When do you worry about chest pain

More often than not, chest pain does not signal a heart attack. The feeling — which many compare to getting an electrical shock — lasts only an attention-grabbing moment. The good news? The brief zap is usually not indicative of a heart attack, which often brings an unrelenting pain that lasts several minutes. With every deep breath or cough, pain pierces your chest. Moving around and changing positions only seems to make it worse, too. This is even more likely if the pain is focused on the right side of your chest, away from your heart.

Possible causes include:. And while these lung issues are not a heart attack, they are concerning enough to warrant a call to your healthcare provider. If a sharp pain strikes your chest but improves as you move around a bit… well, you may be looking at a case of heartburn acid reflux or some other gastrointestinal issue.

If you have a sharp, stabbing pain in a specific point of your chest, it may be something else. The discomfort that changes with breathing or your position i. This type of pain might be pneumonia, asthma, or a sign of lung inflammation. Momentary discomfort. Pain with a drooping face or muscle weakness.

Facial drooping or weakness on one side of your body are common stroke symptoms. Chest pain with dizziness, racing thoughts, and flushed feeling. Chest pain has many different causes. In most cases, chest pain is not caused by a heart problem. Your symptoms might give you an idea of the cause. Don't self-diagnose — see a GP if you're worried. Avoid breathing in cigarette smoke.

If you have been prescribed angina medicine, sit or lie down and take a dose of this under your tongue. Chew mg aspirin straight away, unless you're allergic or your doctor has told you not to. Do not give aspirin to anyone under 12 years. There are several different warning signs of a heart attack, and they are not always sudden or severe.

Whether or not your chest pain symptoms include mild to severe pain, they should be considered heart-related until proven otherwise. People having a heart attack may have just one of these symptoms, or a combination of several.

They can come on suddenly or develop over a few minutes and get progressively worse. Symptoms usually last for at least 10 minutes. Women and men can experience the signs and symptoms of a heart attack differently. Although chest pain is thought to be the most common symptom of heart attack — and it is common in men — only about half of all women who have a heart attack actually report chest pain.

Heart attacks are more common in older people than in younger people, but they can occur in people of any age. Remember, all chest pain should be checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. Chest pain can be a symptom of many different conditions, some of which are more serious than others. Visit the Heart Foundation website for more information about heart attack symptoms. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Read more on Better Health Channel website.

Having one or more signs or symptoms of a heart attack means this is a life-threatening emergency—call triple zero for an ambulance immediately. Read more on St John Ambulance Australia website. Understand what a heart attack is, its causes, the warning signs to look out for and what to do if you or someone you know is having one.