Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull ache. Sometimes chest pain feels crushing or burning. In certain cases, the pain travels up the neck, into the jaw, and then spreads to the back or down one or both arms. Many different problems can cause chest pain. The most life-threatening causes involve the heart or lungs. Because chest pain can indicate a serious problem, it’s important to seek immediate medical help. Chest pain can cause many different sensations depending on what’s triggering the symptom. Often, the cause has nothing to do with the heart — though there’s no easy way to tell without seeing a health care provider. What causes chest pain?

Although chest pain is often associated with heart disease, many people with heart disease say they have a vague discomfort that isn’t necessarily identified as pain. In general, chest discomfort related to a heart attack or another heart problem may be described by symptoms such as pressure, fullness, burning or tightness in your chest, crushing or searing pain that spreads to your back, neck, jaw, shoulders, and one or both arms, pain that lasts more than a few minutes, gets worse with activity, goes away and comes back, or varies in intensity. It may also be characterized by shortness of breath, cold sweats, dizziness or weakness, Nausea or vomiting.

Chest pain that is less likely due to a heart problem is more often associated with, a sour taste or a sensation of food reentering your mouth, trouble swallowing, pain that gets better or worse when you change your body position, pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough, tenderness when you push on your chest, and pain that persists for many hours. The classic symptoms of heartburn a painful, burning sensation behind the breastbone can be caused by problems with the heart or the stomach. What causes chest pain? APA