Dull chest pain is something that most people take very seriously fearing that it is caused by some heart problems. Therefore, only few people ignore dull chest pain when it appears, while the others immediately pay a visit to a doctor. However, it happens that sometimes even the doctors cannot establish the seriousness of this pain right away since it can be caused by various reasons. As we already know, the nervous system in the humans is immense and very complicated and complex, which is the reason why the pain that appears in some other part of the body can easily spread to the chest.
Causes of dull chest pain
Angina is the chest pain that occurs in people suffering from coronary artery disease. Over years, the fat and cholesterol gradually accumulate on the walls of the blood channels making them narrow or blocked. Due to this blockage, the heart does not get enough oxygenated blood and it begins to starve for oxygen. When the heart is short of oxygen, ischemia or angina appears. Ischemia can be stable or unstable, and while stable angina lasts for a short time and usually disappears with rest, unstable angina lasts longer and does not subside with rest.Another culprit for the appearance of dull pain in the chest is heart attack. This heart issue is induced when a heart artery is obstructed and when this organ does not have enough oxygen because of that, which further causes the formation of the blood clotting that impairs the normal blood circulation. As a result, a heart attack occurs.Dull chest pain usually appears in people suffering from heartburn after eating large meals and consuming cigarettes and caffeine along with alcohol. Heartburn is often called acid indigestion and it is more seen in women than in men.Sometimes the esophagus disorders are responsible for dull chest pain. Gastroesophageal disease, widely known as acid reflux, occurs when the undigested food flows back from the stomach to the esophagus. Esophagitis is another esophagus disorder, which refers to the infection of the esophagus. Furthermore, dull chest pain may also appear when the muscles of the esophagus are contracted, which is known as esophagus spasm.Lung cancer is a life-threatening disease, which has dull chest pain as one of the major symptoms.Other potential causes that are likely to lead to the appearance of dull chest pain include pneumonia, herpes zoster and asthma. Furthermore, those people who inhale cocaine may also feel dull pain in their chest.- www.nhs.uk/conditions/chest-pain/
- medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000088.htm
- Photo courtesy of Chikumaya by Wikimedia Commons: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chest.jpg
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