When A Heart Feels

"It is only with the heart that one can see
rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Have you ever felt physical pain in the area of your heart when you feel extreme emotion? I have. I've felt it with extreme sadness, and I've felt it with extreme joy. Recently, in a few unrelated articles and books, I've read about living through one's heart, as opposed to living through one's head, or eyes. Is that what's happening when we feel a tear in our chest in response to emotion? If so, I suppose I'll take that as a good thing, pain and all.