While severe pressure or tightness in the chest is the most common symptom of a heart attack, there are other conditions that can cause chest pain similar to a heart attack.
Pericarditis
If your chest discomfort feels better when you sit up or lie down, it may be related to pericarditis (a condition that occurs when the tissue lining the heart, the pericardium, becomes inflamed). This typically happens as a complication of a viral infection.
Coronary artery dissection
Although rare, coronary artery dissection is a serious condition that can cause severe chest pain when one of your arteries develops a tear.
You may also develop a tear in the aorta, which is the largest blood vessel in your body and carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body, causing chest pain that may radiate to your back.
You are more likely to develop aortic dissection if you have high blood pressure or certain connective tissue conditions.
Respiratory infections
Does your chest pain get worse when you inhale deeply? You may have pleuritic pain, which can be caused by pericarditis but is typically related to lung issues.
Respiratory infections may lead to inflammation and swelling of the tissue that lines the lungs, a condition called pleurisy, according to Mayo Clinic. This typically leads to sharp chest pain on inhalation.
Pulmonary embolism
Chest discomfort and shortness of breath can be caused by a number of things, but it may be the result of a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot that’s made its way to the arteries that connect the heart and lungs).
This condition often starts elsewhere in the body and can be life-threatening.
Asthma
If you have asthma, your airways may become narrow and produce extra mucus, which causes you to
cough, wheeze and have trouble breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
If you are experiencing chest tightness and discomfort, it may be due to the constriction of your airways.
Muscle strain
If your pain gets worse when you make certain movements or press on parts of your chest, you may have musculoskeletal issues such as a pulled muscle from overdoing it at the gym the day before.
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Is it a Heart Attack? 11 Causes of Chest Pain
cough, wheeze and have trouble breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
If you are experiencing chest tightness and discomfort, it may be due to the constriction of your airways.
Muscle strain
If your pain gets worse when you make certain movements or press on parts of your chest, you may have musculoskeletal issues such as a pulled muscle from overdoing it at the gym the day before.
Costochondritis
Costochondritis happens when the cartilage around your ribs becomes inflamed, according to the Mayo Clinic. It most often shows up in the sternum — at the exact position mimicking a heart attack. The pain you may experience is a sharp or shooting pain that gets worse when you press on the area. Although it has no clear cause, it may be a result of physical strain.
