Heart Health

Question: Occasionally I get mild chest pains in my heart area. They aren’t excruciating or sharp. Should I worry?

Answer: Never ignore chest pain. While most chest pain is not related to your heart and not life-threatening, you still need to have it evaluated so you can rule out heart problems. Common causes of chest pain are acid reflux, esophageal spasms or chest wall problems. There are some symptoms that often go along with pain that signals a heart problem: the pain gets worse with exertion, you feel pressure with the pain, or the pain is associated with shortness of breath, nausea and excessive sweating. If you have these symptoms with chest pain, call 911.