Right-Side Chest Pain? Here’s Why It’s Not Always a Heart Attack

Have you been experiencing sharp pain on the right side of your chest? While it may not always be indicative of a heart attack, doctors say there can be equally worrying reasons, which need to be thoroughly

investigated. While pain on the right side of your chest can be sharp, it may get worse when you inhale. You may have other symptoms as well, with right-sided chest pain, like tightness or difficulty breathing. Medicines help many causes of right-sided chest pain. But some need treatment that includes a procedure.

Different reasons for right-sided chest pain

Mastitis

According to doctors, mastitis is a painful swelling in your breast usually caused by some kind of infection, which occurs during breastfeeding due to blocked milk ducts or bacteria that enter through cracked nipples. While it usually happens in new mothers, mastitis causes extremely sharp or aching breast pain and tenderness. Some women also experience signs of infection, including fever and flu-like symptoms.

Pneumonia

The three lobes of the right lung, apart from the lining of the right lung and lymph nodes, are located on the right side of the chest. Doctors say that while your lungs do not have pain receptors, you may still experience pain that seems like it is in your right lung, mostly due to pneumonia. Pneumonia occurs when your air sacs, also known as alveoli, get inflamed, causing them to fill with fluid or pus. The condition can be life-threatening and leads to common symptoms like fever, cough, chills, and even breathlessness. When your right lung is affected, pneumonia can also cause pain on the right side of the chest that may feel worse when you breathe or cough.

Gastric reflux disease

Gastrointestinal conditions, especially those involving the esophagus or organs on the right side of the abdomen, like your gallbladder and liver, may cause pain restricted to the right side of the chest. Also known as GERD, the gastric reflux disease leads to a severe digestive disorder that affects the ring of muscle between your esophagus and stomach, the lower esophageal sphincter, or LES. If your LES stops working properly, you can get heartburn or acid indigestion, apart from pain in the right side of the chest.

Muscle strain

Pain in the right side of your chest is also indicative of muscle strain - one of the more common causes. Many people can recall activities like heavy lifting or a new workout program that they engaged in before developing this type of pain. Sometimes, due to inflammation of the fatty tissue in bone, known as osteomyelitis, it also leads to severe and sharp pain, along with reduced function in the nearby joints. Very severe cases of osteomyelitis cause bone deformity.

Anxiety or panic

Right-sided chest pain can also be one of the physical symptoms of heightened anxiety or a panic attack. According to experts, it also comes along with other symptoms like rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and breathlessness. These symptoms also occur with other life-threatening issues.