Heart Disease Health Center

Quick Facts on Chest Pain

Are there different types of angina? continued...

What other conditions may cause chest pain?

Although chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack and heart disease, discomfort in the chest may also be caused my many other conditions, such as:

Digestive system problems:

• Stomach acid moving upward into the esophagus (esophageal reflux or heartburn)
• Muscle spasm of the esophagus
• Gallbladder disease
• A sore in the lining of the stomach or small intestine (peptic ulcer)

Inflammation:

• Inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs (pleurisy)
• Inflammation of the membrane covering the heart (pericarditis)

Heart, lung, and heart valve problems:

• A tear in the wall of the aorta (aortic dissection)
• Narrowing of the aortic valve (aortic stenosis)
• A blood clot in one of the arteries of the lungs (pulmonary embolism)

Other causes:

• Panic, anxiety, stress, or depression
• Shingles (herpes zoster), a reactivation of the chickenpox virus that causes pain and rash
• Pain in the bones and/or muscles of the chest wall