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The underlying cause is unclear. Some believe the pain may be from the chest wall or irritation of an intercostal nerve. [1] [2] Risk factors include psychological stress. [2] The pain is not due to the heart. Diagnosis is based on the symptoms. Other conditions that may produce similar symptoms include angina, pericarditis, pleurisy, and chest ...
Psychogenic causes of chest pain can include panic attacks; however, this is a diagnosis of exclusion. [12] In children, the most common causes for chest pain are musculoskeletal (76–89%), exercise-induced asthma (4–12%), gastrointestinal illness (8%), and psychogenic causes (4%). [13] Chest pain in children can also have congenital causes.
Sharp, pleuritic, retro-sternal (under the sternum) or left precordial (left chest) pain Crushing, pressure-like, heavy pain. Described as "elephant on the chest." Radiation Pain radiates to the trapezius ridge (to the lowest portion of the scapula on the back) or no radiation. Pain radiates to the jaw or left arm, or does not radiate. Exertion
The most common cause is injury to the chest from blunt force or surgery on the heart or chest. Hemothorax also can occur in people with lung or pleural cancer. Hemothorax can put pressure on the lung and force it to collapse. It also can cause shock, a state of hypoperfusion in which an insufficient amount of blood is able to reach the organs.
Chest pain with features characteristic of cardiac origin (angina) can also be precipitated by profound anemia, brady-or tachycardia (excessively slow or rapid heart rate), low or high blood pressure, severe aortic valve stenosis (narrowing of the valve at the beginning of the aorta), pulmonary artery hypertension and a number of other conditions.
Costochondritis, also known as chest wall pain syndrome or costosternal syndrome, is a benign inflammation of the upper costochondral (rib to cartilage) and sternocostal (cartilage to sternum) joints. 90% of patients are affected in multiple ribs on a single side, typically at the 2nd to 5th ribs. [1]
Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of stenosis (narrowing of the blood vessels) of the heart's arteries and, hence, angina pectoris. Some people with chest pain have normal or minimal narrowing of heart arteries; in these patients, vasospasm is a more likely cause for the pain, sometimes in the context of Prinzmetal's angina and syndrome X.
There are only 10–20 cases annually in the United States. [1] These cases occur mostly in boys and young men (mean age 15), usually during sports participation. [1] It occurs most frequently in baseball when the hard ball strikes an unprotected chest, although there have been cases of commotio cordis in players using a chest protector. [1]