If you’re at a certain point in life, chances are you’ve felt sudden sharp chest pains without knowing what caused them. It’s a pretty common experience, but not many people know the actual reason behind it.
Whenever you feel any pain in your chest, it’s natural—especially if you worry about your health—to think something might be wrong with your heart. But the truth is, it’s often something way less serious than that.
There’s loads of information online about heart attacks and other heart issues, but searching symptoms on Google can sometimes make things worse. It’s easy to convince yourself it’s the worst-case scenario when it’s really not.
In fact, if you feel a stabbing pain in your chest that goes away quickly and you’re not experiencing other symptoms like shortness of breath or pain going down your left arm, it’s probably not a heart issue at all. And since anxiety can actually trigger or worsen these pains, stressing about it might be doing more harm than good.
So what’s behind it? Doctors say it’s something called precordial catch syndrome (PCS), a harmless condition that’s been known about since as far back as 1893.
The pain often comes out of nowhere while you’re just sitting or resting. That’s another reason doctors are confident it isn’t heart-related, since heart issues usually flare up during physical activity or stress, not while you’re doing nothing.
Doctors still aren’t completely sure what causes PCS, though some think it could be linked to irritation in the chest wall or nerves between the ribs, known as intercostal nerves. Research is still ongoing.
Of course, if you’re ever unsure or the pain sticks around longer than usual, it’s always a smart idea to check in with your doctor to be safe.