Heart Disease Community

Hi:

Chest area (right, left, up, down, side) pain, stationary or radiating elsewhere, with or without accompanying symptoms, has various causes, cardiac and non-cardiac, which includes, but is not limited to, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and psychological/psychogenic.

Additionally, of the various types/kinds of heart conditions, some which can at occur at ANY AGE, symptoms may/can be acute (occurring suddenly), be chronic (occurring over a long period of time), come and go (be transient, fleeting or episodic) or even be silent. Sometimes, a condition can be overl@@ked, completely missed, or misinterpreted with this or that type of diagnostic test.

ALWAYS be proactive in your health care and treatment. Sometimes this requires being assertive. Best of luck down the road of life. Live long and prosper.

Take care,

CardioStar☆

Advocate for ♥-Health

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☑Be well-informed

MedlinePlus - Trusted Health Information for You

Chest pain

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003079.htm

Mayo Clinic

Chest pain

www.mayoclinic.com/health/chest-pain/DS00016

eMedicine Health

Chest pain

www.emedicinehealth.com/chest_pain/article_em.htm

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Non-cardiac chest pain

Musculoskeletal-related

The chest contains many muscles, bones, tendons, and cartilage and strains or sprains to any of these may/can can cause chest pain. Chest pain associated with musculoskeletal injury is typically sharp and confined to a specific area of the chest.

The pain may/can be brought on by movement of the chest and/or arms into certain positions, and often is relieved by changing position.

The pain may/can be triggered off by pushing on part of the chest and often become worse when taking a deep breath. Though the pain typically last only seconds, it may/can also persist for days or longer.

If/when chest pain increases when you press your finger on the painful site, or if you can pinpoint the spot that hurts, it is most likely chest wall-related pain, which may/can be caused by strained muscles or ligaments or even by a fractured rib.

BCWP/TBCWP

Benign chest wall pain/Transitory benign chest wall pain

This pain may/can be brief or fleeting and often described as being sharp.

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WebMD

Heart Disease TYPES

Men and Women

Acquired in life or congenital (born with it)

www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-disease-men

Heart Disease SYMPTOMS

www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-symptoms

Mayo Clinic

Heart Disease

Definition. Symptoms. Causes. Risk factors. Complications. Tests and diagnosis. Treatments and drugs. Prevention....

Heart disease is a broad term used to describe a range of diseases that affect your heart, and in some cases, your blood vessels. The various diseases that fall under the ☂ of......

www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease/DS01120

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HeartSite

Heart info, cardiac tests (commonly performed, mainstream types) info, actual diagnostic images

www.heartsite.com

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OptumHealth

Making the Most of Your Doctor Visits

14 Tips to Make Your Doctor Visits a Success

www.myoptumhealth.com/portal/Health+Hubs/item/Making+the+Most+of+Your+Doctor+Visits

HealingWell

You and Your Doctor: It Takes Two to Tango

Your medical care is a TWO WAY street......

www.healingwell.com/library/health/article.asp?author=salvucci&id=5

Quote

"Be a questioning patient. Talk to your doctor and ask questions. Studies show that patients who ask the most questions, and are most assertive, get the best results. Be vigilant and speak up!"

- Charles Inlander, People's Medical Society

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It's your future......be there.

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☛WebMD/WebMD message boards does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Thanks, Just trying to figure out what it is i been to so many dr's and the ER I mean it is between 15-20 times at the er overnight stays, and then 5+ dr's. The pain itself sometimes I can just feel it in my arm and not my chest and sometimes together. I can say just 2 spots on my chest feel like a stabbing,achin pain not a heavy feeling or like anyone sitting on my chest. The first time I ever felt the pain I got off of a roller coaster and it hurt extremely bad which was over 4 years ago. I was just curious if it could be never related or if the pain could be from my back. In my back left shoulder blade there is something when I run it that shoots pains up to my should and sometimes I feel that in my arm. This pain has just caused alot of stress and anxiety not to mention the time I spent in the hospital and all the testing to be told there is nothing wrong with me. Just asking, what I should tell my Dr this week and give her some suggestions to try something diffrent.

You're welcome.

"Or if the pain could be from my back."

That's a possibility, as in referred pain.

As applicable

Health and Age - Q & A archives

Referred pain

An acute sensation felt at a body location other than the location of the diseased or injured part of the body actually causing the pain.

www.healthandage.com/Home/gid7=33

CBS News archives

How to Locate the Source of Pain-Referred Pain - Experiencing pain at a location distant from the trigger point, or referred pain - 9/21/00

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/31/health/main326677.shtml

Take good care,

C☆

Have you been checked for Fibromyalgia?Some of the symptoms you describe sound like it.Chostochondritis is pain in the ribs and /or chest.You might try a rheumatologist or neurologist to be checked for that.It can be quite painful and I have mistaken it for angina before but we finally realized what it was. Good luck and I'm glad it's not your heart.

Hi I am also a 28 year old male with the same symptoms you are having, I have been to the ER 30 + times. Have also seen numerous doctors which tell me its nothing cardiac not at your age. I have had stress tests, cat scans, EKG's, holtor monitor, x-rays, everything comes back within normal limits. I have pain in both sides of my arms and chest. It comes and goes. Its a sharp pain. I have recently taken muscle relaxers and nerve medication but I still get it. I never thought I would find some one that has the same problem with the exact same symptoms. I have always been told that its a pulled muscle. Have had this going on for about 2 years now. write back if you would Thanks! It would be greatly appreciated

When I was 25 I went to the ER for the first time with SVT (Very fast rhythm but still normal). It bounced in and then out. I was told to give up smoking, caffeine, and try stress relievers. Since then I have only been to the Doctor or the ER if it happens around people or at work. This rhythm problem has now progressed to radiating chest pain without the arrythmias. (the pain goes down my arm and up to my jaw, and yes, it absolutely hurts). Unlike you I have very low blood pressure, so no one has ever done anything about this. I too went through the whole battery of tests that proved nothing. For the last 15 years I have referred to this as my nonspecific nondiagnosed possible cardiac problem. The last diagnosis was anxiety. I was put on an antidepressant, and then it happened again. I don't know your family history but I have a strong family history of heart disease, so even though they really thought I had an anxiety disorder, they were afraid not to completely rule out cardiac disease. So I had a cardiac catheratization. Thankfully, my heart is now tired of playing these games and the right coronary artery spasmed during the procedure. My arteries are normal, but I do have spasms. The literature says this is unusual without buildup, but that's what is wrong with me. Here is why they did this. They gave me xanax and the pain still was there. They gave me nitroglycerin and the pain went away. This is suspicious of cardiac. I am not saying you have cardiac problems, there are a lot of things that this could be, I looked up a lot of them!

My husband, whos 37 now, had chest pain start when he was 33. He has similar symptoms to all of you. The docs couldn't find anything, One cardio doc said his arteries are so clean you could drive a truck through. Well we got in an accident on the way to his dr appt and he had chest pains. The ambulance crew gave him Nitroquick and the symptoms went away. We pushed his doc to try him on Nitro and he's better. He has severe Prinzmetal's angina. He's not his normal self but it is somewhat controlled. He has to slow down and take it easy now. I researched it on WebMd and he fit all the symptoms. Check it out.

Good luck,

Karen

Well I have been searching for answers for 6 yrs. for my issues. Severe pain in jaw, neck, veins in neck shoulder, middle of chest, back (feels like a pole went through me, ya know pressure) under arm down arm and into hand. I've literally been through most MRI's Ct. Scans Lab work,Pain center, Physical Therapy. Its the kind of pain you want to jump out of your skin kinda pain. But I think I am very close to a diagnosis ( Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) I will be seeing and thoracic surgeon next week. But the one thing that I happened upon through desperation was a CVS coupon for Excedrin. I took two of these and it knocked my pain down 25% so I'm kinda thinking there may be a cardiac issue as well. And when I get a $@@$^^#@!~ diagnosis I am going to make numerous copies and send one to each and every doctor that I had dealt with for this problem - so stay tuned and until next week .......................

Ok this could be long but i have had chest pains for the last 5 years now mostly sharp stabbing pains which can be very random just under the left breat bone. It will happen a more often if Im slightly leaning over like on the computer (Don?t have the best posture). Pain can radiate slightly to back, neck and shoulders. No sweats or trouble breathing. 95% of the pain/discomfort comes on the left side i have been to a cardio ecg, stress ,echo and blood work have all been done a total of 3 times now. Also gastro doctor (just a barium test was done) i have tried nexium and protonix with no luck i have slight hypertension systolic which i take meds for. Also been to the family doctor many times and the ER once. im 28 year old male fairly active would be more if it wasnt for these issues. dont smoke drink very moderately, 6-3 215 lbs no family history of heart disease. now seeing a mental doctor tried zoloft (yuck) lexapro (ok) buspar (cant tell) klonopin and lamictal. i dont doubt some of this is extreme panic attacks but i can be having the best time in my life and get a random stabbing pain. i would only say the stabbing pains is what hurts the slight tightness just uncomfortable. i will catch my heart speeding up and slowing down but just mostly when i feel bad. i usually do well when i play sports rarely does it bother me and if it does its just because i was feeling bad before. and when i play sports i play them very hard! belching does seem to help the discomfort which i do belch alot. i take tums alot i dont know if they help. i do get more headaches now light headed i will get numbness especially when i drive which leads me to believe thats stress. i also went to a chiropractor nothing she believed would cause my pains. also just had a x-ray done and everything normal and also my blood work cleared no elevation in inflamation and cholesterol just barely on good side glucose was 113 though. these episodes will come and go i can have up to a month with almost no problems or weeks of feeling bad and i do generally start feeling worse in the evening only in the morning when i had a real bad night. Only side effects would just be mild depression when theses episodes get pretty bad. i think i covered everything any ideas? I have a few im checking into hyperventilation syndrome, have the gastro doctor send that probe down my throat and a scan of my neck back for possible pinched nerves.

Dustin, and others:

If your doctors can't find anything, you need to be smarter about lifestyle issues. Either the heart issues will go away, or they will continue but you are working at having a healthier cardiovascular system.

Regarding sports: Warm-up first. Its GOOD for the heart, AND you'll have improved performance after the warm-up. The only reason not to, is to not do as well, and see if you can damage your heart in the process. You have been told.

Cut the alcohol. Empty calories, turns to fat, can damage arteries. Learn to have fun sober. Laugh at people who drink.

More fruit: berries and reds and blues especially.

A lot less fat in the diet. You'll lose weight, have better circulation, and be a better athlete. Maybe less chest pain.

There are other lifestyle things you can do. Why have anxiety about your heart, but do things that might damage it ? That is like worrying about your car while you take a chain saw to it.

Predators don't attack themselves, but people will do all manner of things that are damaging to themselves. Not a sign of intelligent thinking, except that you start to worry that something is wrong. Well, correct what you can. If the doctors can fix more, they will. Do your part.

For long cardio, shoot for an hour, but don't get tired. Tiredness/fatigue is STRESS, a sign you overdid the workout. Pain afterwards is a sign of inflammation.

HI there, Im 24 and am experiencing VERY similar things (stabbing chest pains radiating to left arm and jaw on both sides, light headed and weak). I too have had this extensively looked at. At least 20 ER trips and so many tests i can barely remember them all (EKG, echo, treadmill stress, CT, X-RAY, cathaterization, holters, loop recorders, bloods, urine, the whole nine yards!!) and allll have come back with nothing! All the doctors i have seen have told me that it is unlikely cardiac(thought they still have me on CCB meds, which do nothing in my book!) because of my age and that i have no family history of heart disease but they have shed no light on what it might be so its pretty scary and it really gets in the way of life, work and social. Usually hits at rest and can hang around for hours. I can go weeks without having anything, but then i will have a week span of symptoms. It is worse after eating and having the very occasional drink. I dont know where to go from here to any suggestions of experiences you have had would be awesome. Hope all goes well for you!!

I am in the same boat as you and I am a 34 y.o. female. I dont understand it. I am actually having a week of the symptoms now. Wanted to see if you had anymore tests done and where you are at with all of this. I am the same way have weeks where I feel great and I think yes its all gone away, then bam its back. I just had a heart cath and a tilt table test to add to all of my others and clean as can be. I do however eat like crap. Are you a male or female? Just curious. Because I was thinking it had something to do with my hormones but if you are a male then probably not. I have a call into the Cleveland Clinic for a second opinion, but everything you have is exactly what I have had. I was on a beta blocker and calcium channel blocker low dose that weren't doing anything for me so they took me off of it. You would think that if it was a spasm or angina that some of the meds would help. I also get this all the time at rest. would love chatting with you sometime about your issues.

Mo:

A co-worker of mine lifted weights every day. After I returned from bypass surgery, he mentioned he ate a pound of sunflowers seeds daily while working out. He then told me he was getting some chest pain lately. I told him that was way too much oil and fat, and cut the sunflower seeds to an ounce a day. He said the chest pain went away in a week.

What you eat can make a huge difference. I used to eat peanut butter by the large spoonful. Picture a soup spoon with peanut butter 2 inches high, like an ice cream cone. I did that almost every night for years. That is a lot of trans fats. I ate ice cream daily for over 25 years. Dairy fat is 64% saturated. I also had an ounce of cheese daily, and went through two boxes of crackers a week. Salt and more trans fats.

Just being thin is NOT protection from heart disease. Low stress, healthy diet, frequent moderate exercise is.

DMW

Well, I have never had that crushing/sitting on my chest feeling. It is always a sharp pain, or like a dull pian it dont hurt to bad, but know it's there. I on the other hand have had this pain for about 7 years. I had the ct scan,nuclear test,stress test,many ekg's and a whole lot of blood taken from me ...oh and a million x-rays. I do have high bp but that seems to only affect me when I am at a hospital or dr office. I have done so much research it has really drove my stress level up. I have found out that if youhave compressed vertabrae in your back it can cause same excat pain you and I have. I really have no clue man, I just ask my Dr a million questions and he has no clue.