Why does my chest hurt?

If you feel some pain in your chest, you must find out the cause, because the causes of this condition are completely different for each person. They can be mainly divided into chest diseases, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases. These three types of diseases will cause more or less chest pain symptoms during the attack, and the chest pain symptoms of each patient are different.

1. Chest wall disease

Acute dermatitis, subcutaneous cellulitis, herpes zoster, epidemic chest pain, myositis, non-suppurative costochondritis, intercostal neuritis, rib fracture, acute leukemia, multiple myeloma, etc.

2. Cardiovascular disease

Angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis, acute pericarditis, mitral valve or aortic valve disease, aortic aneurysm, rupture of aortic sinus aneurysm, dissecting aneurysm, pulmonary infarction: pulmonary hypertension and cardiac neurosis, etc.

3. Respiratory diseases

Pleurisy, pleural tumors, spontaneous pneumothorax, pneumonia, acute tracheobronchitis, lung cancer, etc.

4. Mediastinal disease

Mediastinitis, mediastinal abscess, mediastinal tumor, esophagitis, hiatal hernia, esophageal cancer, etc.

5. Others

Subphrenic abscess, liver abscess, splenic infarction, etc.

1. Inflammation of the chest wall skin at the site of chest pain causes changes such as redness, swelling, heat, and pain on the affected skin. Shingles presents as a cluster of small blisters that are distributed along the nerves, do not cross the midline, and are obviously painful. Epidemic myalgia may cause severe pain in the chest and abdominal muscles, which may radiate to the shoulders and neck. Non-suppurative myochondritis often invades the first and second costal cartilages. The affected area is raised and painful, but the skin is usually not red or swollen. The pain of angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction is often located behind the sternum or in front of the heart. The pain caused by esophageal diseases, diaphragmatic hernia, and mediastinal tumors is also located behind the sternum. Spontaneous pneumothorax, acute pleurisy, pulmonary infarction, etc. often present with severe chest pain on the affected side.

2. The nature of chest pain: Intercostal neuralgia presents as paroxysmal burning or stabbing pain. Myalgia is often painful. Bone pain is aching or stabbing. Esophagitis and diaphragmatic hernia often cause burning pain or a burning sensation. Angina pectoris often presents as squeezing pain, which may be accompanied by a feeling of suffocation. Aortic aneurysm causes sharp pain when it erodes the chest wall. Primary lung cancer and mediastinal tumors may cause chest tightness and pain.

3. Factors affecting chest pain Angina pectoris is often triggered by exertion or mental stress and is paroxysmal. It can be quickly relieved by taking sublingual nitroglycerin tablets. Myocardial infarction often presents with persistent severe pain that is not relieved even by taking sublingual nitroglycerin tablets. Chest pain caused by cardiac neurosis is often improved by exercise. Chest pain in pleurisy, spontaneous pneumothorax, and pericarditis is often aggravated by coughing or deep breathing. Hyperventilation syndrome can relieve chest pain by breathing back into a paper bag.

Chest pain accompanied by the following symptoms is suggestive of diagnosis:

1. Accompanied by cough, common in tracheal and bronchopleural diseases.

2. Accompanied by dysphagia, which is common in esophageal diseases.

3. Accompanied by hemoptysis, which is common in pulmonary tuberculosis, pulmonary infarction and primary lung cancer.

4. Accompanied by dyspnea, which is common in lobar pneumonia, spontaneous pneumothorax, exudative pleurisy, hyperventilation syndrome, etc.

Angina pectoris and myocardial infarction often occur on the basis of hypertension and arteriosclerosis.