For many years doctors have been brushing off chest pain in women suggesting that it was more psychological than physical. However, in the past couple of years, doctors have started to listen in with a keener interest.
Over a period of time, women have showed changing patterns of stress. With work, family and home all requiring time and energy, a woman may end up experiencing a lot of stress. For some time now, the sudden chest pains experienced by women have been considered benign. There have been no signs of arterial blockage too.
Recent studies however have shown that these bouts of reported angina are very much real and pose a threat. This chest pain without any arterial blockage is actually a condition that is indicative of microvascular dysfunction. In this particular condition, the blood vessels that feed the heart don’t expand and contract appropriately. Neither is the constriction sufficient, nor is the dilation as much as required. The heart therefore becomes immediately devoid of oxygen and causes sharp pain in the chest.
Here is a list of causes for this particular kind of pain in the chest.
However the main cause still remains stress. The body responds physically to stress. Usually the breathing rate becomes faster and the flow of blood becomes redirected. The muscles also feel the tension and tighten. This tightening of the muscles also often leads to chest pains.