Intermittent Chest Pain
What You Should Know about Intermittent Chest Pain
Intermittent chest pain can be a scary situation for someone who is experiencing it. It can even be scary for someone that has a friend or family member that is experiencing it. Many times people automatically assume that they are having a heart attack when they feel this type of pain in their chest. This is not always the case. You should understand that there are often other explanations for this pain. This article is going to explore intermittent chest pain in a little more detail.
You should understand some of the other causes of intermittent chest pain before you begin to assume the worst. First, this pain can be caused by certain psychological disorder such as anxiety or panic attacks. Therefore, if you are experiencing a lot of stress and you suddenly begin having this type of pain you may want to talk to your doctor about panic attacks. This may be the cause of the pain and it can be treated with medication or therapy to help you control your emotions. Other issues that affect the digestive tract can cause intermittent chest pain. If you are having other complications with your bowels, these two problems may be related. It is best to think of these issues before you automatically assume that you have had a heart attack or stroke.
However, there are times that you are going to want to contact your doctor immediately. If the pain in your chest is sudden and it feels like it is crushing you or squeezing and you can not breathe, you will need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. You are going to want to have someone take you because you are not going to want to drive in that condition. It is not safe for you or for others. You may even want to call the ambulance to take you if you need to.
If your intermittent chest pain begins to move into the jaw or your arms you are going to need to call your doctor as soon as possible. This can be a sign of a stroke. It is best to be checked by your doctor rather than assuming that everything will be ok when the pain goes away. You are going to want your doctor to check for any blockage or other possible causes of the radiating pain. You should also contact your doctor is you notice that the intermittent chest pain is returning when you are resting and not working. You will also want to keep tract of how long the pain is lasting for. If you notice that it is lasting longer than usual you are going to want to let the doctor know that as well.
While this type of pain can be very frightening, you should always remember that it can be caused by numerous different things. Heartburn can cause intermittent chest pain. You may have noticed that you have this pain when you are suffering with heartburn. Often times you can take an over the counter medication to help with this. However, you may want to let your doctor know if that is not helping and you believe you may need something stronger. Let them know about the chest pain that is accompanying it because you may need to have surgery to correct the problem.
Other complications like back problems may create the intermittent chest pain. You may be able to get therapy for your back in order to help with the pain. You may also want to talk to the doctor about different medications that you may be able to take to help with the combined pain. Rest may also be a great idea to give your back time to heal and decrease any chest pain related to the back problems.