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Myocardial infarction pain.
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
Patients describe the pain of myocardial infarction as sharp, even stabbing, burning. Such pain is observed in people with ischemic necrosis, that is, the death of muscle tissue in the left ventricle of the heart. This death is most often caused by a thrombus in the coronary artery, which supplies this area with blood.
Causes of myocardial infarction
One of the causes of a heart attack may be a thrombus inside the coronary arteries, which suffer from cardiac ischemia, which occurs due to atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries. Atherosclerotic plaques can remain latent for a long time and do not reveal themselves with any symptoms. But when the course of ischemia worsens, in addition to thrombi, the heart vessels can spasm, and this manifests itself as angina. By the way, it is worth knowing that angina often becomes a harbinger of myocardial infarction.
In some cases, a myocardial infarction can occur even if the coronary artery is not completely blocked.
Risk groups that may suffer from myocardial infarction include people over 30 years of age who often experience stress, eat poorly, abuse alcohol, tobacco, and fatty foods.
The most dangerous precursors of myocardial infarction are high cholesterol levels in the body, high blood pressure, pressure surges, obesity, an inactive lifestyle, and constant stress.
What kind of pain occurs during myocardial infarction?
There are several types of pain during a heart attack that are very difficult to distinguish from pain during other diseases. They are called atypical.
Gastritis infarction
This type of infarction can manifest itself as pain in the epigastric region, similar in nature to pain in gastritis. When the doctor palpates the abdomen, the person may feel pain, the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall are tense. With this type of disease, the lower parts of the myocardium of the left ventricle, which are adjacent to the myocardium, can be affected.
Asthmatic infarction
This type of disease is not typical. It is very similar to attacks that occur with bronchial asthma. In this case, an additional symptom may be asthma, dry cough, a feeling that the chest is stuffy.
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Painless infarction
There is also such a type of heart attack. It can manifest itself in the form of insomnia, poor sleep, nightmares during sleep, strange causeless depression, burning in the chest and increased sweating. This type of heart attack especially often affects people of old age and older, especially if accompanied by diabetes. It is better not to worry about such IVD myocardial infarction, because it is the least promising.
Arrhythmic infarction
This type of infarction is manifested by a strong and rapid change in heart rhythm, tachycardia. This type of infarction can also manifest as loss of consciousness or atrioventricular block.
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Cerebral infarction
This type of heart attack is characterized by very strong and sharp headaches. Additional symptoms may include visual disturbances, loss of consciousness, even paralysis.
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Atypical myocardial infarction
This condition is very life-threatening and can be characterized by severe pain that occurs in different parts of the body – so-called radiating pain.
What is the nature of pain during myocardial infarction?
The pain is pronounced, strong, its intensity directly depends on how much the heart muscle is affected. The pain during a heart attack is much more pronounced than during angina, and lasts longer. If the pain during angina lasts for 15 minutes, then during a heart attack after this period it only intensifies and can last for several hours. In addition, during a heart attack you cannot help yourself with nitroglycerin, but with angina you can.
The nature of pain during a heart attack is persistent, in the form of waves, these pains may subside after the doctor injects a painkiller. But then the pains may resume again.
In terms of localization, pain during a heart attack may be felt in the area behind the breastbone, as well as in the left side of the chest. The pain may radiate to the left arm – its inner surface of the muscles. Tingling may be felt in the fingers and wrist, as well as in the hands. Pain during a heart attack may also radiate to the shoulders, neck, space between the shoulder blades, and jaw.
The sensation of pain may also be accompanied by negative emotions: fear of suffocation, anxiety, groans, a feeling of imminent death. The face may be distorted by pain - squeezing, pressing, cutting, burning, stabbing.
Who should you contact if you have pain due to myocardial infarction?
Pain during myocardial infarction can often end very sadly, so at the first symptoms you need to call a doctor. Treatment of myocardial infarction is carried out in the intensive care unit by a cardiologist and resuscitator.