Why Does a Heart Attack Radiate Pain in the Left

question 10

Multiple Choice

Why does a heart attack radiate pain in the left shoulder and arm?

• A) The left shoulder and arm are the first to lose their blood supply and begin to hurt.
• B) Sometimes, stimulation of internal pain receptors is felt as pain from the skin.
• C) The nerves that innervate the heart go through the left shoulder and arm before going to the spinal cord.
• D) Damage to the heart muscle results in a flood of inflammatory products carried by the blood stream to the left shoulder and arm first.
• E) The heart will close off the blood supply to the arteries that supply the left arm, leading to the pain.

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