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Suggest Treatment For Chest Pain And Arm Numbness
Question: My husband had an echocardiogram at the VA clinic this morning. He was having chest pains and numb arm. he is a smoker and is in his mid 50's. What should he do? the Eco was normal
Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, it is important to perform further investigations in order to find the possible causes (cardiac, musculo-skeletal, radicular nerve pain, etc.).
The fact that his cardiac ultrasound resulted normal does not exclude possible coronary artery disease.
Is the pain triggered by deep breathing or body movements? This would indicate possible musculo-skeletal pain or radicular nerve pain.
For this reason, I would recommend performing these tests:
- a chest X ray study
- a cervical spine X ray study
- a resting ECG and cardiac enzymes
- complete blood count, PCR and ESR for inflammation.
A cardiac stress test would help investigate for coronary artery disease.
If all the above tests result normal, a nerve conduction study would be needed in order to investigate for possible nerve compression.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Wishing good health,
Dr. Iliri
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
Regarding your concern, it is important to perform further investigations in order to find the possible causes (cardiac, musculo-skeletal, radicular nerve pain, etc.).
The fact that his cardiac ultrasound resulted normal does not exclude possible coronary artery disease.
Is the pain triggered by deep breathing or body movements? This would indicate possible musculo-skeletal pain or radicular nerve pain.
For this reason, I would recommend performing these tests:
- a chest X ray study
- a cervical spine X ray study
- a resting ECG and cardiac enzymes
- complete blood count, PCR and ESR for inflammation.
A cardiac stress test would help investigate for coronary artery disease.
If all the above tests result normal, a nerve conduction study would be needed in order to investigate for possible nerve compression.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Wishing good health,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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