Suggest Treatment For Pain In The Chest Area

Posted on Tue, 28 Feb 2017

Question: HI I AM 67 YEAR OLD MALE 195LBS PRETTY GOOD HEALTH NO HISTORY OF ANY HEART PROBLEMS.I AM GETTING VERY VERY SLIGHT PAINS AROUND MY HEART AREA.ON A SCALE OF 1-10 10 BEING THE WORST I WOULD SAY MINE ARE A ONE.DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO .PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING ON OCCASSION BUT STILL DOES HAPPEN,IF I TURN FAIRLY HARD TO ONE SIDE OR ANOTHER OR BEND OVER IN A SOMEWHAT ODD WAY I GET A VERY SHARP PAIN IN MY RIB CAGE.IT FEELS LIKE A GAS PAINT BUT IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A YEAR OR SO.IT HAS NOT GOTTEN ANY WORSE

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows :

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for asking on HCM!

I passed carefully through your question and would explain that your symptoms don't seem to be related to any cardiac disorders. .

The fact that your symptoms are modulated by body position, it may indicate possible musculoskeletal pain or gastroesophageal reflux underlying your symptoms.

I would recommend taking an antiacid or PPI (omeprazole, pantoprazole). If this helps relieve the pain, it would indicate gastroesophageal reflux underlying your symptoms.

If this doesn't help, I would recommend taking ibuprofen. It can be helpful against musculoskeletal pain.

But , if your troubles persist besides the above drugs, I would recommend consulting with your doctor for a careful physical examination and some tests :

- a resting ECG
-a chest X ray study
- complete blood count
- PCR, ESR for inflammation

A cardiac stress test would help exclude cardiac ischaemia.

Hope to have been helpful!

Kind regards,

Dr. Iliri

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

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