What causes breast pain?

It is common for women to experience chest pain. Some chest pains are normal physiological pains, while some may be caused by diseases, so you must learn how to distinguish them.

What causes chest pain in women?

1. Chest pain during puberty

Around the age of 9 to 13, girls' breasts begin to grow and develop gradually. As the nipples gradually protrude, they will feel a slight swelling and pain in their chests. This swelling and pain may continue until the girl's menarche. As hormone secretion gradually stabilizes, the chest pain problem will disappear on its own.

2. Breast pain during pregnancy

Some women experience breast pain around 40 days of pregnancy because the embryo and fur secrete a large amount of female hormones, estrogen, and prolactin, which causes breast enlargement. In severe cases, it can last throughout the pregnancy and does not require treatment.

3. Early breast pain

Many women experience breast swelling, hardening, and tenderness before their menarche. In severe cases, the breasts will swell and become uncomfortable when subjected to even the slightest vibration or impact. After menarche, the changes may subside.

4. Breast pain after giving birth

About 3 to 7 days after giving birth, many women experience breast pain due to problems such as blocked mammary glands, venous congestion, and mammary lymph node congestion. In addition, many women will experience breast hyperplasia after giving birth, which can also cause chest pain and discomfort.

5. Caused by disease

If the symptoms are severe or there is no periodicity or only a local breast lump, it is physiological and needs to be diagnosed and treated by going to the hospital's surgery department or breast specialist for B-ultrasound and mammography.

How to check chest pain in women

1. Myocardial injury markers

Traditional myocardial injury markers include cTn, CK-MB, brain sodium and a series of biological molecules that reflect body necrosis. In recent years, a variety of new biomarkers such as ischemic marker protein and oleic acid fusion protein have gradually been used in clinical medicine.

2. D-Dimer

D-dimer is a soluble substance formed by chemically cross-linked free fatty acids under the action of the fibrinolytic system. It is a specific marker of the fibrinolytic process and can be used as a screening indicator for acute pulmonary embolism. If D-dimer is less than 500ug/L, it can be basically excluded from subacute pulmonary thrombosis.

3. Electrocardiogram

All patients who seek medical attention for chest pain should undergo an electrocardiogram (ECG), and the first ECG should be performed within 10 minutes of interviewing the patient. Electrocardiogram is the key way to diagnose chest pain caused by cerebral ischemia.

4. Echocardiography

Echocardiography is also an important minimally invasive test for diagnosing patients with chest pain. If new ventricular wall divergent movements, the presence of dispersed endometrial valves in the pulmonary arteries, right heart enlargement and ventricular septal deviation in a "D" shape are found, it can be helpful for the diagnosis of subacute myocardial infarction, aortic dissection and acute pulmonary embolism. For other non-severe chest pain, such as acute cardiomyopathy, pericardial effusion, etc., echocardiography also has important diagnostic value.

5. Lung CT

Lung CT is suitable for checking patients with respiratory chest pain. Symptoms that can be found include pneumonia, mediastinal and lung tumors, lung abscess, pneumothorax, lumbar vertebrae and rib fractures, etc. Changes in the contours of the heart and large blood vessels can sometimes remind patients of diseases such as aortic dissection and pericardial effusion, but they lack specificity.

What to do if a woman has chest pain

1. Hot compress: Hot compress has a great effect on women's breasts. It is an immediate and effective way to relieve the pain. If you feel breast pain, you can wrap a cotton towel in a hand warmer and apply it to your chest. If the effect is not ideal, you can also prepare a basin of cold water, wet the towel, and apply hot and cold alternately. In addition, you can also use castor oil for hot compresses. Because castor oil contains substances that enhance the function of reticulocytes.

2. The bra that changes shape. Women should pay attention to the size of the bra they wear, because a very small bra will compress the breasts, resulting in poor blood circulation, which will cause swelling and pain, while a very large bra will make it impossible for the breasts to be fixed and cause damage during exercise.

3. To prevent caffeine, scientific research shows that if you quit the habit of drinking coffee every day, breast pain will be significantly improved. Of course, not only freshly ground coffee, but also chocolate, Coca-Cola, tea and even painkillers containing caffeine should be avoided to relieve pain.

4. Massage the breasts to relieve pain. Women should get used to massaging their breasts to stimulate the area around the breasts, which can promote blood circulation. 7-10 days before menstruation, massaging every night can also relieve swelling and pain to a certain extent. First, use the palms of both hands to gently cover one breast from the top and bottom. Then clench your hands and use your thumbs located at the base of the breasts to push the breasts up from the bottom. Repeat 10 times up and down. Note that when breast pain occurs, it is best not to do massage to avoid excessive stimulation to the breast.