OK I know you're not doctors and I should go to one=) But I'm still asking my question so ream on=)
A month ago I was the passenger in the car and I got chest pains so bad it hurt to breathe and it made M. left arm go numb and tingly. It lasted for about 10 minutes. I had to go to the doctor for something else a week later and mentioned it and she looked over M. did a basic exam and decided she didn't know what the chest pains were but I mentioned my arm goes numb a good amount lately since being hit by the drunk driver and having nerve damage (it happened a year ago but the numbness is frequent in the last month, prior it was only rare) So she made M. look up messed with my neck, hit a pressure point, my arm went tingly and she decided the two (meaning the chest pain and tingly arm) were unrelated--even though typically my arm doesn't go tingly for no reason, it usually happens with neck pain or if I guess i move the wrong way and my nerve has more pressure on it from the disc being injured in my neck)
Any who, its happened a few more times since then but yesterday it happened and lasted for a good long time, a few hours of it hurting to breathe and feeling weak. I took a short nap to stop being in pain, although I kept waking from it, and now it’s gone. So has anyone had this happen? If it helps I'm 29 and in shape and no other medical conditions. The pain starts right around my breast area, but underneath or in between them and hurts so much that it feels like it radiates through and hurts my back. Whenever I breathe it feels like there’s too much pressure and it burns. The pain hurts so bad it feels like someone’s stabbing M., because it’s hurting at my chest and then my back at the same point almost, at the same time, and it hurts to breathe in or talk when it happens. Anyone had this happen before? It’s odd that its sporadic, but it seems to be happening more and more frequently and lasting longer now, with greater pain
I understand peple go to the ER for chest pains but it doesnt seem serious since it goes away eventually and sometiems won't happen again for a few days. My problem is, I don't know how serious it is and don't want to go to the er or doctor over a silly thing...I work in a hospital too, but not in a medical field
Tell that to my sister, about it not being serious. She ignored some chest pains and died at 30 years old.
This really needs to be checked out ASAP. If you call you drs office and describe this I bet they would tell you to go to ER. It is because no matter how small the chance is that it is your heart, if it is it can mean the end of you or you could end up very disabled. My father had several minor heart attacks before finally going to the hospital as the pain would to away, so saying it goes away doesn't mean it's not serious.
when my husband who is an M.D. that does house calls , gets patients with both chest pain and shortness of breath , he does not go see them, rather tells them to hang up and call 911.
Time to see a Cardiologist!
First check with a cardiologist. If everything looks fine then go to a chiropractor. My chest and arm does the same thing. I am also 29 and in shape but my back and neck have a tendency to go out. I get cracked and the pain goes away till my back goes out again.I have a nerve in my neck that will cause my arm to get numb and tingly but the way my back goes out puts pressure on my chest. Almost like my shoulders crunch inward therefore putting pressure on my lungs.
My husband sometimes has the same problem with his arms. While sleeping his arms will go numb and again its a pinched nerve in the spine. He gets cracked and he is fine.
Either way, best bet is to get checked out as you can be healthy and still have heart problems.
Chest pains like this ARE serious. Please read this and then seek medical attention. Each time you try to power through the pain and J. "deal with it" you are damaging your heart. This is damage that could be reversed if you get medical attention...but could be made permanent if ignored.
Here's the important stuff:
Get medical help if you might be having a heart attack
Call 911 immediately if you experience any of these symptoms:
Pain, pressure, burning or squeezing in the chest, jaw, shoulders, back, or arms, that lasts more than 5 to 10 minutes
Unexplained shortness of breath lasting more than 5 to 10 minutes
Sudden severe nausea, vomiting or indigestion
Sudden sweating for no reason
Sudden unexplained extreme fatigue
Loss of consciousness or fainting
Sudden, unexplained, panicky feeling of doom
http://heartdisease.about.com/od/chestpainangina/a/women_...
Update: Ooh I remembered what's it's called
http://www.precordialcatchsyndrome.com/
I have the sharp pain under breast issue (around breast) is it your left side (left chest?) it comes and goes and can last up to 10 ish minutes for M.. It's like I have a bubble that needs to pop. I have researched it and found the exact cause although I can't remember the name. There are two ways to get rid of it (wait it out...ouch) or breathe in really quick/fast and get it over with (and if your pain is like mine is...the second option really isn't an option but it does work.
I have had this issue since early twenties my sister has the issue also, from what I understand is those who get it will eventually grow out of it by mid thirties which SUCKS. Sometimes I get it so bad I drop to my knees and talking during the pain is out of the question.
Something to do with the diaphram! BTW is what it relates to not the heart.
I am guessing the arm thing is not related to the sharp pain.
I was hit by a car while on my bicycle almost 5 years ago.
Yes, I have something similar. But my injuries are different than yours.
After a few years of chronic chest pains, and then a work up....it was determined that I had Costochondritis (sp?) which is inflammation of the rib cage and I was having muscle spasms around the rib cage. The first caused chronic ache in my rib cage where I was bruised. The second caused immediate sharp pain, hard to breathe, stabbing quality.
You will probably gets lots of advice to to see a Chiropractor, of which I am not a fan of at all. Especially if you have neck problems I would stay away. There are a few possibilities for you.
Call your insurance or family doctor and ask for a referral to a PMR (Physical Medicine Rehab) MD. I don't think you need to go to the ER or even a cardiologist given the history of your accident. You still need to sort out the injuries from this accident.
It has taken M. a full 5 years to heal from my accident, which is what the PMR doc told M. and I did not believe him, but here I am still improving.
And since you were a passenger in the car, I hope there is insurance coverage for you as well? There should be unless they were uninsured which is a whole 'nother problem and post.
Get yourself to a doctor. J. buck up and do it.
They can do an EKG to rule out anything to do with the heart.
Anxiety itself can mimic a heart attack and at least if you know your heart isn't the issue, you don't have the added anxiety of not knowing.
I've had chest pains that turned out to be anxiety, I've had crushing back and chest pains in the middle of my back through to the front of my chest that turned out to be shingles.
I've had grabbing pain due to my back being out of alignment and having a pinched nerve.
My point is that when it happens, I don't guess what it could be...I get it checked out.
The very last time I had the type of pain you describe, I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia...AND shingles.
You can google symptoms and get about 10,000 different things it could be.
Make an appointment. If the symptoms reappear before then, go to the ER. Rule out the catastrophic stuff or at least head it off at the pass.
You really should never guess when it comes to chest pains or difficulty breathing of any kind.
Best wishes.
I've had occasional odd chest pains which turned out to be esophagitis, due mostly to stress.
But yes, you need to see a doctor now. It's not silly. Heart problems are not J. for old people. Or it may be something unrelated to your heart. You simply need to find out what. That's the sensible thing to do. If it's bad, you want to get it fixed. If it's not so bad, you get it fixed and be thankful!
(A few years ago, when my sister worked in a hospital, she e-mailed M. about her chest pains. All she needed was for M. to say, "You have permission to go down to the next floor and see a doctor about this." People are funny sometimes. In her case, it was a good thing because it was heart-related.)
This could be SO many things: blood clot, embolism, pericarditis....that I DO hope you get to a heart specialist very soon.
Here is some info about chest pain from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chest-pain/DS00016
Got to the emergency room when you have it or get in to see a cardiologist. It could be nerve damage, pressure on your chest from something abdominal, bronchial issues of some kind like pleurisy. Whatever it is it's nothing to mess around with. My husband has had two issues with heart and both times had stints in, last time real heart attack and both times the symptoms were different. Don't try to guess.
I would also recommend an ER visit or at least a doctor appt. I can throw out another possibility. gallbladder disease or stones. I started having attacks in my teens, but never knew what they were, and blew it off. Went to the ER once in my 20's for it, and was told it was probably my stomach, another time i was told it might be anxiety. It continued to worsen until at age 27 I could no longer eat without the pain. My doc kept insisting it was my stomach despite an EGD that said only mild gastritis. I finally took matters into my own hands did lots of research and begged for the gallbladder test. 1 year later my Dr. finally agreed because I was making monthly appt.s and the gallbladder test showed it was functioning at less than 1%. They did surgery, removed the gallbladder, and I have been fine ever since, no more attacks of the pain. So the reason I am telling you all this is that your symptoms sound like what I felt during an attack. It could be your gallbladder. But it could also be your heart. I had a friend who started getting dizzy and weak, no other symptoms, she was 23. Turns out it was her heart. Everyone can present differently too, so it could be your heart, lungs, stomach, gallbladder, or something completely different. Go to a doctor!
