One need not panic if he/she has chest pain left side. There are multiple reasons for getting mild chest pain. Generally all of us have a tendency to associate any kind of chest pain with attack. However, pain in the chest region does not produce Heart Attack all the time. You should know the symptoms of heart attack and be able to differentiate it from ordinary chest pain. Ranging from the simple reason of gas chest pain on the left side can have more serious cause like that of myocardial infarction.
Symptoms :
A person having heart attack will have shortness of breath, increased palpitation, squeezing sensation, increased Blood Pressure and profuse sweating along with sharp chest pain. The symptoms may vary depending on the severity of the problem. There would be shortness of breath and the pain would radiate from the chest and move towards left shoulder and on the back. There may be confusion or dizziness and the person may collapse and faint in many cases. During heart attack due to blood clot in the arteries which in turn arrests the blood supply to the heart making it slowly immobile. A person having a severe attack can manage at the most for 10-15 minutes within which the underlying tissues begin to die triggering massive attack.
A person having left side chest pain with burning sensation in his chest can have such pain due to gas problem or acidity. Gas released from the stomach will rapidly move upward to attack the soft muscle that covers the chest causing sharp pain. But there is nothing to worry if he does not have shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitation and sweating. Chest pain can happen due to Heartburn or acidity formed in the intestine or stomach.
Many people having heart attack will get a feeling of squeezing sharp pain or fullness in the heart region.
Not all the symptoms mentioned above, are experienced by individuals who had an attack.
Causes :
Chest pain actually begins either in the lungs or in the heart. Sometimes it can originate from the muscles or tissues covering the heart. In the case of acidity, it begins in the stomach or intestine.
Left side chest pain can be due to Angina, a condition in which the coronary arteries gets blocked due to accumulation of fats. It thereby blocks the arteries interrupting the blood flow. In such circumstances, the heart receives very little oxygenated blood which may directly affect its normal functioning. High level of blood cholesterol can trigger heart attack causing chest pain.
Heart attack can also be a factor for sharp chest pain, but it will have other symptoms also.
In many cases, heightened emotions and stress can cause heart attack. People who are in the stressful atmosphere most of the time have increased chances for getting cardiac problems.
Obesity (excess of weight) and chronic disease like diabetes can trigger chest pain and even heart attack. Drinking habit and continuous smoking can be the reason for chest pain in the current scenario.
Diagnoses and Treatment :
The doctor will analyze the health condition of the patient who complains of chest pain. Further he would verify the ECG (electro cardiogram) result for checking any abnormality in the functioning of heart. If needed, he may conduct angioplasty for clearing the blockages in the arteries.
Firstly your doctor will give you medications for getting relief from pain. Then he would determine the underlying cause before starting any treatment. If the patient is running short of oxygen, he may give artificial respiration by supplementary oxygen. In case if the individual has Chest Pain on Left Side due to increase in blood pressure, he would give suitable drugs for managing pressure.
In case of emergency heart attack, he may massage the heart aptly trying to recover the lost function of the heart.
