Cardiac Pain

According to the Pain Resource Center, it can be difficult to diagnose cardiac pain because the brain doesn't do a very good job of identifying sensations from the heart.

• Cardiac pain is difficult to diagnose.

Types

• A heart problem may cause chest pain, or you may experience referred cardiac pain that feels like it's coming from another part of the body. For example, pain in your jaw, back, neck, stomach or either arm may signal a heart attack.

Features

• While some heart attacks do cause sudden, severe chest pain, most do not. According to the American Heart Association, most begin with mild chest discomfort that may feel like pressure or fullness. You may also have shortness of breath.

Factors

• Your doctor will ask you questions about what makes your pain worse (e.g. exercise) and what makes it better (e.g. nitroglycerin pills designed to increase blood flow to the heart) to determine whether your pain is cardiac in nature.

Considerations

• It's important to consider all symptoms when you suspect you have cardiac pain. For example, chest pain with shortness of breath, sweating, lightheadedness and nausea can signal a heart attack.

Warning

• When it comes to heart attacks, time wasted is muscle lost. Call 911 immediately if you believe you are having a heart attack.