5 conditions that lead to chest pain (apart from heart attacks)

A chest pain might not always indicate a heart attack or cardiac pain. It might be signs of an underlying infection/inflammation of the lungs, spine or food pipe. Moreover, structural infection or inflammation of the heart tissues could also lead to severe chest pain. Dr Tilak Suvarna, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Head Department of Cardiology, Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai explains about common health conditions that can cause a chest pain, which is not a cardiac pain. 1. Inflammation or infection of the heart: Unlike a heart attack where you experience a throbbing pain in the left side of the chest that might also migrate to the arm, inflammation of heart muscles might cause a slight pain in the centre of the chest. Conditions that resemble cardiac pain but do not indicate a heart blockage include myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) or pericarditis (inflammation or infection of the sac around the heart). Read about 10 common types of heart disease. 2. Structural abnormalities of the heart: Although not common, a structural abnormality of the heart can cause chest pain which is not indicative of a heart attack. If you suffer from chest pain and shortness of breath after exercising, then it could indicate hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is a genetic disease which causes abnormal thickening of the heart muscle. A condition known as mitral valve prolapse, which is valvular disease, might also lead to chest pain. 3. Lung problems: One of the common causes of chest pain due to an underlying lung disease is inflammation of the pleura (lining of the lungs). It mainly causes a chest pain when you breathe, cough or sneeze. Lung diseases like pneumonia, which leads to pleuritic inflammation or asthma that affects the airways can also cause chest pain. In some cases, even a blot clot that lodges in the pleura, a condition known as pulmonary embolism, might also present with chest pain. 4. Bone/nerve problems: In some cases, injury to the chest following an accident or inflammation of the nerves can also lead to chest pain. The inflammation of the breastbone or pain from a rib fracture can give you chest pain. Moreover, inflammation of the ribs known as osteochondritis can cause a severe chest pain. Not just this, even injury or inflammation of the spine can cause pain to radiate to the front of the chest, which is often confused with cardiac pain. Also, inflammation of the nerves due to herpes or shingles can cause chest pain before the skin symptoms start to appear. 5. Gastrointestinal problems: Acidity or acid reflux is often mistaken for a heart attack as it causes a pain and discomfort in the chest pain. In some cases, oesophagus (food pipe) spasm or peptic ulcers might also present with chest pain, which is not indicative of cardiac pain. Read more on reasons you should take acidity seriously! Image Source: Shutterstock

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