Hi, Noted the history about your 67 year old husband having had open heart surgery 5 months ago, had pulled trapezius muscle so got a shot and started with hiccoughs. It is noteworthy that a steroid shot in muscle is not really known to have caused hiccoughs hence the causes of hiccoughs should be seen for and treated as per the cause found: The possible causes and how to find are as given below: Irritation of the nerve to the diaphragm muscles - the phrenic nerve in its course from neck to the upper abdomen. May need CT scan of neck and thorax to find if any tumor that has been pressing on Phrenic nerve. Pharyngitis, laryngitis if there are certain symptoms related to it. Conditions below diaphragm like liver abscess and anything that irritate the diaphragm. Proper clinical evaluation, examination and relevant investigations will help to find the cause and thus get treated accordingly. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. T. Chandrakant, General Surgeon