Suggest Treatment For Chest Pain Along With Shortness Of Breath

Posted on Tue, 4 Aug 2015

Question: My resting heart rate has stayed at 106-111 over the last few days, for 3 weeks I've been having very slight pain in my left shoulder and blood pressure has been between 118/90 -155/100 in the last two weeks. I have some shortness of breath, I've brought this up to a dr. who doesn't say much back about it. I'm very very tired and not concentrating on work well. Now i'm starting to become emotional. This is not normal for me. Should I go to an ER since Family doctor doesn't take this as a serious matter and just says I'm having a panic attack. I've had 2 EKG which they say is normal. Should I worry and go to ER or just find a new dr.

Answered by Dr. Suresh Heijebu (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Visit ER early.

Detailed Answer:
Hi Mam,

I understand your concern.

Certainly its very important to consider your symptoms significantly.

Any chest pain associated with shortness of breath with fluctuations in heart rate has to be assessed to rule out CAD-coronary artery disease before concluding panic attacks as the treatment options for both widely differ.

For this I advise you to have the following tests at your ER.
1.24HR AMBULATORY Holter ECG.
2.2D echocardiogram.
3.Treadmill testing-TMT.

These tests reliably help to rule out heart disease.

Consultation with a cardiologist will help.

Hence I advise you to visit ER at the earliest rather adopting different measures.

Thank you.

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar