Thoracalgia or pain in the sternum can occur in connection with various lesions of some internal organs, also with psychogenic diseases, structural changes in the bone-cartilaginous tissues of the chest and with diseases of the spine. Thoracalgia can be a consequence of various diseases, such as pleurisy, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, mitral valve prolapse, myocardial infarction, and angina pectoris. In addition, pain in the sternum during movement may indicate angina pectoris, when insufficient supply of blood to the muscles of the heart occurs, this may be due to sclerotic changes in the blood vessels of the heart, which cause pain in the sternum when inhaling.
There are pains in the sternum when inhaling in the case when a person develops musculoskeletal thoracalgia, it is often confused with intercostal neuralgia. Pain syndromes are caused by bone-chondritis, in which case inflammation of the bone-cartilaginous structures begins, and especially often pain occurs when coughing. Unlike angina pectoris, these pains can last several days. Pericarditis can sometimes develop, an inflammation of the connective tissue bag that surrounds the heart, it can be caused by a virus. With pericarditis, piercing pains begin to spread, which intensify in a supine position, this is especially felt with a deep breath.
In the event that the walls of the arteries or the valvular system of the heart are damaged, pain in the sternum may also occur with a sigh, but such pains differ from angina pectoris or heart attacks. In the chest area, pain can occur that is associated not with the heart, but with stressful situations, when suddenly a person experiences anxiety or intense fear. He has hyperventilation, that is, he begins to breathe often and at the same time feels numbness and tingling of his lips, as well as discomfort in the chest area. Discomfort in the chest can be with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, when a hernia of the diaphragmatic opening develops, heartburn and increased gas formation appear , in such cases, the pain is localized in the lower parts of the chest.
Especially often there are pains in the sternum when inhaling, when the mucous membrane that is located around the lung becomes inflamed, and in the case when a person develops pleurisy. In this case, the patient tries to breathe less on the sick side, since each movement causes acute pain. Pneumothorax can also be the cause of such pain, but in this case, air accumulates in the pleural space. In addition to severe pain, the patient experiences an acute lack of oxygen.
Pain in the chest occurs after injuries, fracture of ribs, damage to cartilage, or muscle strain in the chest. In the case when a person has pain in the sternum when inhaling, it is necessary to find out the causes of such syndromes from the doctor, and then already begin therapeutic actions aimed at eliminating such phenomena. When you develop pain with spasms of the heart vessels, you should immediately lie down and take a vasodilator, and it is best to put a nitroglycerin tablet under the tongue. If a person has angina, he should constantly take diltiazem or nifidipine, these drugs help to strengthen the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle, and the preparations "Propranolol" and "Atenolol", which are beta-blockers that can reduce oxygen consumption by the heart tissue. In other cases, to eliminate pain in the sternum, all the causes that caused it should be eliminated, it can be muscle neuralgia, heartburn, pain after a stroke, and as they are eliminated, the person will stop thoracalgia.