Chest pain is a very common symptom. It is often a serious sign in some people, but it can be minor in other people. Even a pain that looks like a heart attack can be something else entirely. A doctor can usually figure out if chest pain means heart disease. This page describes types of chest pain, the Spiritual meaning of chest pain, spiritual meaning of chest burning and the spiritual reasons for heart pain.
Chest pain can be a sign of a number of health issues, including heart problems and respiratory conditions. But there’s also another spiritual meaning to chest pain that you might not know about:
When you feel chest pain, it’s often an indication that something is weighing on you emotionally or spiritually. You may be feeling pressure or stress in your life, or struggling with emotions like anger or resentment. It’s important to take the time to examine these feelings and figure out how they’re affecting your life—and what you can do about them.
Chest pain can occur when the nerves or blood vessels around the heart are compressed or pinched. It usually occurs because of a problem with the muscle wall and can be caused by a number of different ailments that affect it.
Chest pain can be a symptom of many things, but the most common causes are heart problems. However, there are a lot of other causes of chest pain that don’t relate to your heart.
The most common cause of chest pain is angina, which is brought on by lack of oxygen-rich blood flow to the heart muscle. Angina is typically caused by atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which restricts blood flow to the heart. The pain usually starts in the center of your chest and spreads to other parts as well as down your arm.
Other possible causes include:
-A heart attack: This occurs when too much blood clots or tissue dies due to lack of oxygen because of an interruption in blood flow through a coronary artery (one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart). A heart attack can also occur if plaque breaks off from an artery wall and travels through your bloodstream, eventually blocking another artery in your heart or brain; this is known as an embolism. A heart attack occurs when there isn’t enough oxygen getting through those narrowed arteries, which allows necrosis (dead tissue) to form inside them.
Chest pain, or angina, is a feeling of pressure or tightness in the center of the chest. Chest pain can be mild or severe, and it can last for a few seconds or minutes. Chest pain is not always a sign of heart disease. But if you have chest pain, it’s important to see your doctor to make sure that it’s not caused by heart disease.
Chest pain is often caused by problems in your coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart. When these arteries narrow or become blocked by cholesterol plaque, less blood reaches the heart muscle. This leads to angina—chest pain that occurs when your heart needs more oxygen-rich blood than normal (usually during physical activity).
Other causes of chest pain include: coronary artery spasm (a sudden tightening of the coronary arteries), an emotional response to stress (psychosomatic), esophageal spasm and/or reflux disease (a painful condition where acid from your stomach comes up into your esophagus), nausea and vomiting, indigestion and stomach ulcers; gallstones in the bile ducts; abdominal aortic aneurysm (a bulge in the main artery that carries blood out of
Spiritual Meaning of Chest Pain
Angina pectoris is a condition that occurs when your heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood.
It is not actually a disease but a warning sign of heart disease, and recognizing it and getting it treated correctly, along with some lifestyle changes, of course, may prevent a heart attack.
An estimated 525,000 new cases of stable angina occur each year, according to the Framingham Heart Study. In the present day, over 12 million Americans suffer from angina.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually include:
- dizziness;
- sweating;
- restlessness;
- shortness of breath;
- fatigue;
- anxiety;
- sweating;
- nausea;
- pain in your arms;
- cramping;
- chest discomfort;
- burning across the chest;
- a rapid heartbeat.
Women may experience different symptoms, such as – abdominal discomfort or pain in the jaw, neck, or back as well as feeling a stabbing pain rather than pressure.
Note – these symptoms are usually brought on by an emotional upset, physical activity, after a meal, or cold weather. The episodes usually subside after three minutes.
Causes
This condition is commonly caused by coronary atherosclerosis, the thickening of arteries that supply oxygen, blood, and nutrients to the heart.
Atherosclerosis is caused by a fatty substance called plaque which builds up in the arteries, blocking blood flow to the heart muscle. Coronary atherosclerosis forces the heart to work with less oxygen. This causes pain.
There are many risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis, such as – smoking, sedentary lifestyle, low HDL cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, a diet high in salt.
Note
If plaque ruptures, a blood clot may occur, blocking the coronary artery and preventing blood flow to the section of the heart muscle which the artery supplies. This is called a myocardial infarction or heart attack and is a life-threatening condition.
Moreover, chest pain can be caused by severe anemia – a condition in which the human body has less hemoglobin or fewer red blood cells that carry the much-needed oxygen.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for angina are:
- for women – a history of pregnancy-related diabetes and preeclampsia;
- high LDL and total cholesterol;
- sleep deprivation;
- hypertension;
- anxiety;
- smoking tobacco;
- emotional stress;
- age – greater for women over 55 years and men over 45 years;
- sedentarism (lack of physical activity);
- obesity;
- diabetes.
Heart Attack
A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is blocked. If the blood flow is not restored quickly, the damage to the heart muscle is permanent.
Every year about 735,000 people in the US have a heart attack.
Symptoms
Symptoms can include:
- an overwhelming feeling of anxiety;
- feeling weak;
- shortness of breath;
- chest pain (the pain can radiate from the chest to the neck, jaw, back, and arms).
Note – If you think you are having a heart attack, call for an ambulance immediately.
Risk Factors
The risk factors for a heart attack include the following:
- preeclampsia;
- smoking cigarettes;
- diabetes;
- increased C-reactive protein;
- living a sedentary lifestyle;
- a diet that is high in cholesterol, saturated fats, trans fat, and sodium;
- obesity;
- regular emotional stress;
- Low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol;
- high blood pressure.
Angina Pectoris (Chest Pain) – Spiritual Causes And Meaning
Constraints are always related to fear. In the case of angina pectoris, you have often disconnected your Ego from the unity of life and emotions, which results in their blocking. Separation always creates antagonisms or a defensive attitude.
In turn, this creates fear, which you are trying to compensate by striving for strength.
The physical expression of this mechanism is angina pectoris.
When you shut down and close off from other people, nothing can come in and out, so open yourself to the things that scare you. Life is a process of continuous exchange and shutting down and separation blocks you. Freely offer beauty within yourself.
Spiritual Meaning of Heart Attack
A heart attack indicates the release of a large amount of “aggressive” energy accumulated within your body.
It represents all the anger, worries, and sadness that you have experienced, but, now these emotions have turned against you because they haven’t been released in any other way.
Look carefully at all your negative emotions without judging yourself. Open your heart to yourself and save yourself from having a heart attack.
Prevention
Stress
Stress is a normal part of life. However, if stress is left unmanaged, it can lead to psychological, emotional, and physical problems, like – chest pains, irregular heartbeats, heart disease, or hypertension.
The best method to reduce your stress levels is the practice of meditation.
For example, anxious people who took a mindfulness meditation course where they learned a few different strategies had a lower hormonal and inflammatory response and reacted to stress better than people who didn’t practice mindfulness meditation, according to a 2016 study issued in the journal Psychiatry Research.
Also, mindfulness meditation can also help you become more aware of how to make choices that lead to outcomes that are more supportive of happiness and well-being.
Lose The Extra Weight
If you are overweight or obese, losing weight is not only recommended, it is vital for your overall health. This will help to lower your blood pressure as well as the amount of workload on your heart.
Note – this risk increases with a waist measurement of over 35 inches in women and over 40 inches in men.
Reduce Your Salt Intake
According to a study done by Prof Pekka Jousilahti at the National Institute of Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, a diet high in salt is one of the leading causes of hypertension and an independent risk factor for stroke and coronary heart disease.
One of the best methods to avoid salt is to ensure most of your diet is made up of fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and seeds, as these are naturally low in salt.
Physical Exercise
A regular physical exercise, particularly healthy heart exercise (always consult with your health care specialist before commencing a new exercise regime) is highly effective in preventing cardiovascular problems.
Quit Smoking
If you smoke, try to quit. Talk to your doctor about effective methods that can help you quit smoking.
Lower Your LDL Cholesterol Levels
Eat a healthy diet. Avoid foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and trans fat. Foods high in fiber are useful in lowering LDL and total cholesterol.
High fiber foods include:
- oatmeal;
- oat bran;
- broccoli;
- red kidney beans;
- mangoes;
- pineapples;
- tomatoes;
- apples;
- plums;
- prunes;
- figs;
- sweet potatoes;
- lentils;
- navy beans;
- radishes;
- garlic.
spiritual reasons for heart pain
Heartache is a pretty common occurrence. It’s not just an emotional feeling, though—it can be a physical response to grief and loss. Heartache is caused by your body’s release of stress hormones, which can cause chest pain or shortness of breath.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t something you need to suffer through on your own. Even if you don’t feel like talking about the situation with anyone else, you can still receive comfort from God through prayer, meditation, or other spiritual practices.
