What Does Chest Pain And Shortness Of Breath Suggest?

Posted on Mon, 11 May 2015

Question: I have recently been having chest pain in the center to left side under breast area for a couple weeks now. It lately has gotten worse when I go to bed at night. I can not get comfortable. I am a 31 year old female that had open heart surgery for an atriel septial defect...not sure if i spelt that right...my heart is beating normal i have no shortness of breath no pain radiating to another part of my body. I have tried bayer, i have tried tums, and to no avail. Some days its there and some days its not...other days its more intense than others. Of course I am freaking out cause of the surgery i had when I was 12. I am however working a very stressful job. I have had numerous anxiety/panic attacks in the last 6 months. I just want the pain to go away because its more annoying than painful. The pain feels like a dull achy pain sometimes and then other times when I breath in only it feels like a little stab or jolt. I am now of course focusing on it whether its there or not and prob making it worse mentally. i also drink a lot of caffeine. I use to drink and smoke i no longer do either...please help put my mind to ease with what could possibly be going on? Thanks

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Your pain doesn't seem related to cardiac issues...

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concerns.

Your pain doesn't seem related to cardiac issues and is more characteristic for gastric, pulmonary or musculoskeletal problems.

However some examinations should be done in order to find out the right etiology of your concerns. If you were my patient I would recommend to do the following examinations:
- Blood work
- ECG and cardiac echo (to evaluate the cardiac status)
- Chest X ray (will evaluate lung and chest musculoskeletal problems)
- Abdominal ultrasound and upper endoscopy
If all the mentioned examinations will be negative than your problems are most probably related to musculoskeletal or anxiety disorders.

Meanwhile I would suggest to take the following measures:
- Use NSAI drugs (Advil) and Tylenol to relief the pain
- Use antacids (Malox) for gastric problems
- Use probiotics
- Use chamomile tea to relief your anxiety

Hope this will be of help!
If you have further question dont' hesitate to ask.
Dr. Shehu

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

Follow up: Dr. Benard Shehu (9 minutes later)

Thank you very much for the speedy reply...I will take the measures you suggested first as I do not have insurance and I am sure that those tests will cost me a pretty XXXXXXX I will try to find a way to get the tests done somehow. But I def appreciate your feedback.

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (12 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Following answer to your query...

Detailed Answer:
Hi back,

In meantime you can follow my suggestion mention above to relieve your pain.

If you don't have more question to do and are satisfied with my answer, please close this query and rate it with maximum.

Wish you health!
Dr. SHehu

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

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