Sometimes people feel heart pain soon after eating, which can be due to several reasons. Ranging from indigestion to muscular pain, the heart pain can be a result of anything in the region. Hence, it is very essential that check with your doctor to find out the reason for your heart pain after eating.
Heart Pain after Eating
When a person feels heart pain they usually wonder whether it is due to cardiac problems or for any other reasons. When chest pain occurs due to cardiac disease it is called as Cardiac Chest Pain (CCP) and if the chest pain occurs as a result of gastro or any other problems then it is called as Non-Cardiac Chest Pain (NCCP). Once the exact cause of heart pain is understood, it is necessary to take proper treatment at the earliest.
Although it is thought to be heart pain, it is possibly pain around the heart region and could be due to various reasons. Many times, it is seen that people get severe heart pain after eating their food. There may be several reasons why people feel severe heart pain soon after eating. It is very important to know why you feel chest or heart pain after eating and for knowing that it is very essential to know the various types of disease for which you feel chest pain.
Some of these diseases that can cause heart pain after eating are described as follows:
Cardiac Disease. The most common cause of heart pain after eating food is due to cardiac disease. If the coronary artery gets blocked then the amount of the blood flow that is going into the heart can be reduced. Due to the insufficient flow of blood, the patient feels severe chest pain. In most cases, it is found that severe chest pain mainly occurs due to insufficient flow of the blood to the heart.
Pleurisy. Pleurisy is a problem in which the inner side of the chest cavity and the layer of the tissues around the lung of the patient become inflamed. As a result of this, the tissue becomes irritated and swollen due to which the patient feels sharp chest pain. However, heart pain arising out of respiratory problems often gets worse at the time of breathing and may not be related to eating. Hence, a thorough evaluation is necessary.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a condition, which mainly occurs when the acid of the stomach frequently flows back into the esophagus, the tube that connects the mouth and the stomach of the patient. Due to the acid reflux, the person may feel irritation in the lining of the esophagus. As a result of this, the patient feels a sharp burning sensation in the chest, which is commonly called as heartburn. This is often experienced as heart pain after eating. This type of heart pain gets worse when the patient takes spicy food, alcohol, chocolate, etc. When you feel severe chest pain after eating food, it may be likely due to diffuse esophageal spasm. Due to GERD, the muscles of the esophagus gets contracted erratically that cause severe heart pain after eating.
Musculoskeletal Problems – The muscles in the chest region can get strained due to certain activities, which too can cause chest pain. For some, heart pain after eating could be related to muscular pain or bone pain in the chest region. While such pain is more during movement, it may be associated with the movement of hands and posture while eating. But this needs to be checked and differentiated from other more probable causes.
Thus, any heart pain after eating must be evaluated taking into account the medical history and any similar previous complaints. Appropriate investigations can be performed to confirm the diagnosis and proper treatment can be planned.
Conclusion
Thus, when you feel heart pain after eating it is very important to assess the type of pain and other associated complaints. There are some common ways with which people generally describe their heart pain and it includes crushing, searing, feeling tight and heavy. Generally, it is seen that heart pain after eating mainly occurs due to Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) problems.
However, before taking the medicine for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), it is very essential that you check up with your doctor and analyze the actual cause of heart pain after eating and treat it as soon as possible.
