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Chest Pain

Chest Pain:  What is it, Symptoms, Causes and Risk Factors, Diagnosis, Treatments | National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS)

Chest Pain - What is it for



Chest pain is a common presenting complaint of patients with coronary artery disease. Typical chest pain presents as a dull ache in the central chest which can last for several minutes (usually five to 15 minutes) and is aggravated by physical activity or emotional stress and relieved by rest. It can range from a dull ache to a sharp stabbing or pulling pain. For some patients, the pain can even spread to other body parts, such as the neck or jaw. 

Various ailments can result in chest pain. While it may be caused by life-threatening conditions involving the heart or lungs, it can also arise from other disorders involving the gastrointestinal tract or muscular chest wall. As it may be difficult to determine the exact cause of chest pain, please seek immediate medical help for your chest pain concerns.

Chest Pain - Symptoms

Heart-related chest pain


While chest discomfort is mostly associated with heart disease, it is difficult to correctly attribute the patient’s chest pain to a heart condition. Some general signs of chest pain related to a heart attack or other heart conditions include:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Cold sweats
  • Dizziness or fatigue
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Pressure or tightness in your chest
  • A deep pain which radiates to your neck, jaw, back and arms — particularly on the left arm
  • Intermittent pain or pain which lasts for a while, especially becoming worse with exertion

Chest Pain - How to prevent?

Chest Pain - Causes and Risk Factors

Chest pain can be also be due to digestive, heart or muscle and bone problems. 

Some examples of heart-related causes of chest pain are: 

Chest Pain - Diagnosis

While chest pain is not always a symptom of a heart attack, it is important for doctors to test for this critical condition first. The doctor may also check for life-threatening lung conditions which may also present with chest pain.
 
Examples for initial diagnostic tests are: 

Chest Pain - Treatments

The treatment for chest pain varies and is based on the underlying cause of your chest pain.

Other procedures and surgeries to treat some dangerous causes of chest pain include:

Chest Pain - Preparing for surgery

Chest Pain - Post-surgery care

  • Updated on 2019-06-10T16:00:00Z

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