Sharp Pain Breastbone
What can Cause a Sharp Pain in Your Breast Bone?
A sharp pain in your breast bone can be a symptom of a variety of things – some of them relate to your heart or lungs and need immediate intervention while others are not as worrisome. However, it is hard to tell whether a sharp pain denotes something to do with the heart and so if you feel the pain for more than 3-5 minutes it is probably best to contact a doctor.
Even doctors cannot make a pat diagnosis about a sharp pain in your breast bone area. They will need a set of tests to be done to be sure of an accurate assessment of the problem. While waiting for the result though, they do use the context of the patient’s health and criteria such as age, weight and lifestyle to determine the likely cause for the pain.
If the pain in the chest region starts radiating to the neck, shoulder and upper arms and if there is feeling of increasing fullness and pressure, this is a possible indication of a heart attack. Some heart attacks are silent with no symptoms or warnings. In other cases there are indications a few weeks ahead with this feeling of pain and pressure surfacing during physical exertion. This pain tends to last for a while and then subside, especially when the patient rests. It tends to return with different degrees of intensity. Heart attack related chest pain also comes sometimes with breathing difficulties and with a sense of nausea and light-headedness. Some patients sweat profusely. If you see this pattern when you experience sharp pain in your breast bone, you need urgent medical help. If you see someone experiencing these symptoms and complaining of chest pain, you will need to drive them to a hospital. It is advisable to take an aspirin if the patient is not allergic to aspirin. Those who have a diagnosed heart problem may have been recommended to carry nitroglycerin and use it in occasions such as this. It is important to note that a patient should not use somebody else’s nitroglycerin as there are considerations such as dosage.
A sharp pain in the chest area can also come from digestive tract difficulties. If there is a sensation of tenderness in the area around where you feel the pain, if you have difficulty swallowing or if you have a sour taste in your mouth, it is possible that you are experiencing some indigestion. Peptic ulcer pain, gall bladder related pain and esophageal reflux all need medical intervention also but it is usually less urgent than a cardiac arrest.
Pain that increases when you cough or move your body position and pain that is fairly constant also suggest the exertion of some muscle in the sternum. This may sometimes be experienced as a burning sensation. A muscle that has been pulled during exercising or while lifting something heavy may cause a sharp pain in your breast bone for quite some time following the episode. It is not an easy location to rest and heal as all sitting down and standing up strains that muscle. By using a muscle relaxant and treating the area with some attentiveness, you should be able to recover from this problem with no long-term impact. Do not rush back to full-fledged physical activity until you feel an absolute absence of pain. There is the danger of re-injuring the muscle if you try to do something physically strenuous while the body is still getting better. Even where you feel certain of the source of the pain, if the pain persists for a couple of weeks it is a good idea to visit the doctor for a confirmation of the diagnosis. Given that chest pain can signify a major health crisis it is better to be cautious than careless.