Pain under the left breast

The pain under the left breast is not a specific symptom that indicates a particular disease, although it worries first of all about possible cardiological problems. Really painful manifestations in the left side of the chest require close observation, timely referral to the doctor and diagnosis, since pain under the left breast can signal serious pathologies associated not only with the heart, but also with the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract, oncological processes in the gland itself or nearby organs.

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Causes of pain under the left breast

The etiological causes of pain under the left breast are diverse, and can be associated with diseases of the stomach, intestine, heart, spleen or pancreas, with osteochondrosis, with pathological inflammatory or oncological processes in the gland itself.

The main causes of pain under the left breast: 

• Diseases of the spleen, which are characterized by irraddiruyuschey pain in the left upper quadrant, located under the left gland: 
  • An infarct that develops because of thrombosis or occlusion (embolism) of the spleen artery, which is one of the largest arteries of the peritoneum. Also, a heart attack can be caused by rheumatism, ischemic heart disease, endocarditis, portal hypertension.
  • Abscess or cyst of spleen.
  • Trauma and rupture of the spleen.
  • Torsion of the legs of the spleen (wandering spleen torsion).
  • Infectious mononucleosis and splenomegaly (enlarged spleen).
• Gastrointestinal diseases:
  • Diseases of the small intestine, which are characterized by aching, blunt pain, spreading at the top left.
  • Stomach ulcer, which is accompanied by acute, irradiating to the left with pain.
  • Gastritis accompanied by a bursting pain, often irradiating into the upper left quadrant.
  • Dyspepsia with nausea and painful sensations that can give under the left breast.
  • GVPD is a hernia of the esophageal aperture of the diaphragm, which is most often formed under the processus xiphoideus - a xiphoid process and is reflected by pain in the left side of the back, under the left breast.
  • Gastropathy of ischemic etiology with aching pain in the region of the xiphoid process, upper left.
  • Oncological processes of the gastrointestinal tract.
• The causes of pain under the left breast can be associated with cardiac diseases: 
  • Angina pectoris - angina pectoris, ischemia of the middle muscle layer of the heart, myocardium, characteristic of pressing, retrosternal pain, often giving up in the left arm, under the chest.
  • AMI is an acute myocardial infarction, accompanied by intense pain on the left.
  • A neurysma aortae is an aortic aneurysm.
  • Pericarditis - pericarditis can manifest as pain under the left breast, when it passes into a sharp form.
  • Mitral valve prolapse, characterized by transient, aching, unexpressed pain in the left upper quadrant.
  • Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, causing pain, masking the symptoms of angina pectoris.
  • Intercostal neuralgia, accompanied by a strong, sharp pain, spreading along nn. Intercostales - intercostal nerves.
• VSD - vegetative-vascular dystonia, accompanied by pains similar to the clinical picture of angina or myocardial infarction.
• Broncho-pulmonary diseases:
  • The left-sided lower-lobe pneumonia, accompanied by blunt, mild pain on the left side, in the back and under the chest.
  • Exudative left-sided pleurisy, manifested by coughing pain on the left side, often from the back or under the chest.
• Cyst, abscess, fibroadenoma of the mammary gland, accompanied by pain under the chest due to the occlusion of the ducts, violation of the facial ferm.
• Fibromyalgia.
• Mammary cancer.

[2], [3], [4]

Symptoms of pain under the left breast

Symptoms of pain under the left breast are nonspecific and can serve as a sign of a variety of diseases requiring thorough, comprehensive diagnosis. This is due to the fact that under the left breast there are also the spleen, and the pancreas, and the heart, and the loops of the small intestine, and many other innervating organs to the left.

On the mechanism of development and sensations, pain is divided into the following types: 

1. Somatic, peritoneal, which develop with inflammation, violation of the integrity of the peritoneal peritoneal sheet. These pains have a clear localization, they are felt as sharp, sharp, amplified under load, movement and can indicate a rupture, perforation.
2. Visceral, which develop due to impaired motility of the gastrointestinal tract (spasms, sprains). These pains are felt as spastic or stupid, aching, radiating to the left or to the right.
3. Irradiating, reflected, which are felt as transitory, aching or shooting and are observed most often with osteochondrosis, pneumonia.
4. Superficial, associated with skin diseases, the muscular system (myalgia, myositis), intercostal nerves.

There are the following signs of pain under the left breast: 

• Sharp, dagger pain under the left breast, rapidly growing, unbearable most often signals the perforation of the wall of the stomach, the perforation was singing the small intestine, the renal pelvis, the rupture of the spleen. This symptom requires urgent medical attention.
• Acute pain under the left breast with a deep breath can indicate a violation of the integrity of nearby internal organs, damaged by trauma, accident.
• Aching, dull pain in the upper left can be a signal of a chronic inflammatory process associated with the gastrointestinal tract - pancreatitis, gastritis, cholecystitis, duodenitis.
• The constant pressing, aching pain in the upper left quadrant is a symptom of stenocardia, a pre-infarction state.
• Intense pain on the left, not passing after taking cardiological drugs, spilling and giving away in the hand can serve as a sign of developing myocardial infarction.

The symptomatology of left-sided pain localized under the breast requires a thorough diagnostic examination, the sooner a person pays attention to painful symptoms, consults a doctor, the more favorable will be the prognosis of the detected disease.

Aching pain under the left breast

The character of aching pain in the upper left is most often due to chronic inflammatory processes. Aching pain under the left breast can be associated with a slow, latent inflammation of the stomach, small intestine, spleen. Often, aching pain, accompanied by nausea and vomiting - is a signal of an evolving stomach ulcer. Also, dull, chronic pain can serve as a signal of coronary heart disease, angina pectoris. Often, the pancreas, which is located in the upper part of the abdominal area and the direction to the left, can also manifest as aching, shingles. Aching sensations that appear after physical exertion, psychoemotional stress are associated with myocarditis and other cardiac pathologies. All implicit pain symptoms require a doctor's consultation and a comprehensive examination

Sharp pain under the left breast

Sharp painful feelings always need immediate relief, as delay can lead to serious, life-threatening consequences. A sharp pain under the left breast can be evidence of coronary artery spasm in coronary artery disease (coronary heart disease), aortic aneurysm, pulmonary embolism, acute myocardial infarction, perforation of the stomach wall or small intestine, and infarct pneumonia. Sharp pain, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, fever, may be a manifestation of acute pancreatitis, since part of the pancreas (tail) is located just on the left side. Such sensations are figuratively called "daggers", they can not be tolerated, and often they are not removed by usual anesthetic drugs. In addition, sharp painful sensations that spread to the left, including under the chest, can be one of the clinical manifestations of emphysema of the mediastinum, which "starts" with chest pain and crepitation (a characteristic crunchy sound inside the chest). Sharp pains require relief and emergency medical care.

Severe pain under the left breast

A strong painful symptom on the left in the upper quadrant, under the breast, is due to irritation of the nerve endings in this area and is associated with pleurisy, acute dry pericarditis, acute left-sided pneumonia, exacerbation of angina. Severe pain in the left breast often indicates intercostal neuralgia, which is a consequence of osteochondrosis.

In addition, severe pain under the left breast is often a symptom of PE - pulmonary embolism, which develops intensively, quickly and is characterized by chest pain radiating forward. Symptomatic clinical picture of PE is very similar to myocardial infarction, but thromboembolism is accompanied by shortness of breath, hemoptysis, loss of consciousness.

The most dangerous is severe pain under the left breast, which "starts" from the middle of the chest and is poured into the left side, under the chest, in the arm, in the back. Most often - an acute myocardial infarction, which requires immediate relief and hospitalization.

Dull pain under the left breast

A weak, dull pain under the left breast can be associated with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, as well as dull, spilling pain may indicate a chronic disease of the gastrointestinal tract - stomach, small intestine. Rarely aching, dull pain in the left side of the sternum (under the breast) manifests pancreatitis, cholecystitis in an atypical form. In addition, the sensation of dull pain is inherent in prolonged cardialgia in a vegetative type (cardialgia of a vegetative crisis). This disease is manifested by palpitation, tremor of extremities, dyspnea, high blood pressure and is not stopped by Validol or other cardiac agents. Dull pain under the left breast with vegetative cardialgia is removed by sedatives. The same symptomatology is characterized by false angina, which manifests aching sensations in the middle of the chest, dull pain under the left breast. These signs are intensified by physical exertion, emotional stress, fatigue.

The most dangerous factor, which can cause dull pain in the area under the breast, are oncological processes of the mammary glands. As a rule, the cancer in the first stage does not manifest clinically, the second and its following stages are accompanied by growing, blunt, aching sensations. Therefore, all women who notice the slightest signs of pain in the chest, under the breast, should see a doctor as soon as possible, undergo proper diagnostics and begin treatment.

Stitching under left breast

The piercing sensation in the upper left part of the body is most often not associated with cardiopathology and is most likely due to muscular inflammation, neuralgia, and less often angina pectoris. However, not all patients can objectively describe the nature of pain symptoms, so often the stitching pain under the left breast can be a sign of perforation of the stomach wall or damage to the internal organs associated with trauma or accident (stitching increases with inspiration, tilt forward). In addition, with the appearance of this symptomatology, the exacerbation of the osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the radicular syndrome, croupous pneumonia, tuberculosis, and the abscess of the left lung should be avoided. It is believed that stitching, transient pain on the left or right, under the breast, is most often associated with reflex syndrome with intercostal neuralgia. Sensations of pain are caused by irritation, pressure on the intercostal nerve roots by deformed vertebrae.

Stitching pains in the left breast area, including under the breast, can be signs of the following diseases: 

• Vegeto-vascular dystonia.
• Intercostal neuralgia.
• Panic, hysterical conditions accompanied by pseudo-cardial diseases.
• Thoracoalgia - pain associated with osteochondrosis.
• Dry left-sided pleurisy.
• The acute form of left-sided pneumonia.
• More rarely - diaphragmatic hernia.

Burning pain under the left breast

Burning pain under the left breast is a typical sign of a developing myocardial infarction, which begins with a severe pain symptom in the chest, extending to the back, to the scapula, to the left arm, to the neck, under the left breast. In addition to burning pain, myocardial infarction is characterized by abundant, increased sweating, nausea, difficulty breathing, a condition close to fainting. Such signs require emergency calls and resuscitation.

In addition, burning pain under the left breast often indicates a neglected oncoprotein in the lungs (in the left lung). The pain with this disease is felt as a constant, pressing, burning, dull, maybe its spread into a relatively healthy side - the right one.

[5], [6]

Diagnosis of pain under the left breast

Diagnostic measures, which are assumed for painful nonspecific symptoms, are always complex. Diagnosis of pain under the left breast includes the following actions of the doctor: 

• Collection of anamnesis, including hereditary.
• Examination - palpation of the sternum, measurement of blood pressure, pulse, temperature, checking reflexes.
• Radiography of the chest (bone system, organs).
• ECG (electrocardiogram), ultrasound of the heart.
• Scintiography.
• Pulmonary angiography.
• Tomogram - CT, MRI.
• Laboratory tests of blood, urine, possibly exudate.

Diagnosis of pain under the left breast is impossible without the presence of a physician, often the patients try to differentiate the symptomatology independently and to stop the pain symptom, this can lead to quite serious consequences, up to a lethal outcome. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis after all the necessary examinations is the prerogative of the therapist, cardiologist, neurologist or gastroenterologist.

Treatment of pain under the left breast

Treatment of pain under the left breast depends on the diagnosis, that is, the detected disease. If the pain symptom manifests itself as acute, life-threatening, it is stopped, and then begins diagnostic activities and basic therapy.

Treatment of pain under the left breast in an acute manifestation also presupposes such actions: 

• Exclusion of life-threatening pathology - rupture of the spleen, myocardial infarction, aortic aneurysm.
• All patients older than 40 years with complaints of severe left-sided pain are hospitalized to reduce the risk of acute conditions.
• Contraindicated strong anesthetic analgesics (precursors, narcotic drugs) with suspicion of gastrointestinal pathology, as relief of an acute symptom may distort the overall clinical picture.
• Strong analgesics are allowed if there is a suspicion of cardiopathology, lung disease, and trauma.

First aid, treatment of pain under the left breast with suspicions of cardiac pathology consists in the following actions: 

• It is necessary to take a heart drug - Validol, nitroglycerin (sublingually).
• Take a horizontal position, ensure peace and quiet.
• Watch the nature of the pain, if it does not abate, urgently call an ambulance.

Treatment of pain under the left breast associated with gastrointestinal diseases is to stop eating, then you need to call a doctor, go through a full gastroenterological examination. Strong, shingling, daggerache in the left side requires emergency medical care, self-medication can aggravate the course of the disease and provoke serious complications.

If the pain under the left breast is associated with neuralgia, rest is also shown, a doctor's consultation that will prescribe adequate symptomatic therapy.

How to prevent pain under the left breast?

Prevention of pain under the left breast is standard dispensary examinations, which should be conducted at least once a year. It is known that it is easier to prevent illness, pain symptoms, than to treat them later, this fully applies to preventive measures of painful sensations, wherever they develop.

Prevention of pain under the left breast is carried out in accordance with the preventive measures for the detected disease.

If this is a cardiopathy, it is necessary to regularly perform such actions: 

1. Take cardioprotectors, cardioaspirin, as well as medications recommended by the doctor, without canceling them yourself with symptomatic improvement of the condition.
2. Refuse bad habits - alcohol, smoking.
3. Observe a reasonable, correct diet.
4. Observe a gentle motor system.
5. To maintain a positive attitude, to master techniques of self-regulation, including breathing.
6. Always have specific cardiac medications that can stop the attack of pain.
7. If the pains under the left breast are connected with an osteochondrosis, it is necessary to be engaged in medical gymnastics, to move, accept the appointed preparations, to be engaged in swimming.
8. If the pain is associated with a breast disease, you need to visit a mammologist regularly, undergo examinations and perform all medical appointments, even if an operation is scheduled.

Prevention of pain under the left breast does not involve specific recommendations, since the symptom is non-specific and often is a sign of serious, life-threatening conditions. That is why preventive measures are rather a timely call of a doctor, accurate diagnosis and timely treatment started.