How do I differentiate between muscle pain and heart pain?
The difference between heart and muscle pain, how to differentiate between muscle pain and heart pain, is one of the frequently asked questions among a large segment of people, as many people panic when they suffer from chest pain, and they think that the cause of the pain is a heart health problem, but in Most of the time, the source of pain is in the pectoral muscle and not in the heart. In this article, we will talk about the difference between pain caused by chest muscles and pain caused by a heart problem, as well as symptoms of heart pain and symptoms and causes of chest muscle pain.
The difference between muscle pain and heart pain
How to differentiate between muscle pain and heart pain, where the symptoms of heart pain are very similar to chest muscle pain, which leads some to confuse them, and make them feel anxious, tense and perhaps fearful, and a medical professional is best able to assess the condition in more detail on the basis of a specific diagnosis , including: 1
Pain from a heart health problem occurs in episodes of intermittent pain cycles.
Heartache also comes in the form of stings that the patient feels, such as stabs of a knife while breathing or coughing.
Heart pain is characterized by radiating to the left arm, neck, jaw, or back.
On the other hand, the pain is caused by a problem in the chest muscles continuously, and its intensity gradually decreases.
The severity of chest pain depends on the disease causing it. This pain gradually disappears and the patient recovers within days to weeks.
With muscle pain in the chest area, the patient feels that his condition worsens when breathing deeply, sneezing or coughing.
With muscle pain, the patient also feels pain in the upper back.
Symptoms of muscle pain in the chest area
There are some reasons that lead to contractions in the chest muscles that cause pain, and there are many symptoms that help doctors in diagnosing despite their similarity with the symptoms of the heart, and symptoms of muscle pain to some extent are not considered dangerous and do not affect the life of the patient, and among these symptoms are what follows:
Muscle pain is associated with moving the muscles of the chest or upper spine.
The pain increases with deep breathing as a result of tightening the chest muscles.
Chest muscle pain is usually associated with upper back pain.
The intensity of the pain gradually subsides and disappears after days or weeks.
Chest pain and difficulty swallowing are associated with a burning sensation in the throat and chest.
Pain relievers can reduce the intensity of the pain until it is completely gone.
Causes of chest muscle pain
Muscle pain can be caused by a variety of pathological causes, each of which has symptoms that aid the correct diagnosis, including:
Gastrointestinal diseases and chest muscle pain: such as gastroesophageal root disease, which is mainly a burning sensation due to the return of acid to the esophagus from the stomach, and this acidity occurs shortly after eating and worsens when sleeping immediately after eating, and this leads to cramps in the chest muscles.
Bone or muscle disorders and chest muscle pain: such as myositis or rib fractures, this is where there is a very painful muscle strain in the chest wall caused by a particular injury is a bulge around the ribs, which gets worse when lying down and gradually recovers from it at rest, can Pain relievers can help relieve this pain.
Panic attacks and anxiety: They last from five to twenty minutes and are represented by increasing palpitations with sweating and shortness of breath, and this leads to pain and spasms in the chest muscles.
Muscle pain can be caused by a sports injury: this means excessive muscle strain or repetitive, forceful movements.
Sudden weightlifting: Lifting weights when the chest muscles are relaxed can cause a very painful spasm and contraction of those muscles.
Insufficient warm-up before exercise: the muscles need to warm up with simple exercises, if the warm-up is not done well, the chest muscles will cramp
Causes of lung disease: Lung disease can cause chest pain, such as: pulmonary embolism, which is blockage of blood vessels in the lungs due to blood clots resulting from coughing that produces blood, shortness of breath and rapid heart rate that can end in fainting and other lung conditions such as pneumothorax and bronchospasm.
Gallbladder or pancreas problems: Gallstones can cause abdominal pain that radiates to the chest.
Esophageal disorders: associated with difficulty swallowing.
Symptoms of heart pain
Symptoms of heart pain differ from those caused by chest pain, and vary in severity according to the disease. These symptoms include:
Difficulty breathing: Heart pain is accompanied by difficulty breathing.
Feeling of pressure: Heart pain also causes a feeling of something pressing on the chest, where the patient feels pain in the middle of the chest.
Sweating: Heart pain is also associated with cold sweats.
Spreading pain: When pain in the heart extends to other parts of the body, such as the left arm.
Severe pain: When coughing or sneezing, the patient feels severe pain like a knife stabbing that lasts for a few seconds.
Sudden nausea: In severe cases of heart pain such as, a heart attack, the pain is accompanied by sudden nausea and dizziness, and immediate medical intervention is required here.
It is mentioned that you should avoid taking medication or painkillers if you experience these symptoms without consulting your doctor.
Causes of heart pain
There are several pathological causes that lead to heart pain, in addition to several factors that contribute to increasing this pain, and the intensity of this pain varies with time and its effect on the heart, among these reasons:sleep.
Angina pectoris, in which the arteries narrow and the amount of blood flowing to the heart muscles is reduced, causing shortness of breath and cold sweats that occur during exertion, last five to ten minutes and do not cause permanent damage to the heart, emergency medications can relieve pain and move blood to the heart Faster.
A blockage in the blood vessels, which stops the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart.
Myocardial infarction, which is a decrease in blood flow to the heart as a result of the death of heart muscle cells, the pain does not go away with rest, accompanied by nausea, sweating, general fatigue and shortness of breath.
Inflammation of the pericardium, which is the covering of the heart, causes severe pain that gets worse when breathing in and lying down.
Smoking: Smoking for long periods of time causes severe heart disease that causes heart pain.
High cholesterol that can lead to blood clots if controlled.
Heart attack, in which blood flow to the heart is suddenly cut off and can cause dull pain or an uncomfortable feeling of pressure The pain begins in the middle of the chest and can extend to the arms, neck and back, minutes that can permanently damage the heart muscle.
Angina pectoris, in which the arteries narrow and the amount of blood flowing to the heart muscles is reduced, causing shortness of breath and cold sweats that occur during exertion, last five to ten minutes and do not cause permanent damage to the heart, emergency medications can relieve pain and move blood to the heart Faster.
A blockage in the blood vessels, which stops the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart.
Myocardial infarction, which is a decrease in blood flow to the heart as a result of the death of heart muscle cells, the pain does not go away with rest, accompanied by nausea, sweating, general fatigue and shortness of breath.
Inflammation of the pericardium, which is the covering of the heart, causes severe pain that gets worse when breathing in and lying down.
Danger signs for heart pain
A patient with chronic heart disease usually receives regular medical care, but a doctor needs a quick review if:
Suddenly low blood pressure or low heart rate.
Chest pain spreading to the left arm and back and getting progressively worse.
Sharp chest pain with shortness of breath.
Rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, excessive sweating.
Sudden feeling of pressure under the sternum.
How to differentiate between muscle pain and heart pain. In this article, we discussed an answer to the question of how to differentiate between muscle pain and heart pain, and the symptoms of each, as well as the causes of muscle pain in the chest area, and the causes of heart pain.
