15 Causes of Right Chest Pain and When to See a Doctor

According to Healthline – Right-sided chest pain can occur for a variety of reasons. However, it is not always related to heart problems.

In the human body, the chest is home to many organs and tissues that can be injured.

When you experience right-sided chest pain, you could be experiencing muscle overstretching, infection, pain from other neighbouring organs, or stress.

15 causes of right chest pain:

Symptoms that occur along with right side chest pain could be the answer to your problem.

To understand more, here are the causes of right-sided chest pain that can occur.

1. Muscle strain

Trauma or overuse of the muscles can cause right-sided chest pain. This can happen if you overuse your upper body during exercise.

Other activities that require fairly extreme or repetitive movements, such as chopping wood to painting walls, are also at risk of causing muscle strains.

As a solution, try to rest or take painkillers so that this complaint can be relieved.

2. Increased stomach acid

Increased stomach acid can cause heartburn or a burning sensation in the chest.

If you experience heartburn more than twice a week, you may have GERD or acid reflux disease.

This cause of right-sided chest pain usually appears after eating, bending over, or lying down at night.

Other symptoms of acid reflux include sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and a sour sensation in the back of your throat.

3. Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection that occurs in the lungs. Sufferers often experience a mucousy cough that results in right or left-sided chest pain. This pain can even be felt when breathing.

When suffering from pneumonia, you may also experience shortness of breath, fever, sweating, shaking, fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

4. Trauma to the chest

Trauma or a blow to the chest is also one of the reasons why the right side of the chest hurts. If the blow is hard or severe, the ribs can even crack.

Other characteristics of this condition are chest pain that is more pronounced when sneezing, coughing, or laughing. The sufferer may also experience difficulty breathing, bruising, and swelling in the body.

See a doctor immediately to avoid complications. If the injury is mild, the doctor may only advise you to rest for a few days to maximise recovery.

5. Costochondritis

Right chest pain is the main symptom of costochondritis. This condition occurs when the cartilage in the ribs becomes inflamed. The pain ranges from mild to severe.

Sometimes, people with costochondritis also feel pain in the back and abdomen. This pain can even worsen when coughing or taking a deep breath.

6. Cholecystitis

Cholecystitis or gallbladder inflammation is one of the causes of right-sided chest pain.

This condition generally occurs when gallstones block the ducts of the internal organs. Sometimes, you may also feel pain in the right upper abdomen that radiates to the right shoulder or back.

Other symptoms of cholecystitis include nausea, vomiting, fever, sweating, loss of appetite, and a tender stomach.

7. Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas gland. Digestive enzymes start working and activate before they are released into the digestive tract. As a result, these enzymes cause irritation of the pancreatic cells and inflammation there.

It can be triggered by the habit of consuming alcoholic beverages or the presence of gallstones.

In addition to chest pain, you may feel pain in your upper abdomen and back, nausea, vomiting and fever.

8. Stress or anxiety

Stress or anxiety can cause panic attacks. The symptoms are similar to a heart attack and can occur at any time.

Panic attacks often occur due to trauma or stress that occupies the mind of the sufferer.

Apart from right chest pain, other symptoms of panic attack include shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, vertigo, numbness in the hands and feet, sweating, trembling and fainting.

Right-sided chest pain during a panic attack occurs due to breathing that is too fast or too deep. As a result, the chest wall muscles work excessively.

You can relieve this problem by breathing slowly.

9. Chest tumours

Chest tumours can grow in the chest or chest wall. Whether they are cancerous or not, they can cause pain in the right or left chest.

As the tumour gets bigger, nearby blood vessels and nerves become compressed. As a result, you may feel pain in the chest.

10. Lung cancer

Lung cancer can also cause right-sided chest pain. This disease can also be characterised by prolonged coughing, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, wheezing, and weight loss.

11. Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism occurs due to a blood clot travelling from a vein in the leg to the lungs.

This condition can lead to clogged arteries which can disrupt blood flow to the lung tissue. As a result, right-sided chest pain may occur.

This cause of right upper chest pain can also spread to the entire arm, jaw, shoulder, and neck.

If not treated immediately, pulmonary embolism can be fatal. See a doctor immediately if you feel any of the symptoms.

12. Pneumothorax

Pneumothorax can also cause right-sided chest pain. The main symptom is a sharp pain in the chest.

Pneumothorax can occur in the left or right side of the chest. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat, coughing, and fatigue.

Pneumothorax is a medical condition that should be treated by a doctor immediately.

13. Pleuritis

Pleuritis is one of the causes of chest pain on the right. This condition occurs when the membrane lining the inside of the chest cavity (pleura) becomes inflamed.

When inflammation occurs, the lining becomes rough and rubs against each other, causing pain.

This condition can cause you to experience chest pain when breathing in and out, even radiating to the shoulders and back.

The pain may worsen when coughing, sneezing or laughing.

14. Rib fracture

Do you experience right-sided chest pain that goes all the way to your back?

A fractured rib can cause severe chest pain and difficulty breathing. This condition is usually caused by an injury to the chest or a severe cough.

Apart from right-sided chest pain, other symptoms you may experience are swelling around the broken rib and bruising of the surrounding skin.

15. Pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension is another cause of right-sided chest pain. This condition causes high blood pressure in the blood vessels that connect the heart and lungs.

Over time, pulmonary hypertension makes the heart work harder to pump blood around the body.

This condition can also cause symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing, hoarseness, fatigue, lethargy, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.

When should I see a doctor?

How to treat right-sided chest pain depends on the condition. This pain can sometimes gradually go away on its own.

However, you need to see a doctor if the right-sided chest pain occurs for a long time or does not go away after taking medication.

Also, seek medical attention if you experience any of the following symptoms.

Sudden onset of severe chest pain;

A feeling of tightness in the chest;

Chest pain extends to the back, jaw, and arms;

Difficulty breathing;

Nausea and vomiting;

Very low blood pressure or heart rate;

Chest pain that occurs with dizziness and lethargy;

Change or loss of consciousness;

High fever;

Coughing up blood.

In many cases, right-sided chest pain does not necessarily indicate heart disease. However, if the chest pain does not subside, do not hesitate to see a doctor for proper treatment.

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