Aortic dissection: It occurs when the inner lining of the aorta breaks.
When the aorta is torn, blood flow to the major organs near the tear is
disrupted and it can cause severe pain. It can be mistaken for heart attack.
Chest pain is usually severe and may involve the back and even the abdomen. If
the artery ruptures through the weakened portion of the aortic wall it is
fatal immediately. Milder forms of dissection can be can be diagnosed by a
chest X-ray. If an x-ray is not taken and the patient undergoes angiograms
there is a delay during which time the aneurysm may rupture.
Perforated viscus: When there is a break of the wall of an area of the
gastrointestinal tract, air enters the abdominal cavity and irritates the
diaphragm, which in turn causes chest pain. Bleeding from a peptic ulcer may
cause lower chest pain, a rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, and even
electrocardiographic (EKG) changes. Thus, it erroneously might be interpreted
as a heart attack. Massive bleeding from such an ulcer will be accompanied by
black, tarry stools and be readily evident. However, if there is low grade,
chronic bleeding, the presence of blood in the stools will not be obvious. The
only symptoms might be discomfort that is mistakenly thought to be coming from
the chest. The fact that the pain is related to food ingestion rather than
exertion usually differentiates the two, but that distinction is not always
clear.
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.
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
For sharing and discussing your health concerns with people
around the world use YourHealthForum.com
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.
