Cardiac Pain

The sensation we perceive from our internal organs (one of which is the heart), are not as precise and as localized as those which stem from outside our body. Thus, while a cut on the arm can be precisely identified at the limb’s affected area, a cardiac injury does not identify the exact location of the site, but instead causes a series of symptoms which “concern” organs or areas of the body that may even be located far from the heart.

The inability to perceive cardiac pain is a consequence of the human nervous system’s structure. Early stages of heart problems are not always accompanied by pain. At times, even though damage may be severe, it may almost be a silent condition, while in other cases the pain is violent and sudden, as with myocardial infarction (heart attack). In other conditions, pain sensations come and go, so much so that the patient gets used to living with an occasional inconvenience. In still other cases, pain signals are extremely typical but vary in duration and frequency (unstable angina).

This scenario, which is transient to begin with, can be further complicated by chest pains that simulate cardiac trouble but are really due to causes such as:

Anxiety, depression.
Gastrointestinal diseases.
Pulmonary diseases.
Neuromuscular diseases, including infection (herpes zoster).

In this site’s section we will examine atherosclerosis, the key element causing cardiac and circulatory conditions, angina (which is one of the first signs of illness) and finally, the heart attack.