Possible accompanying symptoms

Unfortunately, there are no typical accompanying symptoms for breath-related pain in the left thorax. Since these pains, which are themselves already a symptom, can be caused by a number of different diseases, other accompanying symptoms are as different as the causes themselves. If, for example, esophagitis or gastritis were the cause, the pain would become stronger, especially when swallowing or eating.In addition, thickened lymph nodes in the neck area could be palpated in the case of an inflamed esophagus.

Inflammation of the pleura or pneumonia would also be accompanied by high fever, severe fatigue, difficulties in breathing properly and possibly mucous or reddened sputum. A heart attack, in turn, is usually accompanied by severe nausea and shortness of breath. Heart rhythm disturbances can usually be felt by the affected person himself, as he himself feels that his heart is not pumping regularly.

It is usually heart rhythm disturbances that cause the heart to beat too fast that are noticed. Depending on how long these last, fainting can occur because the brain is not supplied with enough fresh blood. Anatomically considered, spleen, kidney and stomach are located below the ribs on the left side as prominent structures that could cause pain here. The respiratory dependence of the pain suggests that the lung must have at least indirect contact with the structure. For a more detailed examination, an ultrasound machine would be useful at this point, with the help of which the left kidney as well as the spleen can be examined more closely and whether this is an inflammatory event.

The diagnosis

The correct diagnosis for left-sided, breath-dependent chest pain is not so easy to make. As you can see, there are a lot of potential causes that require both different diagnosis and different treatment. However, the most important clue to determine whether a life-threatening incident is involved is the medical history that the doctor takes from the patient.

If a life-threatening disease is then thought to be present, this is usually followed by blood pressure measurement, ECG and blood samples. In rare cases, an imaging examination may then be necessary. Ultrasound is the examination with the lowest radiation exposure for the body. Sometimes, however, this is not sufficient, so that a CT or MRI must be used after all.