What are Peptic Ulcers?
Peptic ulcers are holes in the lining of your stomach, upper small intestine or oesophagus that develop when the stomach acid used to digest food wears out the lining that coats the stomach or duodenum walls. The most common peptic ulcer symptom is a gnawing stomach pain that usually begins between meals or late at night, stops for a short time if you eat or take antacids, lasts anywhere from minutes to hours and comes and goes over days or weeks [1].
What are the Causes of Peptic Ulcers?
The most common causes of peptic ulcers are infection with a bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) and years of taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen.
H pylori can be spread to you from another person with this infection when their contaminated saliva, vomit, food, or water come into contact with yours. NSAIDs can irritate your stomach lining and make you more likely to develop ulcers, especially when these drugs are taken for an extended period or taken in high doses [2].
Others include smoking, drinking too much alcohol, and having radiation therapy. Rarely, an increased acid secretion in the stomach and small intestine can cause ulcers. A syndrome called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome increases the amount of acid produced by the body, and it causes stomach and intestinal ulcers. Less than 1% of peptic ulcers arise from this syndrome [3].
Stress and spicy foods do not lead to ulcers but can exacerbate the condition. Peptic ulcers are a significant cause of global morbidity and mortality. Still, they can be managed with a multidisciplinary approach to achieve better patient outcomes and quality of life [4].
Risk Factors of Peptic Ulcers
Peptic ulcers are a prominent health concern, exhibiting various risk factors that contribute to their development.
One of the best-studied risk factors is the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a group of medications that irritate the stomach lining and increase the likelihood of peptic ulcers. At 24%, the prevalence of peptic ulcer cases due to NSAIDs alone is second only to H pylori [5].
Another important risk factor is infection with Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that can erode the stomach’s natural defence barrier, causing ulcers. Infection with H pylori causes peptic ulcers in 31% of cases, but this increases to 34% when combined with smoking [5].
Cigarette smoking is another significant risk factor. It increases the risk of peptic ulcers, contributes to their severity, and hampers the healing process [5, 6].
Habits in diet can be as well; peptic ulcers have been noted to appear more often in those with unhealthy diets, diets which violate typical nutritional guidelines [6].
Stress is another aggravating factor. High stress levels can worsen the symptoms of peptic ulcers and, in the future, could be implicated in the formation of ulcers, too [6].
Similarly, other demographic variables can increase the risk of getting peptic ulcers, including age and gender: young working-age men are at greater risk of Peptic ulcers if they have a family history of the same condition [6].
Finally, some diseases and their treatments can cause peptic ulcer: hypertensive patients, patients with diabetes, and patients with some hepatobiliary lesions have a higher risk of peptic ulcer [6].
Peptic Ulcers and Respiratory Problems
Peptic ulcers, a common gastrointestinal condition, can indeed influence respiratory problems. Several studies have explored this connection.
A study found that the ventilatory function of patients, both smokers and nonsmokers, with gastric ulcers was significantly reduced compared to healthy controls. This implicated a defect in the ventilatory function in cases of chronic gastric ulcers and, to a lesser extent, in duodenal ulcers [7].
However, another study of 5813 patients with peptic ulcers reported that 437 (7.51%) have respiratory diseases, an incidence that could validate a high overlap between both pathologies [8].
Peptic ulceration can cause acute respiratory distress; for example, a perforated gastric ulcer leads to dyspnoea, one of the most common complaints in the emergency department [9].
Similarly, peptic ulcers are associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The risk of peptic ulcer disease increased as the severity of COPD rose from 3.2% in normal subjects to 56.2% in those with severe COPD [10].
Can Peptic Ulcers Cause Chest Pain?
Peptic ulcers can indeed cause chest pain. They are sores on the stomach lining that can produce many symptoms, most notably selection of stomach shrink with severe heartburn, chest pain, bloating, and belching [11].
Often, a peptic ulcer will cause your stomach to hurt between your breastbone and your belly button. It might hurt worse on an empty stomach and ease after eating [12].
However, peptic ulcers can also present in atypical ways. A case report, for example, describes the presentation of respiratory distress and chest pain in a 54-year-old man as the first manifestations of a complicated perforated duodenal ulcer [13].
Furthermore, chest pain can be caused by a plethora of different diseases, not just peptic ulcers. Other gastrointestinal diseases, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), can cause chest pain, too [14].
So, if you are experiencing chest pain, it is crucial to go and see a medical provider to help alleviate the symptoms and discuss possible treatment methods.