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The first idea that comes to mind when someone says they have pain in their left arm is that it could be a heart attack. But is a pain in the left arm, however, usually indicative of a heart attack? When asked about it, Dr Brajesh Kumar Kunwar, Interventional Cardiologist at Hiranandani Hospital in Vashi, said it could be due to a variety of factors. You might also be interested in learning about the 5 causes of chest pain (apart from heart attacks).
Heart attack is one of the most common conditions that manifest with pain in the left arm. However, when it comes to diagnosis, it depends on the age of the patient. For example, if someone in the middle or elderly age group consults a doctor with pain in the left arm, the first thing which doctors consider is it could be due to a heart attack. However, the symptoms should be associated with other symptoms like sweating, nausea, anxiety and vomiting. If these factors are present along with left arm pain, then it is a sign of a heart attack.
Pain in the left arm could be a sign of other conditions as well. Here are the common ones:
Other common conditions that are characterised by pain in the left arm include musculoskeletal conditions like shoulder arthritis. It could also be due to cervical spondylosis, which is seen mostly in people working on a computer. If you are left-handed and spend long hours sitting in front of a computer and feel pain in the left arm, it is a sign to consult a doctor to get it tested.
Another common condition that causes left arm pain is cervical compression of any particular nerve. For example, if you have root compression in the shoulder region, then it can lead to pain in the arm. Also, compression of a nerve supply to the lower part of the diaphragm or any complications in the diaphragm can lead to pain in the arm.
In some cases, trauma or injury associated with the shoulder might lead to pain in the arm. Shoulder dislocation or fractures in the shoulder region might also manifest as pain in the arm. The presence of a small tumour in the region of the shoulder or some lipomas or soft tissue mass which is compressed by the nerve in the shoulder is a sign of concern.
It might come as a surprise but local infection can also lead to pain in the left arm. Yes! For example, infection by herpes zoster can cause pain in the arm due to the inflammation in the arm region. Moreover, herpes infection
If a patient sleeps abnormally on one hand or left side, it can also cause severe pain in the arm in the middle of the night. It can also be due to compression of the nerves in the shoulder region, which causes numbness in the arm.
When differentiating between heart attack and other conditions, there are a few factors/conditions that experts look after. Heart attack is usually associated with other symptoms such as sweating, nausea, anxiety, fall in blood pressure (BP), giddiness and an increase in the severity of the pain on walking or exertion.
Hence, any pain which is associated with other symptoms of heart attack or if the pain increases on walking or exercises, sexual intercourse, or any emotional or physical effort, is an indication that the pain can be of a cardiac origin. Secondly, if a patient has any multiple coronary artery risk factors such as diabetes, family history of heart attack, hypertension or high cholesterol level and complains about pain in the arm, it is taken very seriously.