Causes of Chest Discomfort or Pain

Most people fear that chest pain always means something is wrong with the heart. This is not the case. Chest discomfort or pain, especially in people who are younger than age 40, can have many causes.

• Pain in the muscles or bones of the chest often occurs when you increase your activities or add exercise to your schedule. This is sometimes called chest wall pain.
  
• Burning chest pain that occurs when you cough may be caused by an upper respiratory infection caused by a virus. You may also have a fever with the cough.
  
• Burning chest or rib pain, especially just before a rash appears, may be caused by shingles.
  
• An injury, such as a broken rib can be quite painful, especially when you cough or try to take a deep breath.
  
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can cause pain just below the breastbone. Many people will say they have “heartburn.” This pain is usually relieved by taking an antacid or eating. Medicines may also cause GERD.
  

   

Other, more serious problems that can cause chest pain include:

• A collapsed lung, pneumothorax, which usually causes a sharp, stabbing chest pain and occurs with shortness of breath.
  
• A blood clot in the lung (pulmonary embolism), which usually causes deep chest pain with the rapid development of extreme shortness of breath.
  
• Lung cancer, which may cause chest pain, especially if the cancer cells spread to involve the ribs.
  
• Diseases of the spine, which can cause chest pain if the nerves in the spine are “pinched.”
  
• Aortic dissection, which can cause chest pain when the aortic vessel tears.
  

 

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