Chest pains are certainly one of the symptoms of gas. Often known as gas pains, people are known to mistake it for cardiac arrest and vice versa. While the pain could be due to the discomfort in the gastrointestinal area, it has no relation with the heart or cardiovascular system for that matter.
The accumulation of gas could feel similar to a cardiac event as the pain is sharp and pinching. However, certain characteristics are exhibited by gas-related chest discomfort.
How To Recognize If It’s Gas Causing Chest Pain?
The location of the pain is not very different from that of a heart attack. This means the pain could be felt near the upper abdomen, lower abdomen, left side of the chest, and lower chest area. Pain could be triggered if you eat fat-producing foods in bulk.
Moreover, if you swallow air or your stomach goes through discomforts such as bloating or indigestion, the presence of gas-related chest pains could be noted. Some of the symptoms of gas pains besides the chest pains consist of belching, frequent flatulence release, and nausea. It could pass over if you get rid of the gas trapped in your gastrointestinal tract.
People are known to pass it by releasing flatulence or often when they belch. One cannot be blamed in case they mistake it for heart pain, especially in cases where the person is vulnerable to cardiac events. If the pain persists for longer hours, it is important that one must consult their doctors to rule out the reason. Elderly people are prone to building up gas but they are also vulnerable to cardiac events so special caution needs to be taken.
Some Methods To Get Rid Of Gas Easily
If they are sure that it is indeed gas pain, then maybe they could take some of the steps that can help them get rid of it easily.
- Initially, you could try changing your body positions. In case they are sitting, try standing up or walking around to relieve the pain quickly.
- There are a number of medications available for you to try on including antacids. Antacids are known to neutralize the extra gas formed in the tract.
- Some people have a better chance of developing gas than others. Those can avoid food items including carbonated sodas or drinks.
- Moreover, you could also place your food-eating habits and engage in ingestion of smaller portions at frequent times.
- Most of the problems would disappear if one would just drink water. It works perfectly in this case as well. Water helps the gas pass easily and checks it from accumulating creating discomfort.
- Dietary choices are often identified as the main culprit behind the formation of gas in the gastro tract but there could be other reasons as well. Doctors also identify certain problems in one’s lifestyle choices that make one prone to chest pains. Eating briskly or overeating could lead to problems in digestion and hence lead to gas.
Gastroesophageal Reflux
Patients suffering from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease often suffer from discomfort because gas and acids often don’t process normally in their body which makes it spill to food pipes as well. Irritable Bowel syndrome in individuals can cause frequent chest pains due to indigestion which isn’t common in others. Inflammatory Bowel Disease could cause such an effect as well.
Recent discoveries point to chest pains being developed due to a sedentary lifestyle. This can also lead to ingestion of air. Anxiety and stress patients often complain of chest pains that can cause digestive problems and hence can be another reason.
Doctors believe that chest pains related to gas are harmless and will often resolve on their own. It could hurt for a while but then eating a tablet of passing of the said gas could be comforting.