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Pain in the heart while inhaling
Last reviewed: 20.11.2021
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Pain in the heart when inhaling can occur completely unexpectedly and completely take the person out of a rut. Such pain can be aggravated by changing the position of the body, while exhaling. Often it is accompanied by a rather tangible fear or panic state. This is due to the fact that such painful sensations in the region of the heart during inhalation cause such sensations, as if something inside the chest can burst or rupture.
[Diseases causing heart pain while inhaling
There are several causes of pain in the heart during inhalation. Among them are precordial syndrome and thoracoalgia (there are about twenty types of this disease). In addition, intercostal and herpetic neuralgia are also provocateurs of severe pain in the area of the heart during inhalation. Herpetic neuralgia is a frequent occurrence among people with reduced immunity.
The most common causes of pain in the heart during inhalation:
- Prechordial syndrome. Such a diagnosis is manifested by acute pain in the chest. Arises completely suddenly. The pain can be much worse during deep breathing. Basically, the pain in the heart when breathing in due to the precordial syndrome occurs at the moment when the person is at rest. The duration of pain can be from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. They disappear as unexpectedly as they appear.
After the cessation of acute pain, some residual phenomena of a more dull character may remain. In fact, today, the precordial syndrome poses more questions for doctors than it gives answers. It is precisely known that this syndrome has nothing in common with the heart.
Most doctors believe that such pain occurs as a result of pinching a nerve. It is inappropriate to raise anxiety about pain caused by precordial syndrome. A feature of this syndrome is that it mainly affects children and adolescents.
- Intercostal neuralgia is much more common in women, although it is also diagnosed in men. Pain in intercostal neuralgia occurs more on the left side of the chest. What is neuralgia? So called pain of nervous tissue, which is not subject to any structural changes. Sometimes intercostal neuralgia is confused with pleurisy and other inflammatory diseases of the lungs. When coughing and deep breathing, the pain in the chest increases and looks like a sharp tingling in the heart.
This diagnosis is quite common in women subject to stress and depression. Unlike precordial syndrome, intercostal neuralgia can lead to rather unpleasant consequences, such as loss of appetite, muscle atrophy and even paralysis. Accordingly, it is very important if the pain in the heart occurs when you inhale correctly and make a timely diagnosis.
- Pneumothorax - this term refers to the process of formation of an air cushion in the immediate vicinity of the lung (a layer of air between the lung and chest wall). Sometimes pneumothorax is a complication of some lung diseases, but in most cases, healthy people suffer from it. Holding the breath can help alleviate the condition. But, in the event that as a result of this air retention, breathing becomes difficult, pneumothorax should be removed immediately, possibly even through surgical intervention.
There are different types of pneumothorax occurrence: the primary type develops in a healthy person for no apparent reason. The cause of its occurrence is a tiny tear in the lung, namely in its upper part. Statistics show that for unknown reasons in most cases tall and thin people suffer from such pneumothorax.
- Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax is a complication of an already existing lung disease. These include tuberculosis, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and others that can make the edges of the lungs prone to rupture.
- Valvular pneumothorax is a rare complication and requires emergency care.
In addition to the aforementioned diseases that provoke the occurrence of pneumothorax, injuries, car accidents, knife injuries and surgical operations can also provoke it.
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What to do if your heart hurts when you inhale?
It is quite difficult to remain calm at the time when there is pain in the heart when you inhale or exhale. But it is worth remembering that in fact such pain does not arise at all in the heart muscle itself. Try to take a deep breath or dramatically change the position of the body.
In the event that such painful manifestations occur frequently and cause you to have some suspicions about the presence of a serious disease, then it makes sense to consult a family doctor, a general practitioner or, if necessary, a pulmonologist or cardiologist. Do not forget that quitting smoking and a stable neuropsychiatric condition greatly reduce the likelihood of such pain.