Heart muscle is the strongest tissue in your body. It is responsible for pumping the oxygenated blood (obtained from lungs) to the remainder of the body via thorough circulatory system. Why is it important to know ‘where is your heart located?’ For starters, it assists in classifying the cardiac symptoms for the urgency of medical attention such as chest pain. The majority of people are afraid and nervous as they think that chest pain is only related to heart problem or ischemic injury of cardiac muscles. The truth is that not all the chest discomforts have association with the heart. However, it is not something to be disregarded.
Where Is Your Heart Located?
It may be a shocker for a few of you, however hearts isn’t truly located on the left side of your chest. It lies in between the right and left lungs, in the middle of the chest and a little to the left of the breastbone.
The heart is enclosed in the pericardium which is a double layer. This pericardium is connected to the diaphragm, spinal column and other parts by means of strong ligaments. Inside, heart is hollow and divided into 4 chambers: the upper 2 chambers are called left and right atria whereas the lower ones are called the left and right ventricles. A muscle wall (likewise called interventricular septum) divides the left and right ventricles and atria. Left ventricle is the strongest chamber of the human heart. In rare cases, the heart is located to the right side. This condition is called dextrocardia and is genetic in nature.
When Are Chest Pain Heart Related?
You currently have a fast grasp on “where is your heart located?”, however the location of the pain can’t correctly tell if the pain is heart related. Here we are going to talk about the symptoms of numerous chest discomforts which are related to heart.
1. Cardiac arrest
Heart attack arises from the occluded capillary that bring blood to the heart. The patient may experience the following signs:
Fullness or squeezing experience in the chest. It may reoccur or may last for a number of minutes, progressively.
The chest pain radiates to jaw, neck and arms.
You may experience additional symptoms like trouble in breathing, vomiting and nausea.
Inning accordance with the Association of American Family Physician, the pain radiating towards the arms is an essential indicator of an approaching or intense cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, sharp pain is normally not the cause behind the cardiovascular disease.
2. Angina
When the blood supply does not fulfill the need of the heart muscles, it leads to angina. The pain in angina is more or less just like that experienced in a heart attack. The pain may exacerbate during physical exertion and might vanish upon resting. This is the particular function of steady angina for which you will need a prescription medication like nitroglycerine. However experiencing pain even when you are resting can indicate that you have unstable angina that may increase the risk of heart attack by numerous folds.
3. Contrast Between Cardiac and Non-Cardiac Chest Pain
| Characteristics | Cardiac Chest Pain | Other Chest Pain |
| The time when pain occurs | Morning | Evening |
| What does the pain feel like? | Deep, squeezing, burning, constriction, heaviness, pressure and usually radiates to back, arms and jaw | Local, sharp and real pain. Usually limited to one point and can easily be pointed to. |
| What causes the pain? | Main trigger may be exertion or movements of upper arms. Exertion during extreme temperature or heavy meals may also cause pain. | Mostly happens on its own and heartburn may occur after eating the meals. |
| How long does it last? | Once the exertion is reduced, the pain resolves spontaneously. | It comes and goes quickly at times may last for several hours. |
| How to alleviate the pain? | Avoid exertion.Angina pain worsens while laying back. Make sure you seek immediate medical help | Pain maybe alleviated by exertion, exercise or breathing exercise. Pain maybe relieved by antacids, aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen. Wet or dry heat may help as well. |
Caution
- At times, no chest pain is experienced when an individual is having a cardiac arrest. In such cases, the warnings might be inexplicable queasiness, sweating, lightheadedness and vomiting. It’s vital to look for medical help in case you can’t figure out how to minimize these symptoms.
- If the chest pain or discomfort lasts for longer than 15 minutes or it fails to fix by glyceryl trinitrate (nitrogycerin/GTN) or rest, you should seek expert medical assistance as quickly as possible.
Other Causes of Chest Pain
Now that you got the response of “where is your heart located” and have a brief concept of the circumstances where chest pain is heart related, you might wish to learn about the conditions in which chest pain is not heart associated. The following are some of them.
1. Gastrointestinal Disorder
Chest pain may occur due to following digestive disorders:.
- Heartburn.
It’s a burning, painful experience behind the breastbone which occurs due to backwash of stomach acid into the esophagus.
- Swallowing Disorders.
Esophageal conditions can make swallowing painful or difficult.
- Pancreatic or Gallbladder Issues.
Inflammation of pancreas or gallbladder or presence of gallstones can set off abdominal pain which may radiate to the chest.
2. Muscle and Bone Problems
Some chest pains result from the structural issues in the chest wall such as:.
- Costochondritis.
It is defined by the swelling and pain in the cartilage (the connective tissue connecting the breastbone and the ribs).
Sore Muscles.
Some chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia can trigger relentless muscle associated chest pain.
- Injured Ribs.
This is defined by chest pain due to a damaged or a bruised rib.
- 3. Lungs Disorders.
Chest pain may arise from following lung disorders:.
- Lung Embolism.
It takes place when the disruption in the blood flow is caused by lodged blood clot in the pulmonary artery.
Inflammation of the membrane that covers the lungs may result in chest pain upon cough or even deep breathing.
- Collapsed Lung.
This condition results from the leak of air into the spaces in between ribs and lungs. The associated chest pain might be abrupt and last for hours.
- Lung Hypertension.
High pressure of blood in pulmonary arteries can lead to chest pain.
4. Other Causes
Chest pain might likewise arise from:.
- Panic Attack.
Anxiety attack might cause intense durations of fear, chest pain, quick heart beat, profuse sweating, fast breathing, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and a fear of passing away.
- Shingles.
When the chickenpox infection becomes reactivated, it often triggers pain and produces a band of blisters from the back to the chest wall.
Note
Inning accordance with the Harvard Heart Letter, chest pain is less most likely to be heart associated if it is relatable to the following description. Nevertheless, some conditions that are not heart associated may need major medical consultation. So be sure to get properly diagnosed.
- Knifelike or sharp pain that happens when coughing or breathing.
- Sudden stabbing pain lasting for a couple of seconds.
- Pain restricted to the either sides.
- Pain limited to a particular spot.
- Pain lasting for numerous hours or days with no other symptoms.
- Pain that occurs with the body language or pushing of the chest.
