Chest Pain in Men: Symptoms and Causes
Around 659,000 people die in the United States due to heart disease each year. Although chest pain in men is not always the result of heart disease, it’s important to understand its symptoms and causes.
Unrecognized symptoms of chest pain sometimes result in death. Every 40 seconds someone in the U.S. has a heart attack. Truly, understanding your symptoms and knowing when to go to the ER can save a life.
In this article we’ll discuss chest pain in men and what to do when you experience it.
Causes of Chest Pain in Men
Chest pain is often tied to issues with the heart, but it could be a result of problems with the lungs, esophagus, ribs, muscles, or other factors.
You’ll want to determine some baseline chest pain symptoms and causes to cut down your possibilities. Some of the conditions associated with chest pain are life-threatening, while others are as simple as a pulled muscle. The frequency and descriptions of symptoms provide helpful insight for a medical professional.
Common life-threatening results of chest pain in men include heart attack, coronary artery disease, pericarditis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and more. Any discomfort in the chest region should be diagnosed based on the pain’s location.
Understanding Heart Disease
Chest pain in men that is directly heart-related could trigger heart disease. These symptoms include:
- Tightness in the chest or unusual pressure/discomfort
- Shortness of breath
- Narrowed blood vessels in certain areas of the body causing pain, numbness, or weakness
- Jaw, throat, upper body, or neck pain
Heart disease is an overlapping diagnosis of various diseases. Blood vessel, heart valve, or heart muscle disease are all a form of heart disease. A person can also be born with defects to the heart called congenital heart defects.
To better understand a specific heart disease diagnosis, visit a medical professional.
How to Avoid Heart Disease and Chest Pain
Avoiding heart disease may seem simple but it takes daily conscious effort.
There is a direct correlation between heart disease and smoking or the use of tobacco. The chemicals in both these substances damage the heart and blood vessels which could result in heart disease at a later age.
Even if you’re a smoker, there is hope for improvement. Research shows that even quitting for a day improves your chances of not getting heart disease. Once a commitment goes on for more than a year, heart disease risks drop to about half that of an avid smoker.
Other ways to avoid heart disease and chest pain in men are to exercise, eat a heart-healthy diet, maintain regular body weight, value sleep, manage stressors, and attend annual health screenings to check on the condition of your body and heart.
Heart disease is a serious condition, but you can take control of the outcome before you have to worry about when to go to the ER.
Quality Care in Texas
If you’re looking for an emergency room in Bryan, TX, or other areas of the state, look no further than Physicians Premier.
Our emergency room provides high-quality and convenient care for common concerns like chest pain in men. Have a medical professional handle any serious symptoms and causes.
If you have any questions or need emergency medical care, visit a Physicians Premier location near you.
Sources:
Cleveland Clinic Health Library. “Chest Pain: Causes and What It Feels Like.” Cleveland Clinic, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21209-chest-pain.
Heart Disease Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Heart Disease Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Top Strategies to Prevent Heart Disease.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 14 Jan. 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-disease-prevention/art-20046502.
