What does the chest pain say on the left

Everyone knows about where the heart is located. Therefore, when there is pain in the left sternum, almost no one asks a question about what it is, because the answer is ready in advance - it's the heart. But is it always so?

In order to understand what causes the pain in the sternum on the left, you need to know what is there. In addition to the heart, in this area there is the left main bronchus, entering the left lung, and its shell, rich in nerve endings. Also there is a part of the mediastinum, along which there are nerves, large vessels, for example, the aorta. In addition to the heart, there is also its shell, called the pericardium, also rich in nerve endings. Do not forget about the chest, as between the ribs there are nerves and vessels, and the ribs are supported by intercostal muscles.

The most common diseases that people die from are related to heart disease. Basically, these are diseases caused by heart failure, such as various arrhythmias, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, as well as myocarditis, pericarditis, endocarditis (but this is less common than the above listed diseases). All these pathologies can cause pain in the sternum on the left, but the pain with each disease is different from each other. For example, with angina pectoris pain is compressive and can give in the left arm or the left side of the neck, sometimes a feeling of numbness in the hand. The duration of pain in the left breastbone does not exceed 15 - 20 minutes and it very quickly passes after taking nitroglycerin. With a heart attack, the pain is located in the sternum on the left (but not always), but it is much stronger, sometimes reaching the shock of cardiac etiology. The patient may lose consciousness, the temperature may rise, a strong sweating appears, the pain also gives to the left arm, the left side of the neck and face. Such pain is not stopped by nitroglycerin, but requires strong analgesics and in highly skilled care. But sometimes the heart attack, especially in the elderly, is manifested much less symptomatology, not such acute pain, and sometimes even passes asymptomatically.

With pericardial pain appears depending on the rate of progression of the disease. Serous pericarditis is characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the space between the pericardial membranes, if this accumulation occurs slowly, then the pain may not be or it is initially insignificant and increases during the course of the disease progression. The amount of liquid can reach 1 - 1.5 liters and even more. But if pericarditis appears spontaneously, as, for example, in cardiac tamponade, the pain in the sternum on the left is acute, unbearable, does not pass after nitroglycerin.

Lung diseases can also be a causative pain in the left breastbone. This applies to the left lung and its main bronchus. Bronch can hurt with acute bronchitis with a heavy course, and there may also be a tumor or some foreign body, which is very rare. Lungs give pain in pneumonia (pneumonia), when the pleura (pulmonary membrane) is introduced into the inflammatory process, since the lungs do not have nerve endings and can not hurt themselves, but the pleura is rich in them. In this case, the pain is located on the affected side, it increases with inspiration and is practically absent during the stopping of breathing, so the patient tries to breathe the opposite side. Other diseases may include swelling, tuberculosis, but the pain in the sternum on the left will appear in cases when bronchi or pleura penetrate into the process. There are a number of other diseases related to the pleura: pneumothorax (ingress of air into the pleural cavity), pleurisy of various etiologies (intensity of pain appears, as in pericarditis), empy, etc. It should be remembered that the pain in diseases of the lungs and the pleura depends on the process of breathing.

Very often, especially adolescents complain of acute pain in the sternum on the left, which is often associated with the inability to inhale. This frightens many, suggesting that it is some sort of heart disease, but in fact very often it is the intercostal neuralgia that appears during stress, long tension, or the wrong position of the spine. This pain does not last long, often passes by itself, after a massage in this area or after sedatives. Sometimes the cause can be in the osteochondrosis in the thoracic spine. In such cases, you should pay more attention to this.

As you have already noticed, there are a lot of reasons for the chest pain on the left, and this is not the whole list of diseases. In any case, in order to find out the exact cause, you should consult a doctor to prevent serious consequences.