum is involved in many of the upper body movements, especially when breathing or coughing.
Other non-traumatic conditions that may give chest pain are fibromyalgia , the shingles  and mastalgia (breast pain). Gastrointestinal

problems and lung diseases also cause sternum pain . The sternum is located in correspondence with important digestive organs such as: esophagus, stomach and first part of the intestine. Heartburn, gastric reflux  and stomach ulcers cause chest pain, giving symptoms such as burning sensation in the chest, bitter taste in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, coughing, swelling, nausea and lack of appetite, sore throat or hoarseness. The cause of chest pain can also be linked to diseases affecting the pancreas or gallbladder . Both cholecystitis (inflammation of the liver gallbladder) and gallstones  can cause pain in the sternum.

Many respiratory conditions cause chest pain. Bronchitis is widespread, but tracheitis, pneumonia and pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura, or pulmonary membrane) also cause symptoms in the chest.
These conditions cause sharp pain when you inhale, sneeze, or cough .
Other symptoms of these clinical situations include: fever, difficulty breathing, wheezing (shortness of breath). There are several pathologies affecting the lungs that can determine the onset of more or less pronounced pain in the sternum.
Among the most serious are pulmonary embolism (obstruction of one or more arteries of the lung), tuberculosis, cancer and pleural mesothelioma (cancer of the membrane that surrounds the inside of the chest). Among the symptoms most often associated with these disorders are breathing difficulties and a cough which is generally dry.

Among the pathologies of the cardiovascular systempresenting a sternal pain as the main symptom, in addition to heart attack and angina pectoris, coronary spasm, myocarditis and pericarditis, respectively inflammations of the heart muscle and of the membrane that surrounds the heart (pericardium), can be considered.

Some psychological conditions can give a painful symptom in the chest.
Many cases of panic attack , for example, in addition to sweating and tachycardia, manifest as sternal pain. A state of anxiety can also cause pain in the sternum. An anxious person usually hyperventilates, that is, takes short and very frequent breaths.
This condition tends to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, but there is no increase in oxygen. This situation, known as hyperventilation syndrome, is a respiratory disorder that causes, in addition to pain in the sternum, also tingling and paresthesia (numbness) localized to the fingertips and around the mouth.

Symptoms

A shooting pain that suddenly arises in the sternum can be due to medical-surgical emergencies, such as acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism or dissecting aneurysm of the aorta .
When the pain worsens when breathing it could be associated with causes of musculoskeletal origin (exposure to cold, rib trauma, herniated disc, sudden movement or violent exertion, fibromyalgia, etc.), intercostal (neuralgia and herpes infection zoster), pleural (pleurisy, pleural effusion, etc.).
A sudden constricting pain localized to the sternum may be due, however, to states of anxiety and stress.

Chest pain may be associated with other symptoms that refer to disorders of the gastrointestinal system such as gastroesophageal reflux, hiatal hernia , gastroduodenal ulcer, pancreatitis, esophageal motility disorders and biliary tract diseases (stones and cholecystitis). Tumors originating in the chest and angina pectoris can also exhibit pain in the chest area among the most typical symptoms.

When to see your doctor

Pain in the sternum that persists with no apparent cause and accompanied by sweating, dizziness, nausea, breathing problems and a feeling of tightness in the chest require immediate medical attention or emergency room. Other conditions, from trauma, to gastric or respiratory problems, if they do not resolve in a few days, should be reported to the doctor.
Care

Treatments for sternum pain depend on the source. In the event that it is a heart attack or a cardiovascular problem , the first thing to do is to go immediately to the emergency room for an adequate diagnosis and therapy.

If the cause of the chest pain is costochondritis , the doctor may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, ketoprofen…) to reduce the inflammation. In addition to absolute rest, hot or cold compresses on the painful area and physical treatments, such as physiotherapy, can be useful. In case of muscle injuriesbandages are usually applied to prevent swelling, and anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxant medications can be taken. Cold therapy is also often indicated because it decreases blood flow and avoids hematoma. Applying ice can also be useful for bone injuries.

When pain is triggered by gastrointestinal disorders , therapy is aimed at eliminating the cause of the disorder. In addition to a diet that excludes foods that irritate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, drugs, antibiotics (if the cause is a bacterium), gastroprotectors and antacids (omeprazole, esomeprazole, etc.) may be prescribed.
In case the pain is due to a lung problem, painkillers can be used, especially when the patient suffers from pleurisy, but also antibiotics in the case of bacterial bronchitis or pneumonia. In all other problems, more or less serious, the painful symptom is resolved by treating, possibly, the cause of the disorder.

How does our musculoskeletal system work? 

 

Questions and answers

  1. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHEST PAIN IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM?
    Chest pain is often associated with heart attack, but it can actually be due to multiple pathological conditions referring to organ disorders that are in the chest area: lungs, stomach, liver and intestines. Symptoms that refer to an acute and serious problem such as heart attack concern pain that occurs in the left area located under the breastbone and later tends to radiate to the entire left arm (rarely to the right). It is accompanied by chest tightness, heaviness or a squeezing sensation. The pain may also be accompanied by weakness, nausea, shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness or fainting. In women and young people, these symptoms may be less intense.
    2. WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON, NON-CARDIAC, CAUSES OF CHEST PAIN?
    Costochondritis is the most common cause of sternum pain and occurs when the cartilage between the breastbone and ribs becomes inflamed and irritated. Costchondritis often occurs due to osteoarthritis due to the aging process, but it can also occur without a known cause. Chest pain can also occur as a result of: musculoskeletal injuries (a ruptured or cracked rib), lung diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia, pleurisy), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), pancreatitis, cholecystitis, anxiety and attacks of panic.
    3. HOW IS STERNAL PAIN RELIEVED?
    Identifying the root cause of chest pain is critical to effective therapy. If the pain is of cardiovascular, pulmonary or gastric origin, the various pathologies must be treated. If the cause is musculoskeletal, there are several things that can be done to reduce pain, including:
    – apply an ice pack to the chest
    – take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen to reduce pain and inflammation
    – restrict movement and avoid heavy lifting.
    4. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO HEAL FROM CONSTOCONDRITIS?
    In many cases, costochondritis resolves on its own. In mild forms, the painful symptom may disappear after a few days. In chronic cases, the disorder can last for weeks or longer, but in most cases it lasts no more than a year.

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

Leave a Comment