What Causes Pain In Upper Chest And Jaw?

Posted on Wed, 25 May 2016

Question: I am 73 yrs old and in good health. NEVER had any problems even with flu etc. Day before yesterday I experienced a pain in my jaw and one across my upper chest. On a scale of 1 to 10 it was about a 3. The pain lasted about 5min or so. Today I experienced the same thing but only lasted about 3 or so. Level about a 1 or 2. Anything I should be concerned about? Immediate thing that came to my mind was heart attack of sorts.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
chest pain requires investigation

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

any kind of chest pain at your age requires investigation to exclude heart disease. If the pain occurred suddenly (that is without being involved in physical activities), it could be unstable angina, which is almost as significant as a heart attack. Other signs or symptoms or indications of heart related pain may include nausea, cold sweats, palpitations and a history of smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, etc.

In cases like yours an electrocardiogram is the first thing you should do. Depending on the findings more tests will be required.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar