What causes chest pain

Many people have experienced symptoms of chest pain, so what exactly is chest pain? The chest is a particularly important part of the human body, and many organs of the body are related to it, so there are many causes of chest pain. When chest pain occurs, everyone must take it seriously and go to the hospital for examination in time to find out the cause and receive symptomatic treatment. Today, I will first introduce to you some common diseases that can cause chest pain.

Common causes of chest pain include the following:

1. Chest wall lesions

Chest pain caused by chest wall changes is the most common type of chest pain, such as local skin, muscle, bone and nerve lesions caused by chest wall trauma, bacterial infection, viral infection, tumor, etc. Common diseases include acute dermatitis, subcutaneous cellulitis, herpes zoster, obesity pain, myositis and dermatomyositis, epidemic myalgia, cervical spondylosis, costochondritis, bone tumors, intercostal neuritis, radicular pain, etc.

Among the common features

The pain is fixed at the lesion site, and there is obvious tenderness in the local area; deep breathing, coughing, raising arms, bending over and other actions aggravate the pain of chest movement.

2. Lung and pleural lesions

The lungs and visceral pleura are insensitive to pain. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung abscess, pulmonary infarction, etc., may cause chest pain due to lesions involving the parietal layer. Lung cancer invading the bronchial wall and parietal pleura can cause chest pain. Spontaneous pneumothorax causes sudden severe pain due to tearing of adhesions. Dry pleurisy causes chest pain due to friction between the visceral and parietal pleura caused by inflammation. Large pleural effusions and tension pneumothorax may cause chest pain due to compression of the parietal pleura.

Their common characteristics are

Patients with the disease often have a dull cough or sputum, and their chest pain worsens when they cough or take deep breaths, while other chest wall activities can cause pain.

3. Cardiovascular system diseases

Common causes include angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and pericarditis. Angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, aortic valve disease and cardiomyopathy cause chest pain due to myocardial ischemia. Pericarditis is pain caused by involvement of the parietal pericardium and adjacent pleura below the level of the fifth rib.

Their common characteristics are

The pain is mostly located behind the sternum or in the precordial area, and a few are located under the xiphoid process. It can radiate to the left shoulder. The pain is often aggravated by physical activity and improves after rest.

4. Mediastinal and esophageal lesions

It is less common. Common causes include acute mediastinitis, mediastinal tumors, mediastinal emphysema, acute esophagitis, esophageal cancer, etc. Mediastinal disease is chest pain caused by compression of tissues within the mediastinum, nerve or bone involvement, etc. Esophageal diseases are mainly caused by inflammation or chemical irritants acting on the esophageal mucosa.

Their common characteristics are

The location of chest pain is mainly behind the sternum, and it presents as persistent dull pain and drilling pain. And the pain will be aggravated when swallowing.

5. Diaphragmatic lesions

The cause may be in the diaphragm itself or caused by abdominal visceral diseases, the most common of which are diaphragmatic pleurisy, subdiaphragmatic abscess, diaphragmatic hernia, hepatitis, liver abscess, liver cancer, etc. Chest pain caused by diaphragmatic disease is caused by irritation of the phrenic nerve.

Features

The pain is usually located in the chest and below the sternum. When the center of the diaphragm is irritated, pain may radiate to the shoulders and neck.