What Causes Fever, Arm Numbness And Tightness In The Chest And Back?

Posted on Sat, 19 Aug 2017

Question: My son who is 22 had tingling/numbness in his arm for couple of hours with tightness in his chest and back last night. Today it is still feeling "tight" and his left eye is real red. He had flu like symptoms for the previous three days with slight fever also. We lost my husband to heart attack 1.5 years ago but he was 67 years old and we don't know if this is severe stress or he needs to be checked out in emergency for heart condition. My son is in severe stress college summer class however so we just don't know. Can you make a suggestion?

Any answer coming soon?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Jolanda (27 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
If he feels bad and conditions don't improve within a while, he should go to ER to get prompt medical help

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to HealthcareMagic,

Well, I can understand your situation and I am sorry for your loss.

As you explain the history of his symptoms with slight fever, tightness in chest and back it seems to me to be a viral infection, but even a stressful condition is seen accompanied by chest discomfort too.

Concerning heart examination, based on your husband's history and to be sure for him to rule out cardiac problems he should get:

-Repeat ECG
-Cardiac ultrasound
-Cardiac enzymes
-Chest x ray

However I do not think his actual symptoms are related to cardiac problems but better to be sure.

Despite the above, if he is not feeling well and the situation gets worse, he should go to the ER to get medical help even if this might be stress. They will monitor his general parameters and probably do the above examinations at the same time.

Take care and please feel free to ask me again.

Best Wishes

Dr.Jolanda

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee