“What is the reason for an acute chest pain that occurs and settles on its own?”
Last night I had a severe pain around my chest region that settled on its own. Is it a pain related to heart or is it GERD? How can one tell the difference between the two?
3 Answers
The specific characteristics of the pain can help distinguish the organ of origin. Heart pain (angina) tends to be dull, pressure like pain in the mid or left chest that will not vary with swallowing and would get worse with exertion. It would usually get better with use of sublingual nitroglycerine. GERD is a burning pain in the lower, mid-chest, occurs often after eating, gets better when swallowing saliva or antacids. It will often go away completely with use of prilosec or nexium pills.
Chest pain can be related to acid reflux with esophageal spasm. But more serious issues should be ruled out such as cardiac ischemia. I would first see a cardiologist for a work up.
Chest pain can be a result of a number of disease conditions. Yes, GERD is able to cause chest pain however, the most serious condition to exclude is chest pain from coronary arterial disease. Please see a doctor as soon as you can, even if your chest pain subsides spontaneously and then returns.
