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To prevent heartburn, it's best to avoid lying down for at least two hours after eating. Avoiding fats, chocolate and citrus foods may also help.
Antacid medications may ease symptoms immediately. Other medications such as omeprazole and ranitidine take longer to work, but may provide more effective relief if prescribed by a doctor.
SEEKING MEDICAL CARE
See a doctor immediately if you:
Develop new, persistent chest pain
Sweat, feel short of breath or have pain radiating to the back, arm or jaw
Experience nausea, dizziness, weakness or confusion
Feel a heavy sensation in the mid-chest
Have pain that comes and goes, or is worse with activity
Make an appointment to see a doctor if you:
Feel pain during physical activity
Have pain that worsens over time and interferes with daily activity
Don't sleep well.
Diagnosis
Chest pain doesn't always signal a heart attack. But that's what health care providers in the emergency room usually test for first because it's potentially the most immediate threat to your life. They also may check for life-threatening lung conditions — such as a collapsed lung or a blood clot in the lung.
Immediate tests
Some of the first tests a health care provider may order when diagnosing the cause of chest pain include:
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG).
- This quick test measures the electrical activity of the heart. Sticky patches called electrodes are placed on the chest and sometimes the arms and legs.
- Wires connect the electrodes to a computer, which displays or prints the test results.
- An ECG can show if the heart is beating too fast or too slowly.
- An ECG can help show if you have had or are having a heart attack.
- Blood tests.
- Certain heart proteins slowly leak into the blood after heart damage from a heart attack.
- Blood tests can be done to check for these proteins.
- Chest X-ray.
- An X-ray of the chest shows the condition of the lungs and the size and shape of the heart and major blood vessels.
- A chest X-ray also can reveal lung problems such as pneumonia or a collapsed lung.
- Computerized tomography (CT) scan.
- CT scans can spot a blood clot in the lung or find an aortic dissection.
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