Do You Get Chest Pain with Emphysema?

Chest pain can be attributed by a number of different causes. Do you get it with emphysema? Although it sounds worrying, many times it is not a sign of a life-threatening. However it should be checked intensively, particularly true if it gets worse or difficult to relieve.

What actually is chest pain?

As the name suggests, chest pain usually occurs in the chest. But you may also feel it in other areas of the body such as upper abdomen or neck. Depending on the underlying cause of the symptom – the pain may be dull, sharp, burning, tight (squeezing), aching, or stabbing.

It doesn’t always signal a serious condition. But you should seek help promptly if you have severe chest pain, especially true if:

1. It feels pressing, tight, or heavy – and doesn’t relieve more than 15 minutes.
2. You feel the pain in other areas of the body such as jaw, arms, or back.
3. It comes with other unusual symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing up, nausea, or sweating.
4. You’re an individual who are at risk of health conditions associated with chest pain such as coronary heart disease – for instances if you’re a smoker, a diabetic, obese, or if you have hypertension.

Could it be a sign of heart problem?

When talking about chest pain, the first thing you may think of is a problem affecting the heart such as heart attack. But again it has many possible causes. It is not always associated with a problem with your heart.

However it is the main symptom of heart problem. It can be a symptom of:

1. Heart attack, a condition in which the flow of blood to part of the heart is blocked and this occurs suddenly.
2. Angina, a condition that occurs when the blood flow to the heart’s muscles is restricted.

Both these heart problems can lead to heavy, dull or tight chest pain. The pain may also spread to the back, arms, neck, or jaw. Additional symptoms include nausea and shortness of breath.

The pain of heart attack is usually acute and often strikes suddenly. It doesn’t improve with rest and often followed with sweating or sometimes vomiting. If it lasts more than 15 minutes, seek help immediately because it can be life-threatening. And in angina, the pain tends to flare up on exertion or during emotional stress – but it usually improves with rest.

In addition, other heart problems to blame are pericarditis (a condition in which the sac surrounding the heart get inflamed) and pulmonary embolism (a blockage in the artery that carries blood from the heart to the lungs).

Other possible causes of chest pain

There are a number of conditions linked to chest pain. So again heart problem is not the only one – even in most cases it isn’t heart-related! It is not always a sign of life-threatening.

Strained chest’s muscles

In a few cases, chest pain occurs due to strained muscles in the chest wall. It may become surprisingly painful. For such case, the chest is usually tender to touch. The good news, the problem should relieve with rest and typically will heal in time.

Costochondritis

Sometimes tenderness and swelling around the ribs are to blame. For example, costochondritis is bone problem in the chest that can also cause pain around the chest. It is a condition in which there’s inflammation in the joints that connect the ribs and the sternum (breastbone). Fortunately, the symptoms usually relieve after a few weeks.

What else?

Other possible causes are as follows:

1. Digestive causes such as swallowing disorders, inflammation of gallbladder, and heartburn (burning, painful sensation behind the breastbone).
2. Stomach ulcer (painful sores in the stomach lining) may also sometimes cause burning pain in the upper tummy that spreads to the chest.
3. Shingles, an infection caused by a virus that can affect your chest wall.
4. Panic attack (anxiety), a condition in which you have periods of intense fear that can cause physical symptoms such as rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat, breathlessness, dizziness, sweating, and sometimes tightness in the chest.

Do you get chest pain with emphysema?

There are a number of different lung problems that contribute to cause chest pain. The main ones include:

1. Pleurisy, swelling (inflammation) of the membrane that covers the lungs. It is usually triggered by an infection.
2. Pneumonia, swelling caused by bacterial infection in the lung’s tissue. It can affect one or two lungs.
3. Pulmonary hypertension, a condition in which high blood pressure occurs in the arteries that carry blood to the lungs.
4. Collapsed lung, when the air leaks into the space between the ribs and the lung. It can be a consequence of some advanced lung diseases. Pain associated with collapsed lung can strike suddenly.

How about emphysema, a main type of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD)? Can you get chest pain with this incurable lung disease?

… Continued …

Emphysema is a condition in which the alveoli (air sacs) of the lung get damaged. The damaged alveoli can make it more difficult for breathing.

Shortness of breath is the main symptom. The symptom usually flares up on exertion. But as the disease becomes advanced, feeling of breathlessness may also occur while you’re at rest. Additional symptoms may include wheezing and cough.

How about chest pain?

Chest tightness or pain is not the common symptom of emphysema. But it can be associated with this chronic lung disease, especially if the disease is poorly controlled. It usually occurs more often during periods of breathlessness or when other symptoms of the disease flare up.

There are a number of reasons of why emphysema may lead to tightness or pain in the chest. Some of these reasons are outlined below.

The enlargement of the lungs

The damaged alveoli in emphysema occur gradually. Over time large air pockets develop in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe out.

The lungs can slowly enlarge, becoming blown up. This will put more pressure and tightness in the chest. Depending on the severity of the disease, it can be quite painful or even may be aggravated just by walking.

Emphysema may also cause a condition called barrel-shaped chest, a condition in which the shape of the chest gradually changes and resembles the shape of a barrel. Advanced stage of the disease may also cause collapsed lung, another reason to blame for chest pain.

Osteoporosis

Although the link between emphysema and osteoporosis remains puzzling, but in fact osteoporosis is quite common in people with COPD! And osteoporosis may be another thing to blame for pain with COPD.

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become fragile, easier to break. With osteoporosis, the structures (bones) of the chest walls are not as strong as usual. It also can be another risk factor of developing barrel-shaped chest.

What else?

Extreme bouts of breathlessness and coughing may lead to muscle strains in the chest or even contribute to cause broken rib (especially true if the patient also has osteoporosis).

Furthermore, the chronic symptoms of the disease could lead to excessive anxiety. The stress of struggling just to breathe may affect your pain threshold, making you more sensitive to any type of pain.