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What Causes Stabbing Pain In The Shoulder Blades Along With Profuse Sweating?
Question: I've had two episodes that start with a stabbing pain between my shoulder blades, profuse sweating, short of breath & extreme urgency in my bowels. The first time I passed out - this time almost. I was taken to ER the first time and the diagnosis was pleurisy and (can't think of the medical term) but inflammation of the sac around the heart.
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that the inflammation of the sac around the heart is called pericarditis. While the inflammation of the sac around the lungs is called pleuritis or pleurisy.
Both these disorders can cause pain in this region. But the extreme urgency in the bowels is not very typical of this disorder. Anyway, it could be explained with the autonomic reaction to the pain (including profuse sweating and shortness of breath).
The treatment with colchicine is often prescribed in pericarditis and pleurisy, in order to avoid the fibrosis and adherence inside the sac or layers.
Coming to this point, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a careful physical exam and some tests to examine your situation and possible underlying causes:
- a resting ECG and a cardiac ultrasound, which would help exclude pericarditis (the presence of fluid in the sac around the heart) and also examine your aorta
- a chest X ray study and an ultrasound of the phrenico-costal recesses to investigate for the presence of fluid around the lungs
- NT-proBNP levels to exclude heart failure
- PCR and ESR for inflammation
- kidney and liver function tests
- blood electrolytes.
It is important to perform repeated cardiac ultrasound and phrenico-costal recesses ultrasound(in case of pleurisy), if the presence of fluid is confirmed, in order to investigate the progression of the disease (if the fluid is increased a puncture and drainage may be needed).
You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that the inflammation of the sac around the heart is called pericarditis. While the inflammation of the sac around the lungs is called pleuritis or pleurisy.
Both these disorders can cause pain in this region. But the extreme urgency in the bowels is not very typical of this disorder. Anyway, it could be explained with the autonomic reaction to the pain (including profuse sweating and shortness of breath).
The treatment with colchicine is often prescribed in pericarditis and pleurisy, in order to avoid the fibrosis and adherence inside the sac or layers.
Coming to this point, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a careful physical exam and some tests to examine your situation and possible underlying causes:
- a resting ECG and a cardiac ultrasound, which would help exclude pericarditis (the presence of fluid in the sac around the heart) and also examine your aorta
- a chest X ray study and an ultrasound of the phrenico-costal recesses to investigate for the presence of fluid around the lungs
- NT-proBNP levels to exclude heart failure
- PCR and ESR for inflammation
- kidney and liver function tests
- blood electrolytes.
It is important to perform repeated cardiac ultrasound and phrenico-costal recesses ultrasound(in case of pleurisy), if the presence of fluid is confirmed, in order to investigate the progression of the disease (if the fluid is increased a puncture and drainage may be needed).
You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues.
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
Answered by
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