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 need 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 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 has accumulated and pushed 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 due to nerve stress can also cause numbness in the arm which is often mistaken for a heart attack.