10 Common Chest Pain Symptoms and What They Might Mean

5. Symptom: Worsening pain

Pulmonary embolisms (PE) are blood clots that lodge themselves in one of the arteries of the lungs. Chest pain relating to pulmonary embolism is either gradual or sudden and sharp and gets worse with time. PE often start as a clot in the leg that travels up to the lungs, so another symptom of this condition is swelling in the calf. People with pulmonary embolisms also often develop a cough with mucus that may contain blood. The pain created by a PE can feel very much like a heart attack,.

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