Most chest pain comes from the chest wall muscles and ribs, acid reflux, anxiety, or a lung infection, but pain from the heart is also possible, so pressure that lasts more than a few minutes needs emergency care.
What changes the answer is the pattern. Pain that shows up with exertion and settles with rest, spreads to the arm, jaw, neck, or back, or comes with shortness of breath, sweating, or nausea points toward the heart and is an emergency. Burning behind the breastbone after meals or when you lie down usually points to reflux, while soreness that gets worse when you press on one spot, twist, or take a deep breath usually points to muscle or rib strain. Age, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and a family history of early heart disease all raise the chance that chest pain is cardiac. Keeping a short note of when the pain starts, how long it lasts, and what makes it better gives a clinician far more to work with than the pain alone.
When to act on chest pain
Common questions
why does my chest hurt
Chest pain has many causes. Common ones include muscle or rib strain, acid reflux, anxiety, asthma or a chest infection, and reduced blood flow to the heart. Pain that arrives with exertion and eases with rest, or that spreads to the arm, jaw, neck, or back, points toward the heart. Reflux tends to burn behind the breastbone after meals or when lying down. Strain usually hurts more when you press on the spot, twist, or breathe in deeply. Call 911 for chest pressure lasting more than a few minutes, especially with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, or fainting. Pain that keeps coming back deserves a clinician visit even when each episode is brief.