What causes pain on the right side of the chest?

The heart is like the engine of the human body. Only when the heart beats normally can people live a healthy life. A person can live if the brain is dead, but once the heart stops beating, the person is doomed to die. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the heart is the master of the five internal organs, controls the blood circulation of the whole body, and controls the mind. Once a heart disease occurs, it is very difficult to cure, so people should pay more attention to their hearts. What causes pain on the right side of the heart?

Right chest pain is a common clinical symptom with many causes. The location and severity of the pain are not necessarily consistent with the location and severity of the lesion. It is common in diseases such as intercostal neuralgia, costochondritis, occult rib fractures and malformed fracture healing, reflux esophagitis, intrathoracic tumors invading the pleura, spontaneous pneumothorax, lobar pneumonia, and herpes zoster of the chest.

Causes and common diseases

1. Pleuritic chest pain

It is the most common type of non-cardiac chest pain, caused by traction of the parietal pleura by inflammation, tumors, and pneumothorax, and stimulation of the intercostal nerves and phrenic nerves. Common diseases include pleurisy, pleural tuberculosis, empyema, pneumothorax, rupture of lung abscess, lung cancer invading the parietal pleura, and pleural mesothelioma.

2. Chest wall pain

It is caused by trauma and inflammation, leading to pathological changes in the neuromuscular periosteum. It is often seen in rib fractures or malformed fracture healing, costochondritis and herpes zoster.

3. Esophageal chest pain

The sensory nerve fibers of the esophagus and the heart are consistent, so stimulation of the esophageal mucosa can produce angina-like chest pain. Common diseases that cause pain include: reflux esophagitis, hiatal hernia, esophageal diverticulum, esophageal ulcer, Barrett's esophagus, and cholecardiac syndrome.

4. Cardiac neurosis

Cardiac neurosis is caused by autonomic nervous system imbalance.

5. Psychogenic chest pain

It is a special type of neurosis.

6. Others

Diseases that cause right chest pain may include syphilitic osteochondritis, chest wall soft tissue injury, and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infection.

Treatment principles

Treat the cause of the right-sided chest pain.

1. Pleuritic chest pain

Pleurisy, pleural tuberculosis, empyema, pneumothorax, and ruptured lung abscess can be treated with chest lavage and drainage. Lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma can be treated with tumor cryosurgery, in combination with chemotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation treatment.

2. Chest wall pain

Intercostal nerve cryosurgery can be used to relieve pain in rib fractures or malformed fractures, costochondritis, and stable herpes zoster.

3. Esophageal chest pain

Barrett's esophagus, esophageal diverticulum, and benign and malignant esophageal strictures require surgical treatment; Reflux esophagitis is treated with regular anti-reflux medication, and if the effect is not good, anti-reflux surgery is performed.