Diagnosis

Various measures are used to diagnose chest pain on the right. At the beginning there is the specific questioning of the patient. Here it is important to know how severe the chest pain on the right is, when and since when it occurs, whether there are triggers and whether it is breath-dependent.

The question of whether an injury has occurred and the accompanying symptoms can also speed up the diagnosis. This is followed by a physical examination. Palpation of the ribs provides evidence of fractures, and the lung should also be examined with a stethoscope to assess a so-called pneumothorax, which is virtually equivalent to a collapsed lung.

Apparative procedures are also important for the diagnosis of chest pain on the right. In the case of chest pain on the right, an ECG should always be performed to rule out a reduced supply to the heart, i.e. in the worst case of a heart attack. Even if this is more likely to be felt on the left side, chest pain may also occur on the right.

Furthermore, an X-ray of the chest makes sense. This is where the shape and size of the lungs and heart are assessed. In addition, there may be indications of rib fractures or processes in the lungs such as pneumonia or tumorous growth. In cases of doubt or if pulmonary embolism is suspected, for example, further measures such as CT or MRI are useful for diagnosing chest pain on the right. Depending on the results of the initial examinations, further steps may follow to make a definitive diagnosis.

Duration

With chest pain on the right side it is difficult to make a definitive statement on the duration of the complaints. This is because the duration depends on the cause of the chest pain on the right and the extent of the disease. In the case of rib contusion or fracture, the duration of chest pain on the right often lasts several weeks.

Likewise, trapped nerves in the rib area can cause pain for months without a correct diagnosis. Pain in the chest area can also be felt for days in the context of pneumonia, but this disappears after antibiotic therapy has taken hold. In the case of pneumothorax, it is possible that a stabbing pain was only noticeable at the beginning, which is no longer noticeable as the disease progresses.

Unless it is a tension pneumothorax, which causes severe pain until relief in the clinic. If there are problems with blood circulation in the heart, chest pain on the right side in the sense of angina pectoris can occur repeatedly over months and years. This pain becomes apparent during physical exertion and disappears again when the patient is at rest. In the case of an acute heart attack, the pain lasts until the vessel has been reopened.