What Causes Severe Pain In The Left Arm And Difficulty Breathing?

Posted on Thu, 20 Jul 2017

Question: What is actually wrong with me? Just returned from the ER. I went in with severe pain in my left arm, difficultly breathing, and tightness in chest. EKG said I did not have a heart attack, blood work showed "no heart damage" Those symptoms were acute for about 1.5 hours and then started to subside. The doctor told me I was magnesium deficient & gave me a supplement. However, the official diagnosis on the paperwork was bronchitis (which as an allergy sufferer, I have had many times and currently feel none of those symptoms) and I was released before the chest X-rays had been read. Paperwork shows my magnesium at 1.7mg/dL with a range of 1.8-2.4 and this was the only issue the doctor mentioned. Did not talk about bronchitis which was the diagnosis on the paper, and prescribed Augmentin on my take-home paperwork without mentioning it. I'm feeling ok now other than very fatigued. But with a history of high blood pressure, being overweight and a family history of heart disease, heart attacks & strokes on mother & father's side.... should I be worried? What should I ask my regular doctor?

Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
You do not have to worry about heart attack, continue augmentin as prescribed

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for trusting HealthcareMagic,

You do not have to worry about a Heart attack at this point.
Since you are only 34 with normal EKG and cardiac function, the possibility of coronary artery disease is unlikely.

However, you should maintain a healthy weight. Follow healthy diet and exercise. Continue blood pressure medications regularly.

Bronchitis can also present with shortness of breath, pain and chest tightness.
Just continue Augmentin as prescribed for the timebeing.

Hope this answers your question.
Please feel free to address further questions here.

Regards
Dr.Lekshmi

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