Chest Pain: 10 Causes of Chest Pain & Tightness: ER Near Me
For most people, when they think about chest pain, their minds immediately go to a heart attack. This is why, as per the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, chest pain is one of the biggest causes of ER visits in the US. However, as you will find out from discussions on the same over at the excellent frontlineerrichmond.com, chest pain has got many possible causes other than just a heart attack. To that effect, this article will look to highlight 10 causes of chest pain and tightness, as well as when to go to an ER near you for them.
Heart attack
Having already mentioned it, we might as well start by discussing a heart attack as one of the causes of chest pain and tightness. If there is a blockage in one or more arteries supplying the heart muscle, then a heart attack will ensue, and it is a medical emergency. Signs of a heart attack are chest pain, tightness or pressure, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, a cold sweat, pain radiating to the arm, jaw, shoulder or neck among others. Sudden onset chest pain and tightness along with the other symptoms of a heart attack should be a sign that you need to head over to an ER near you, such as the excellent frontlineerdallas.com, as soon as possible. Call 911 and have an ambulance come and take you to the ER; don’t drive yourself.
Asthma
Another cause of chest pain and tightness is asthma, which is a condition that causes inflammation in the airways leading them to narrow and produce more mucus. Other than chest pain and tightness, other symptoms of asthma include wheezing and difficulties breathing during an attack. If one is having an attack and their inhaled medications aren’t working, they are having a severe attack with severe wheezing and difficulties breathing, or they have stopped breathing completely, then you should call 911 and have them taken to an ER near them, such as the highly rated frontlineer.com, as soon as possible.
Pneumonia
Another condition that can cause chest pain and tightness is pneumonia, which is an infection in one or both of the lungs causing inflammation in the air sacs, or the alveoli, causing them to fill with fluid or pus and making it difficult to breathe. The chest pain due to pneumonia will usually get worse when you inhale, with a fever, chills and a severe cough which may be accompanied by a green or yellowish phlegm, which may also contain blood. If you have pneumonia and are experiencing chest pain, severe breathing difficulties and are coughing up blood, then you should call 911 and have yourself taken to an ER near you, like the excellent frontlineerrichmond.com, as soon as possible.
Pulmonary embolism
Another cause of chest pain is what is referred to as a pulmonary embolism, which is when a blood clot gets lodged in an artery in one of your lungs. Given that it blocks oxygen supply to the lung tissues, this is a life-threatening condition. Symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include sudden and sharp chest pain, like one from a heart attack, which gets more severe with physical activity, swelling in the lower leg as well as a cough that may have blood in the mucus. If you develop these symptoms suddenly, call 911 and have yourself taken to frontlineerdallas.com, or an ER near you as soon as possible.
Injured ribs
Your chest pain and tightness may also be as a result of injury to your ribs, either a bruise or a fracture, particularly if it occurs after trauma to the chest area such as a car accident, a sports injury or a high fall. If you are experiencing chest pain and tightness after trauma to the chest, then you should head over to an ER near you, like the highly rated frontlineer.com, as this may be a sign of a broken rib, which in severe cases may injure or damage internal organs.
Angina
Angina is a term used to describe chest pain that occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is dramatically reduced. The major difference between angina and a heart attack is that it doesn’t cause damage to the heart muscles since blood is still flowing to the heart, albeit at dramatically reduced levels. There are two types of angina; stable and unstable angina. While stable angina is predictable, coming on after physical activity and disappearing after you rest, unstable angina is a lot more serious as it can appear at any time, even when resting. As per the subject matter experts over at frontlineerrichmond.com, if you are experiencing chest pain and feel like your heart is being squeezed which may be accompanied by dizziness, and you are not sure if it is angina or a heart attack, you should not take risks but should call 911and have yourself taken to an ER near you as soon as possible.
Aortic dissection
An aortic dissection is a tear in the layers of the aortic walls, allowing blood to leak out. If you have an aortic aneurysm, which is a bulge in the wall of the aorta, then if it ruptures, it could also cause blood to come gushing out of the aorta. Given that the aorta is the body’s main, not to mention the largest, artery, then an aortic dissection is a medical emergency requiring a visit to an ER such as the highly rated frontlineerdallas.com, as soon as possible. Symptoms of an aortic dissection include a sudden, constant and sharp chest pain as well as pain in the upper back, trouble breathing as well as pain in the arms, jaw or neck. If you are experiencing symptoms of an aortic dissection, call 911 and have yourself taken to an ER near you as soon as possible.
Myocarditis
Myocarditis is yet another cause of chest pain and tightness. This is an inflammation of the heart muscles, usually due to a viral infection. Symptoms of this condition include chest pain which is usually mild, chest pressure, swelling in the legs, heart palpitations as well as shortness of breath, which is the most common symptom. If your symptoms are mild, then you can make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible to be seen and attended to. However, if your chest pain and tightness as well as shortness of breath are more severe, then you should call 911 to have an ambulance come and take you to an ER near you like the excellent frontlineer.com.
Chronic obstructive lung disease, COPD
Yet another cause of chest pain and tightness is COPD, which is a term used to refer to a number of conditions where your airways become inflamed leading to restricted flow of air in and out of the lungs. The main examples of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis with symptoms including wheezing, coughing as well as chest tightness, which usually gets worse with exertion. You should head over to frontlineerrichmond.com or an ER near you if you have chest tightness and difficulty breathing.
Esophageal rupture
An esophageal rupture, also known as Boerhaave syndrome, could also cause chest pain and tightness. This occurs when the lining of the esophagus gets torn allowing food and liquids to escape through this tear and into the chest cavity. Depending on the size and location of the tear, you may experience mild or severe chest pain. Chest pain and tightness due to an esophageal rupture usually comes on suddenly and is usually accompanied by nausea, a fever, rapid breathing as well as vomiting. Sometimes, there may also be blood in your vomit. If you are experiencing symptoms of an esophageal rupture, you should treat them as a medical emergency and should head over to an ER near you such as the highly rated frontlineerdallas.com.
There are many other conditions that can cause chest pain and tightness and you can learn more about them by checking out the excellent frontlineer.com, frontlineerrichmond.com and frontlineerdallas.com, which are also the best places to go to for emergency medical services when looking for an ER near you.
