Types of Chest Pain
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common type of irregular heartbeat. The abnormal firing of electrical impulses causes the atria (the top chambers in the heart) to quiver (or fibrillate). View an animation of atrial fibrillation.
Angina (angina pectoris) describes the pain, discomfort, ache, or other associated symptoms that occur when blood flow to heart muscle cells is not enough to meet its energy needs. The classic description of angina is a crushing pain, heaviness or pressure that radiates across the chest, sometimes down the arm, into the neck, jaw or teeth, or into the back.
The main signs of costochondritis are pain and tenderness on one side of the chest. The pain is usually sharp. It's often on the left side of the sternum (although it is possible to have pain on both sides).
How Is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Diagnosed? HCM is diagnosed based on medical history (your symptoms and family history), a physical exam, and echocardiogram results. Additional tests may include blood tests, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, exercise stress test, cardiac catheterization, CT scan, and MRI.
Pneumonia and lung abscess are lung infections that can cause pleuritic and other types of chest pain, such as a deep chest ache. Pneumonia often comes on suddenly, causing fever, chills, cough, and pus coughed up from the respiratory tract.
If chest pain, trouble breathing, or swelling have gotten worse since you were told you have myocarditis, call 911 or go to the hospital. Treatment If you have myocarditis, your doctor will treat its cause, if possible.
The most common symptom of a peptic ulcer is burning abdominal pain that extends from the navel to the chest, which can range from mild to severe. In some cases, the pain may wake you up at night. Small peptic ulcers may not produce any symptoms in the early phases.
The initial symptoms of viral pneumonia are the same as influenza symptoms: fever, a dry cough, headache, muscle pain, and weakness. Within 12 to 36 hours, there is increasing breathlessness; the cough becomes worse and produces a small amount of mucus. There may be a high fever and there may be blueness of the lips.
A rib fracture is a crack or break in a rib. A rib fracture can be caused by trauma such as a car accident or fall. Trauma can increase your risk for organ damage when your rib is fractured.
Drugs used to treat some of the most common causes of chest pain include: Artery relaxers. Nitroglycerin — usually taken as a tablet under the tongue — relaxes heart arteries, so blood can flow more easily through the narrowed spaces.