Chest Pain & Heart Disease

Chest pain or discomfort is a classic symptom of both angina and heart attack. But not all chest pain comes from the heart. The cause depends on what the pain feels like, how long it lasts, factors leading up to and accompanying the pain and how it is relieved.

Pain caused by coronary heart disease has a number of typical features and it is useful to be aware of them. Always tell your GP about any chest pain symptoms.

Heart attack

The characteristic features of a heart attack caused by a blood clot blocking a coronary artery are usually described as the following:

• A crushing central chest pain, like a heavy weight on the chest
• The pain may spread to or just affect the arms (particularly the left), the throat, neck, jaw, back or stomach
• The pain is usually severe, grows in intensity and lasts more than 15 minutes
• Weakness or fainting
• Breathlessness, sickness and vomiting, sweating, pallor
• The pain does not go away with rest
• Even if you have doubts about the cause or exact location of your pain, if you experience any of these symptoms seek help immediately by phoning 999 for an ambulance and calling your doctor

Angina

Angina pain is the result of a disruption in the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle (ischaemia). It is caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries. Angina symptoms differ between individuals, and different people use a variety of terms to describe their pain. However, typical features include the following:

• The pain typically occurs during physical exertion or emotional stress
• The pain occurs below the breastbone and is often described as a heavy, dull, tight, squeezing, burning discomfort
• It may radiate to or just affect the arms (but particularly the left), the throat, jaw, back and stomach
• Attacks of stable angina, or angina that usually only occurs after physical exertion, may last from 2-10 minutes and are generally relieved by resting or with a glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) spray.

Specialised tests such as a resting electrocardiogram (ECG) and a treadmill exercise ECG may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

However, never wait longer than 15 minutes if the chest pain persists. If it does, even if you are unsure about the nature of your pain, seek medical help as soon as possible by phoning 999 for an ambulance and calling your doctor.

Source - bhf