Think of Your Heart chronicles by ,
June 3, 2013 - 14:45
For an hour, you have been having a vague discomfort in your chest area. Is it your heart?
It is not always easy to differentiate a cardiac pain from a pain of muscular, pulmonary or digestive origin.
The following information can assist you in determining the cause of your discomfort;
- Does the pain increase or decrease when you alter your position? Does the pain change when you take a deep breath? Can you reproduce it if you press on the sensitive area? A positive response to one of the above questions suggests that it is more a muscular pain than a cardiac pain which persists regardless of the position or the type of breathing.
- If your chest pain is accompanied by a feeling of nausea or stomach heartburn, you can try taking an antacid. If the pain disappears, there are good chances that the cause was digestive.
- Infarction can appear in multiple ways. Any persistent chest pain, accompanied by a feeling of indigestion or not, could be of cardiac origin and warrants an investigation.
In case of doubt, it is best to consult.
With the cooperation of Manon Bélanger, nurse
