Can all the symptoms of a myocardial infarction be present in gastritis?

Doctor's Answers 2

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan
Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

Typically, chest pain from a heart attack is triggered by exertion or emotions although it can occur without any warning. The hall mark features of angina is chest tightness or pain, especially on the left side, together with breathlessness, dizziness or sweating. If there is no improvement over the following few minutes, a full blown heart attack or myocardial infarction may occur.

In gastritis, the pain or discomfort is usually located at the upper abdomen and this pain mostly progresses over sometime and takes a while to subside with or without medication. In some cases, gastric acid may enter the oesophagus causing what commonly known as heartburn which simulates a "heart attack". However, such chest burning pain does not result in actual heart muscle injury or heart attack.

In addition to the above, most chest pain due to acid reflux responds well to acid suppressants or liquid antacid. If in doubt, the best bet for you is to consult your family doctor assuming the pain you are experiencing is not an emergency.

-Dr Quan

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan
Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

Typically, chest pain from a heart attack is triggered by exertion or emotions although it can occur without any warning. The hall mark features of angina is chest tightness or pain, especially on the left side, together with breathlessness, dizziness or sweating. If there is no improvement over the following few minutes, a full blown heart attack or myocardial infarction may occur.

In gastritis, the pain or discomfort is usually located at the upper abdomen and this pain mostly progresses over sometime and takes a while to subside with or without medication. In some cases, gastric acid may enter the oesophagus causing what commonly known as heartburn which simulates a "heart attack". However, such chest burning pain does not result in actual heart muscle injury or heart attack.

In addition to the above, most chest pain due to acid reflux responds well to acid suppressants or liquid antacid. If in doubt, the best bet for you is to consult your family doctor assuming the pain you are experiencing is not an emergency.

-Dr Quan

Similar Questions

Can chronic gastritis be completely cured, and how long does it take for symptoms to resolve?

Chronic gastritis is a term commonly seen in biopsy report on tissue specimens obtained from an upper digestive endoscopy examination. This usually implies mild chronic inflammation seen under the microscope which does not necessarily correlate well with the symptoms you have. In order words, chronic gastritis may resolve while your symptoms persist and vice versa. In actual fact, it is difficult to ensure a complete recovery from chronic gastritis since more tissue specimens will be needed at a later date to confirm this point.

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan

Answered By

Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

How can I manage chronic gastritis with cell changes on stomach lining, and partial recovery after 6 months of PPIs?

Based on what I understand from your question, I think you are referring to the term "intestinal metaplasia" which is the presence of normal intestinal cells in your stomach lining. This is a condition most gastroenterologists consider a point of no return in terms of the potential risk of developing gastric cancer. Intestinal metaplasia itself is not cancerous and finding normal intestinal cells in the stomach is not unusual either. This is different from "dysplasia" which can be interpreted as suspicious looking cell change and deemed slightly more serious.

Photo of Dr Wai Leong Quan

Answered By

Dr Wai Leong Quan

Gastroenterologist

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