Left Side Chest Pain? - Causes ,Treatment and Symptoms

While left-sided chest pain is often associated with a heart attack, cardiac disease is not always the reason behind it. It can also result from certain conditions that affect your lungs, bones, or muscles. The pain may be sharp, dull, or burning pain accompanied by other symptoms that vary depending on the underlying cause. 

Symptoms of Left-Side Chest Pain based on the underlying cause

• Pain can radiate to the back, neck, jaw, or arms. (If the underlying cause is heart-related.)
• Sharp or burning pain on the left side of the chest (If the underlying cause is GERD)
• Pain that worsens while breathing (If lung disease is the underlying cause)

While most of the symptoms are similar in both males & females, women with left-sided chest pain with underlying heart disease often experience nausea, vomiting, tiredness, & pain in both arms.

Causes of Left-Side Chest Pain?

Left-sided chest pain is associated with the heart, gastrointestinal tract, lung, blood vessel (vascular), and several other conditions. 

Heart and Blood Vessels: Blockage in the heart walls or blood vessels can lead to interrupted blood supply to the heart, resulting in reduced oxygenated blood & causing chest pain. Certain conditions, such as heart attack, coronary artery disease, or any heart infection (pericarditis, etc.), are associated with left-sided chest pain. 

Lungs: Blood clots in the lung that traveled from other organs (pulmonary embolism), problems or contractions in airways, and lung infections can further cause sharp pain in the chest that is often worse with breathing.

Gastrointestinal tract: Certain gastric conditions, including gastritis (inflammation in the gastric lining), gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal hernia, and esophageal spasms, can further disrupt the blood flow to the stomach and cause squeezing chest pain on the left side.

Muscles & Bones: Certain musculoskeletal conditions caused by rib injury due to falls or accidents can affect the chest area and cause sharp pain, which may lead to breathing difficulty. 

Other Conditions: Anxiety or panic attacks can also cause symptoms, including chest pain.

When should you consult a doctor if you have left-sided chest pain?
If you experience severe pain on the left side of your chest without a clear reason, especially if it is accompanied by sweating and a sense of pressure in the chest that causes significant discomfort, these could be symptoms related to a heart attack, highlighting the importance of seeking prompt care and advice from a medical professional.

Don’t wait for signs to grow severe. Consult our Cardio specialists today

Treatment of Left-Side Chest Pain:

Since left-sided chest pain is the result of various conditions, the treatment depends on the underlying disease & the information obtained through diagnosis. Therefore, treatment includes the use of medications that treat the underlying conditions, depending on the organs affected, such as antacids, blood thinners, antidepressants, etc.

• For left-sided chest pain due to clot formation, blood thinners are preferred.
• For left-sided chest pain due to gastrointestinal conditions, antacids are preferred.
• If anxiety & panic attacks are the reason behind the chest pain, antidepressants are used as the therapy.

Apart from the medical therapy, there are surgical options depending upon the underlying causes specific to the heart, lungs, etc., such as CABG & others.

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