If you’ve experienced chest discomfort, you may be frightened. Pain in the chest area is one of the largest symptoms of a heart attack. However, take heart because not every chest pain you experience is a serious one. There is a variety of reasons why you may have unexpected pain in your chest. Knowing some of the most common causes of chest pain and the right treatment options can be helpful if you’re dealing with this condition.
Broken or Bruised Ribs
Have you been more active than usual or did you do some heavy lifting over the weekend? If so, a bruised or broken rib may be causing you to experience discomfort in your chest. This can happen easily, and you may not even be aware of it until you begin feeling pain and have difficulty breathing easily.
The treatment for this condition may involve putting ice on your injury and taking deep breaths periodically. You can take over-the-counter pain medication to ease your discomfort. However, you can expect three to six weeks to heal fully from this injury.
Pneumonia
If you’ve had a chest cold that has escalated to pneumonia, this could be causing your chest discomfort. You may need to obtain an x-ray of the chest area to confirm this. The symptoms of this condition include a cough, shortness of breath and chest pain.
In order to properly heal from this condition, you will need to take antibiotics for a certain amount of time. These will help reduce the infection that is in your lungs.
Indigestion
If you’ve eaten too much food that was spicy, you may have indigestion that may cause your chest to hurt. However, this may simply be indigestion and some of the symptoms may include burping, chest and abdominal pain in some cases.
If your indigestion isn’t severe, you can take over-the-counter antacids to help settle your stomach.
Dealing with chest pain may cause you concern. It’s ideal to schedule an appointment with Brookhaven Heart by calling 631 654-3278 and getting a thorough examination today!
