Causes

• Heart attack. A heart attack almost always causes chest pain. This pain may be mild or severe. Pain from a heart attack does not go away quickly. Rest and medications don’t completely relieve the pain.
• Angina. Angina can also cause chest pain. Angina may feel like a heart attack, but it is different. Most angina attacks last about 15 minutes.
• Heartburn. Heartburn can cause a burning pain behind your breastbone.
• Muscle pain. The muscles and other tissues in the chest wall can become quite painful from strains caused by exercise, a fall, or coughing. Called chest-wall pain, this type of chest pain usually feels worse when you press on the sore area.
• Panic attacks. Panic disorder can include chest-pain symptoms such as heart palpitations (a fast, strong, or uneven heartbeat) and shortness of breath. Other symptoms of panic disorder are anxiety and fear of suffocation or dying.
• Ulcers and gallbladder disease. Ulcers and gallbladder disease can cause pain that spreads to the chest.
• Pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism is a clot blocking the arteries from the heart to the lungs. Risk factors for pulmonary embolism are surgery within the past 6 weeks, wearing a cast, prolonged sitting during airplane and car travel, and conditions that confine you to bed. Symptoms include sudden shortness of breath, sudden chest pain that is worse when you breathe, and sometimes a bloody cough.

Know the Signs of a Heart Attack

• Crushing, squeezing, burning feeling in the chest
• Feeling of pressure in the chest
• Pain that spreads to the jaw, arms, neck, or back
• Nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, sweating
• Rest or prescribed drug doesn’t relieve pain
• Pain lasts longer than 15 minutes
• Pain while you are resting or that wakes you from sleep

Self-Care

• Know the signs of a heart attack. If you think you are having a heart attack, call 911 and take an aspirin.
• To ease a muscle strain in the chest, take a pain reliever such as acetaminophen. Apply heat and get rest.