Costochondritis symptoms in women

There are a lot of things that can cause chest pain. Some of the most common and well known causes of chest pain would include heart attack, acid reflux, lung problems, and stomach ulcers. However, there other, less famous, medical conditions can also cause chest pain . One such condition is called costochondritis.

A lot of people tend to make the mistake of confusing the symptoms of this medical condition with those of a heart attack or another serious heart condition. This particular ailment mainly happens to women. and especially those women older than 40 years of age. When women are concern, this particular pain is experienced as breast pain and it can be a symptom of breast cancer.

What is costochondritis?

When the cartilage that connects the upper end of a rib bone to the sternum, gets inflamed, a person is considered to be suffering from costochondritis. Some people might know this ailment as costosternal syndrome, costosternal chondrodynia, or by some other name. In cases when there is swelling as well, then it is the case of a Tietze syndrome.

A lot of people believe that these two conditions are the same. However, the truth is that they are pretty much different. In most cases, there is no known cause of costochondritis but in some cases the cause is known. Some of the known causes are trauma or injury to the chest wall, respiratory infections or infections caused by surgery on the upper chest, the central pain disorder fibromyalgia, and serious physical strain caused by exercise, among other reason. Even fungal infections can sometimes cause this ailment, but these cases are very rare.

What are the main symptoms of costchondritis?

Chest pain is the most common symptom of costochondritis. However, the problem is that chest pain is a a generic symptom that can also point to various ailments. This is why it is important to rule out some of the more serious ailments like heart attack before a diagnosis of costochondritis can be made.

People need to know the importance of being able to tell when the pain they are experiencing is caused by costochondritis.The chest pain a person will experience when they are suffering from a case of costochondritis will most likely be sharp, but in some cases it can also be dull and gnawing. However, pain related to costochondritis will always be located in the upper chest wall. Coughing can worsen the pain. Breathing problems and shortbess of breath are also possible if you have costochondritis.

What are the symptoms of costchondritis in women?

Some research studies have found that around 70 percent of all costochondritis patients are women. Studies also prove that most patients with fibromyalgia also suffer from costochondritis, and 90 percent of all diagnosed fibromyalgia patients are women. Symptoms of this ailment are very similar for both men and women.

However, even though you may conclude that you might have costochondritis if you have chest pain, when people experience chest pain, they should seek medical attention. This is always important, in order to rule out serious medical emergencies that require immediate treatment, such as a heart attack.