What is the Difference Between Esophageal Spasm and Heart Attack

The key difference between esophageal spasm and heart attack is that esophageal spasm occurs due to painful contractions within the muscular tube connecting the mouth and stomach, while heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced. 

Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull ache. Many different conditions can result in chest pain. Esophageal spasms and heart attack are two conditions that give chest pain-like symptoms. However, these are two different conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Esophageal Spasm 
3. What is Heart Attack
4. Similarities – Esophageal Spasm and Heart Attack
5. Esophageal Spasm vs. Heart Attack in Tabular Form
6. FAQ – Esophageal Spasm and Heart Attack
7. Summary – Esophageal Spasm vs. Heart Attack

What is Esophageal Spasm?

Esophageal spasm is a problem with muscles in the esophagus, the tube responsible for transporting food and drink from the mouth to the stomach after swallowing. Some medical experts believe this problem is due to a faulty nerve that is responsible for how the esophagus muscle works. The symptoms of esophageal spasm are chest pain, trouble swallowing foods or liquids, pain near the breastbone, sensation of something being struck in the throat, and regurgitation.

Esophageal spasms can be diagnosed through physical symptoms evaluation, endoscopy, and esophageal manometry. Furthermore, esophageal spasms can be treated by taking calcium channel blockers before eating, tricyclic antidepressants, botulinum toxin injections, and surgery.

What is Heart Attack?

A heart attack is a condition when the heart muscle begins to die because it is not getting enough blood flow. Heart attack is caused due to atherosclerosis because of the formation of plaque substances inside arteries. The symptoms of a heart attack may include chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, trouble sleeping, nausea or stomach discomfort, indigestion or heartburn, heart palpitation, anxiety, sweating, lightheadedness, dizziness, and passing out.

Heart attacks can be diagnosed through physical symptom evaluations, blood tests, electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, angiograms, heart MRIs, heart CT scans, and nuclear heart scans. Furthermore, treatment options for heart attack may include taking medications like anticlotting medications, nitroglycerin, thrombolytic medications, anti-arrhythmia medications and pain medications, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and coronary artery bypass grafting.

What are the Similarities Between Esophageal Spasm and Heart Attack?

• Esophageal spasm and heart attack are two conditions that give chest pain-like symptoms.
• Both these conditions can cause complications.
• Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination and imaging scanning.
• They can be treated through specific medicines and surgeries.

What is the Difference Between Esophageal Spasm and Heart Attack?

Esophageal spasm occurs due to painful contractions within the muscular tube connecting the mouth and stomach, while heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced. Thus, this is the key difference between esophageal spasm and heart attack. Furthermore, esophageal spasm affects one in 100,000 people yearly, while heart attack affects approximately 3.2 million people worldwide yearly.

The infographic below presents the differences between esophageal spasm and heart attack in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

FAQ: Esophageal Spasm and Heart Attack

Can esophagus pain feel like a heart attack?

The location of the esophagus pain is in the esophagus just behind the breastbone. Because of this, it can be mistakenly taken as a heart attack.

How long can esophageal spasms last?

Esophageal spasms may last only a few minutes or up to several hours

What does a heart spasm feel like?

Spasms may be “silent” (without symptoms), or it may result in chest pain or angina.

Summary – Esophageal Spasm vs. Heart Attack

Patients arriving in medical emergencies frequently report chest pain during admission interviews. This symptom can be associated with either esophageal spasms or a heart attack. Thus, both conditions can present with chest pain-like symptoms. However, esophageal spasm occurs due to painful contractions within the muscular tube connecting the mouth and stomach while heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced. So, this is the key difference between esophageal spasm and heart attack.

Reference:

1. “Esophageal Spasms.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2. “Heart Attack.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Diffuser Oesophagusspasmus 002-07” By Hellerhoff – Own work (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “heart attack anatomy” By ravindra gandhi (CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED) via Flickr