• Pulmonary embolus is a blood clot in the blood vessels that supplies the lungs. It is life threatening cause of chest pain. Pulmonary emboli are caused by tumors that come into the circulatory system, or from amniotic fluid, air, fat, bone marrow, and foreign substances. It is most commonly caused by clots originating in the legs and are known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Pulmonary embolism affects about 5 out of 10,000 people in the U.S.A. each year. Risk factors for developing the condition include prolonged bed rest, use of oral contraceptives, surgery, child birth, cancer, stroke, heart attack, heart surgery, and fractures of the hips or the femur. Clot preventive measures include exercising of the legs and elastic support stockings. Heparin is also use for those on prolonged bedrest. The symptoms of Pulmonary embolism include sudden cough sometimes associated with bloody sputum. Shortness of breath at rest, lightheadedness, fainting and dizziness may also be associated with pulmonary embolism. Chest pain is usually sharp, or stabbing in character and worse at night; it may be also exaggerated by breathing deeply, coughing, eating, bending, or stooping. Pulmonary embolism is diagnosed by the combination of the above symptoms and also tests to evaluate the function of the lungs which include arterial blood gases and pulmonary function tests. Chest X-ray, lung scan and pulmonary angiography is also useful in the diagnosis. Venography of the legs, extremity arteriography blood flow studies, doppler ultrasound exam of an extremity and plethysmography of the legs may be required to confirm the diagnosis of DVT. Emergency treatment and hospitalization are necessary is most cases and consists of dissolving the clot and also starting preventive anticoagulant therapy for inhibiting future clot formation. Thrombolytic therapy includes urokinase or TPA. Anticoagulation therapy includes heparin by intravenous route initially and then oral coumadin. Oxygen therapy is required so that normal oxygen concentrations are maintained until the acute injury to the lungs has resolved.

• Spontaneous Pneumothorax occurs when air enters the space between the chest wall and the lung. Negative pressure in the chest cavity normally allows the lungs to expand, while in a spontaneous pneumothorax air enters the chest cavity and the lung is unable to re-expand and collapses. Spontaneous pneumothorax is of two types, a primary or simple spontaneous pneumothorax, and secondary or complicated spontaneous pneumothorax. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax occurs most commonly in people with no known lung disease and also it is seen most often in tall thin men between 20 and 40 years old. The most common cause of pneumothorax is the rupture of a bleb or cyst in the lung. The symptoms of pneumothorax include chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, abnormal breathing movement and rapid respiratory rate. It is diagnosed by using X-rays. Treatment is to remove the air from the pleural space so as to allow the lung to expand. A small pneumothorax will resolve by itself in 1 to 2 weeks while a larger pneumothorax requires either needle aspiration or a chest tube. Hospitalization is required for chest tube management as the expansion of the lung sometimes may take a few days.

  Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax occurs when there is a previous lung disease which is most often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Some other lung diseases associated with spontaneous pneumothorax include asthma, cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, lung cancer, and interstitial lung disease. Symptoms and treatment of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax are similar to primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Although a small secondary pneumothorax can be life threatening and all patients are treated with tubes. The mortality rate with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax is higher as compared to that of primary pneumothorax. The recurrence rate for both types spontaneous pneumothorax is around 40%. Patients with this condition should stop smoking, avoid high altitudes, scuba diving, and flying in unpressurized aircrafts to prevent the recurrence of pneumothorax.

• Pneumonia an infection of the lung can also cause chest pain. Pneumonia can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Often pneumonia begins after an upper respiratory tract infection like an infection of the nose or the throat. Symptoms of pneumonia vary greatly depending on the age of the patient and the cause of the pneumonia. Symptoms of pneumonia include fever, chills, chest pain, cough,  wheezing, vomiting, rapid breathing, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. Sometimes when pneumonia is in the lower part of the lungs, there may be no breathing difficulties. Pneumonia caused by bacteria causes symptoms relatively quickly with sudden onset of high fever and rapid breathing. Pneumonia caused by viruses tends to start more gradually and is often less severe than bacterial pneumonia although wheezing may be more common in viral pneumonia. Incubation period for pneumonia depends on the type of virus or bacteria causing the infection. Most types of bacterial pneumonia are cured in 1 to 2 weeks, although viral pneumonia may last longer. The viruses and bacteria are usually found in the fluid from the mouth or nose of the infected person and is usually contagious and it can spread through coughing or sneezing, sharing utensils, and by touching used tissues or handkerchiefs. The diagnosis of pneumonia is made by doing a physical examination, X-ray chest, blood tests and cultures of mucus produced by coughing. Bacterial pneumonia can be treated with oral antibiotics or hospitalization may required if pneumonia is causing high fever, or respiratory distress, or supplemental oxygen is needed, or if infections have spread into the bloodstream.

How do you find out what is causing your chest pain? Doctor's diagnose the causes of chest pain by taking a comprehensive medical history by asking you a series of detailed questions about the chest pain, your general health, your family history, your health risks, and much more. Based on this they then order a series of tests to further investigate what the think might be the problem, known as their differential diagnosis.

Now you can do this online using YourDiagnosis.com
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You can store all your Personal Health Information securely online and access your medical records 24 hours a day 7 days a week from anywhere in the world using  MyNetRecord.com

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YourDiagnosis takes a very comprehensive medical history online using easy to understand questions which you can answer by just clicking on the relevant answers. Once completed it provides a comprehensive list of differential diagnoses as well as a detailed Personal Health Summary which you can take to your physician. You can also use it to store your medical history and symptoms history that can be used by your physician(s) at a later date. This would help you as you will not miss providing important information to the different doctors you visit.