Chest Pain: Why you shouldn’t ignore it
Chest Pain: Why you shouldn’t ignore it
People often experience warning signs before an impending medical emergency and tend to either ignore it or put off medical intervention. However, if the condition is serious, they can be left with a critical or life-threatening condition. Most adults experience chest pain at some point. While many would immediately start to worry about their heart health, others may not take it seriously enough. Chest pain, however, can be caused by many different reasons – from heart and lung problems to muscular and oesophageal issues. Unfortunately, some of these conditions can be serious or life-threatening, and the only way to be sure is to consult a specialist at the earliest.
Causes
Chest Pain caused by heart disease is usually due to Angina, Heart Attack, Aortic dissection or Pericarditis. However, as explained above, chest pain can be caused by a number of other conditions, including:
- Asthma
- Anxiety
- Acid Reflux
- Heartburn
- Panic Attack
- Shingles
- Gallbladder/Pancreas issues
- Injured ribs or muscles
- Pulmonary embolism or hypertension
Diagnosis & Treatment
Experts may need to perform certain tests to check the cause of the pain. These may include EKG/ECG, blood tests, stress tests or an echocardiogram. These tests will determine the course of treatment and the necessary lifestyle changes required to ensure a better and healthier life ahead.
Heart Disease
Most people would scoff at the idea that they are at risk for heart disease. However, thanks to changing lifestyles and habits, more people are at risk of heart disease than ever before. Some of these risk factors are obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, stress, high blood pressure, diabetes, or just old age. Studies have shown that Indians are genetically prone to heart disease.
According to WHO, over 60% of the world’s heart patients are Indians, making India the Heart Attack Capital of the world. Already, over 100 million people in the country suffer from heart-related diseases. Even more disturbing is the rising incidence of cardiac problems among the youth.
Chest pain, when accompanied by pain in the arm or jaw, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest tightness or nausea could be a sign of trouble.
Chest pain is the most well-known symptom of heart troubles. So if you or a loved one experiences chest pain, don’t hesitate to get help at the earliest.
In a medical emergency call 1066 for Apollo ambulance.