Many people who experience a tightness or discomfort in the chest fear the worst: heart attack. When evaluating patients for heart attack, doctors consider aconstellation of symptoms. For instance, chest pain alone can be caused by several different conditions, some less dangerous than others. However, when present with other symptoms, including shoulder and neck pain, the probability of there being a heart attack in progress increases significantly.
Causes of Chest Tightness
There are many organs in your chest that can cause pain. With chest tightness, the heart may be undergoing an ischemic event, or decreased blood flow, due to the presence of a clot or narrowed coronary artery. Asthma, pneumonia, and blood clots in the lungs are sources of pain in the respiratory system. Gastrointestinal disorders such as stomach ulcers, heartburn, indigestion and gallstones may also cause a chest pain similar to heart attack, despite coming from completely different organs.
Causes of Shoulder and Neck Pain
The potential causes of shoulder and neck pain is a much shorter list. Muscle or tendon inflammation due to a physical strain may be the culprit. Shoulder and neck pain may also be associated with more serious cardiac issues, including heart attack. Sensory nerves from the shoulder and neck go to the same region of the brain as sensory nerves from the heart. This is why pain originating from the heart may be experienced as pain in the neck and shoulder.
Other Symptoms of a Heart Attack
Shortness of breath, coughing, nausea, lightheadedness, pain radiating down the arm and cold sweats are among the other signs of heart attack. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms in combination with chest tightness and pain in the shoulder and neck the risk of the cause being a heart attack increases significantly.
When to contact a doctor
When in doubt, do not hesitate to call your doctor or visit an emergency room. Remember, it is easier to prevent a heart attack than to treat one; being proactive about your health and taking steps to eliminate risk factors for heart disease will aid in prevention.
