Sudden Chest Pain: Heart Attack or Harmless? - AI Podcast

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Health & Fitness, Health, Alternative Health

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Story at-a-glance

Not all sudden chest pain signals a heart attack — less than 6% of emergency room visits for chest pain are life-threatening, according to a 2016 JAMA study
Precordial catch syndrome, often triggered by poor posture or growth spurts, causes short, stabbing chest pain but is harmless and usually resolves on its own within minutes
Digestive issues like gastritis and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) cause chest discomfort that mimics heart conditions; triggers include spicy food, alcohol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and stress
Other non-cardiac causes include panic attacks, rib strain, or costochondritis —these are painful but generally self-limiting and improve with rest, posture correction, or over-the-counter medications
Life-threatening causes like pulmonary embolism or aortic dissection require urgent care; if chest pain radiates or includes fainting or breathlessness, seek emergency help immediately

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's Cellular Wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen
0:06.1	summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required. Subscribe
0:11.2	for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:14.2	Ever felt a sudden, knife-sharp pain in your chest and worried your heart might be in danger?
0:20.7	Hello? And welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:24.6	I'm Ethan Foster, and in the next few minutes, you'll learn how to recognize when chest pain is truly urgent,
0:30.6	and when it's more likely harmless.
0:32.6	I'm a Lara Sky, here to walk you through the details so you can make calm, informed decisions.
0:39.0	Less than 6% of emergency room visits for chest pain turn out to be life-threatening,
0:44.5	according to a 2016 JAMA study. Yet that statistic means little if you can't tell a simple
0:50.9	nerve twinge from a cardiac crisis. By the end of this episode, you'll
0:55.5	know the key differences and the practical steps you can take right away to ease the most
0:59.9	common causes of sharp chest pain. Let's start with the one that alarms parents and teenagers
1:05.2	alike. Pre-cordial catch syndrome. This brief stabbing sensation happens when an intercostal nerve between your ribs
1:12.7	gets pinched. It usually strikes older children and young adults during growth spurts,
1:17.7	lasts only a few seconds to three minutes, and never spreads beyond a pinpoint spot. Because it
1:23.3	isn't tied to heart or lung disease, it's considered harmless, yet the intensity can
1:28.3	make you freeze mid-breath.
1:30.3	Poor posture is the biggest trigger.
1:32.3	Hunching over a phone or laptop rounds your shoulders, shortens chest muscles, and puts pressure
1:37.2	on those nerves.
1:38.6	When an episode hits, you might instinctively hold your breath, but slow, deep inhalations
	...

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