If you have been suffering from chest pains, then you have cause for concern. Any discomfort that you feel along the front of your body, roughly from your adam's apple (or lack of adam's apple, for females!) to your belly button falls under the category of chest pains. And while chest pains aren't necessarily one hundred percent indicative of an impending heart attack, they are indicative of some sort of malady that will need attention sooner or later.
The most common heart-related cause of chest pains is Angina. Angina typically causes chest pains just behind the sternum, usually slightly to the left side. The cause of angina is a lack of blood and oxygen getting to your heart, which can then cause far more serious diseases down the road. Including, of course, heart attacks. If you've been suffering from angina, then you simply have to tell your doctor about it and get yourself on a course of exercise, diet and medicine designed to improve your cardiovascular health. You need to open up those blocked arteries, get your heart more of the fuel it needs to run your body, and start working for your body rather than against it.
Chest pains related to the heart aren't the only ones you can experience. You can also suffer from chest pains related to the lungs, and though these aren't usually as immediately serious as heart-related chest pains, they can end up getting you into severe medical problems if left untreated.
Pneumonia, for example, is a disease everyone knows about. And if you've ever had it, you know very well that it causes severe, unmistakeable chest pains. Especially when taking a deep breath.
For young, healthy people, pneumonia tends to be a weatherable storm, a minor two-week blip on the long road of good heatlth. But for older folks, pneumonia is a killer. Combine it with something like angina, and you have one of most deadly diseases out there.
Pneumonia can also be the precursor to a blood clot in the lung, or a pulmonary embolism. Like Pneumonia, the pain experienced by those who suffer from pulmonary embolism tends to get worse when you breathe deep or cough. If you experience such a pain, make sure you get to the doctor's office quickly, because a blood clot that travels to the heart can cause a fatal heart attack.
Whatever the cause, chest pains are never to be ignored. So be smart and consult your doctor the first moment you experience these pains, because it may just save your life.