What are the Causes of Left-Hand Chest Pain?

What are the Causes of Left-Hand Chest Pain? Left chest pain is often associated with life-threatening heart attacks. However, it can also be caused by other disorders. Some disorders that can cause left chest pain are various kinds, ranging from digestive disorders, lung problems, to heart attacks.

If you experience left chest pain caused by a heart attack, you really need medical help as soon as possible. However, if caused by other disorders, generally do not require emergency help.

Therefore, it is important for you to know what are the causes of left chest pain and the accompanying symptoms so that you can get the right treatment.

Get to know the causes and symptoms

Here are some disorders that can cause left chest pain, including:

Heart attack

Heart attacks occur when blood flow to the heart muscle is suddenly blocked. If the left chest pain is caused by a heart attack, you will feel your chest pressed, squeezed, and a heavy feeling in the chest cavity appears. Not infrequently accompanied by a feeling like pain in ulu ati.
In addition, pain may also arise such as pricking or numbness in the left arm, which can propagate to the right arm. The arms can feel weaker or heavier than normal.
When a heart attack appears, symptoms of shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, cold sweat, and headaches can occur. Symptoms that appear can be different in each person.

Angina

Angina is a condition caused by the narrowing of the arteries to the heart, so that blood flow does not flow normally. Symptoms that are felt are the chest feels tight or sharp pain such as muscle cramps in the left chest, shortness of breath, and may feel very tired. It usually occurs after physical activity that makes the heart work harder.

Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract

When a lot of gas is formed in the intestine and the body has not released it all, the gas becomes accumulated and pushes the intestines so that chest pain can arise. This condition is usually accompanied by symptoms of the stomach feeling bloated and often belching. Another digestive tract disorder is GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), which has backflow from the stomach contents to the esophagus. Gastric acid can damage the esophagus and cause heartburn.

Problems with the lungs

Lung infections can cause inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) and membranes around the lungs (pleurisy). One symptom that can occur is chest pain on the left which is increasingly felt when breathing and accompanied by coughing or gasping breath.

Stressful

Not only physical disorders, stress can also cause chest pain on the left. Uncontrolled stress can cause tightness. This condition can be aggravated by unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. If this condition is not handled properly, it can lead to heart disease.

Injury

Chest injury, such as a stretched muscle or a compressed nerve can cause left chest pain. Pain from a compressed nerve can also cause numbness in the arm which is often mistaken for a heart attack.

The importance of proper handling

Handling of left chest pain varies depending on the cause. Most importantly, recognize the symptoms that require immediate action, such as typical pain caused by a heart attack.

When you feel chest pain, try to lie down and take a few short breaths. Loosen your clothes, you can also drink water which can help calm yourself. In addition, painkillers may help to relieve pain.

However, immediately seek medical attention if chest pain is experienced:

Feels heavy, like being pressed and squeezed.
Spread from the chest to the arms, back and jaw.
Lasts more than 15 minutes.
Accompanied by nausea, vomiting of blood, shortness of breath and body sweating.
Have a risk of developing coronary heart disease. This risk can arise if you smoke, are obese, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
Don't underestimate the left chest pain that you feel. Immediately ask for help from a doctor or medical expert to recognize the symptoms that you feel in order to get appropriate help.

Ditinjau oleh: dr. Kevin Adrian

Referensi

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