29 years
I have been suffering for pain in my chest muscles for more than 6 months. We ruled out heart disease. pain is specifically in my upper chest. help?
Dec 3, 2015
When we as physicians think of chest pain, we think of the organs that are located in the chest: the rib cage, the heart, the airways and lungs, the esophagus, and the blood vessels and lymph nodes.
Since heart disease was rules out, this is reassuring.
In young otherwise healthy individuals, persistent chest pain that is not due to heart problems raises the suspicion of:
- possible inflammation in the rib cage itself (the condition is known as costochondritis, and this is due to the inflammation of the cartilage that is found between certain ribs and the chest bone),
- Acid reflux: the return of acid from the stomach upwards through the esophagus can produce chest pain, in association with "acid brash" (regurgitation of acid tasting fluid into the back of the mouth, especially upon rising up in the morning).
Lastly, we need to make sure the chest pain is not anxiety-related: people who are under tremendous stress may suffer from anxiety attacks, whereby they get episodes of shortness of breath, chest pain, fast heart beats, and mild sweating. The underlying cause of these symptoms is psychological.
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