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Chest pain
Category: Chest, Heart & Circulation · All chest & heart symptoms
What it can feel like
Chest pain is any pain, ache, pressure or discomfort in the chest. It ranges from brief twinges in the chest wall to the heavy, squeezing pressure of a heart problem, and because it is impossible to sort out safely at home, new or severe chest pain is always treated as urgent.
Possible causes
A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
Common causes
Chest pain can be associated with muscle strain in the chest wall, heartburn and reflux, shingles before the rash appears, anxiety and panic, and infections such as pleurisy or a chest infection.
Other possible causes
Chest pain can also be associated with angina or a heart attack, with inflammation around the heart, with a blood clot in the lung, and with a tear in the main artery — causes that need emergency treatment, which is why assessment is urgent.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- Chest pain or pressure that lasts more than a few minutes, or keeps coming back
- Chest pain spreading to the arm, jaw, neck or back
- Chest pain with breathlessness, sweating, nausea or feeling faint
- Chest pain with coughing blood or a racing heartbeat
- Sudden, severe tearing chest pain
What a clinician may do
In an emergency setting the team will attach a heart tracing (ECG), take blood tests including a heart enzyme test, and check blood pressure and oxygen levels. Depending on the results they may arrange a chest X-ray, scans of the heart or lungs, and treatment is started immediately where a heart cause is found.
Watch: related videos
Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if chest pain is my heart?
You cannot know for certain at home — heart pain is often described as heavy, tight or squeezing, may spread to the arm or jaw, and often comes with sweating, nausea or breathlessness, but it can also feel mild or like indigestion. That is why new chest pain should be assessed urgently rather than self-diagnosed.
Is chest pain from anxiety real pain?
Yes — anxiety and panic can produce genuine, sometimes severe chest pain through muscle tension and heightened awareness of the heartbeat. It still deserves a proper assessment the first time, so that heart and lung causes are excluded before anxiety is settled on.
Related symptoms — Chest, Heart & Circulation
Browse the C section of the A–Z list or return to the Symptoms A–Z hub.