What could be causing my unexplainable chest pains?

[marinebiopink]

I am currently expearincing a dull stabbing pain in the middle of my chest. I don't know where it came from. It is starting to fade away but it is worsend by deep breaths. This accours almost every heartbeat. The pain is simular to the feeling you get when you don;t chew your food and it gets stuck but i have not eaten for 2 hours. And nothing i ate was hard. It is made worse by laying down also. This as happened several times before but everytime we go to the doctor we forget to tell them. I am going to the doctor soon (hopefuly) but till them i was hopeong someone could inlighten me.

ps:Thank you in advance

 

[lisab]

We don't give medical diagnosis, but you may be having a heart attack. Go to a doctor now!

 

[berkeman]

I am currently expearincing a dull stabbing pain in the middle of my chest. I don't know where it came from. It is starting to fade away but it is worsend by deep breaths. This accours almost every heartbeat. The pain is simular to the feeling you get when you don;t chew your food and it gets stuck but i have not eaten for 2 hours. And nothing i ate was hard. It is made worse by laying down also. This as happened several times before but everytime we go to the doctor we forget to tell them. I am going to the doctor soon (hopefuly) but till them i was hopeong someone could inlighten me.

ps:Thank you in advance

Hi marine,

Your bio page says that you are a student in the US, so you should have medical insurance. Either have a friend drive you to Urgent Care, or call 911 to have the local EMS paramedics come put you on an EKG monitor and check you out.

The Sx you are describing could point to a heart issue, even though you are probably young. It could be a benign issue too (I had one once when I was young -- mimicked a MI, but was nothing in the end), but you absolutely need to have it checked out tonight.

Please post back here after you get back from Urgent Care, to let us know what the issue was.

 

[marinebiopink]

ummmmm, i don't think it's a heart attack. I am in my teenage years and 210 pounds, 5'6. the only thing i have medicly wrong with me is enimiea (border line). Everyone in my house is sleeping. I don't want to alarm anyone if its nothing and I am currently in another state/ country from my immedate family. (im with distant family). I am scedualing an emergancy check up in the next week but for now nothing can be done. tho i am in the super minority.( height, weight, age, and race.)

 

[DaveC426913]

Anemia? You have anemia?

"...One study showed that 43% of people who were hospitalized after a heart attack had anemia..."

Go to the Emerg right now.


Call an ambulance. Meet them out front if you you're worried about disturbing anyone.

Go. Now.

 

[marinebiopink]

ok, i can do that. I am going to be in the doctor's offace some time within the next 5 days. i just can't do anything until the morning. luckly my Uncle is a Respatory Therapist. I will talk to him in the morning about it.

 

[DaveC426913]

ok, i can do that. I am going to be in the doctor's offace some time within the next 5 days. i just can't do anything until the morning. luckly my Uncle is a Respatory Therapist. I will talk to him in the morning about it.

If this pain is an symptom of heart attack, you will likely have permanent damage by morning.

Just call 911. Get the paramed's opinion.

Worst that happens is a false alarm.

 

[berkeman]

ummmmm, i don't think it's a heart attack. I am in my teenage years and 210 pounds, 5'6. the only thing i have medicly wrong with me is enimiea (border line). Everyone in my house is sleeping. I don't want to alarm anyone if its nothing and I am currently in another state/ country from my immedate family. (im with distant family). I am scedualing an emergancy check up in the next week but for now nothing can be done. tho i am in the super minority.( height, weight, age, and race.)

Son, I'm a working EMT (it's my side job outside of my full time EE job). Please just have somebody drive you to the local Emergency Department (ED) or Urgent Care center. You need to have an EMS person do an EKG on you, and you need blood drawn for an enzyme test. No big deal. But very important if there are cardiac issues. Your height and weight put you in a category that is at risk for cardiac issues, despite your age.

I'm PM'ing you my contact info. Call my cell phone if you doubt the need to contact EMS tonight. We care about you son.

 

[DaveC426913]

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime/saha/delay.htm

Delay Can Be Deadly
Most persons having a heart attack wait too long to seek medical help–and that can be a fatal mistake. Patient delay–rather than transport or hospital delay–is the biggest cause of not getting rapid care for heart attacks.

People often take a wait-and-see approach, delaying because they:

- Do not understand the symptoms of a heart attack and think that what they are feeling is due to something else.
- Are afraid or unwilling to admit that their symptoms could be serious.
- Are embarrassed about "causing a scene," or going to the hospital and finding out it is a false alarm.
- Do not understand the importance of getting to the hospital right away.

Some patients are more likely than others to delay. For instance, women, older persons, and minorities are more likely to delay getting help.

As a result, most heart attack victims wait 2 hours or more after their symptoms begin before they seek medical help. This delay can result in death or permanent heart damage–damage that can greatly reduce the ability to do everyday activities.

 

[marinebiopink]

thank you. But for 1 I am a girl (common misstake). 2 I am seriously torn between just going to sleep or the E.R because my cusin can drive but i don't wana make a big production. this has happened before (i didnt go to the E.R) but i also don't want to scare my parents who are both mor then 3 hours away. I just took a blood test about a month ago. but i don't know what we tested for. all i know is i don't have diabites, high, or low blood pressure, or cancer. But i think i can be fine until the morning when something can be done. I am the onlyone awake. There is nothing i can do. Thank you for your concern.

 

[DaveC426913]

thank you. But for 1 I am a girl (common misstake).

I knew that. ('pink', 'singing'. Lucky guess...) It's one of the reasons why I'm concerned. Women manifest symptoms differently than men.

You have multiple risk factors for heart disease.

2 I am seriously torn between just going to sleep or the E.R because my cusin can drive but i don't wana make a big production. this has happened before (i didnt go to the E.R) but i also don't want to scare my parents who are both mor then 3 hours away. I just took a blood test about a month ago. but i don't know what we tested for. all i know is i don't have diabites, high, or low blood pressure, or cancer. But i think i can be fine until the morning when something can be done. I am the onlyone awake. There is nothing i can do. Thank you for your concern.

What is the problem? Do you think 911 and ambulances are only for other people? Do you think they're available 24/7 just for the fun of it??

How will you parents and your cousin and your family feel if they find you in the morning when you didn't come down for breakfast??

 

[Osyrus]

I don't want to undermine the previous posters - some of whom definitely know what they are talking about. That being said, I have had similar pain repeatedly, if very rarely (about 1-2 a year) for at least 6+ years, that I can remember. I am a very healthy 21 yr old male who runs multiple times a week. Same experience as you - stabbing pain, really hurts with deep breaths, no discernible cause. I actually happened 3 times within the same week last month and I happened to be at the doctor's for something unrelated and so I decided to ask them about it. Of course they were concerned, and asked some basic questions and gave my chest a listen. Everything was normal but they wanted to be sure so they did a quick EKG. I had one on file from about a year prior (precautionary to test for side effects of a medication I was taking at the time) and they said that if anything, it looked better than the old EKG. They said that if it happened again or got worse that I should go to the ER, but otherwise things seemed ok.

A few days later I came across the following wikipedia article that described my experience to a tee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precordial_catch_syndrome"
"Precordial Catch Syndrome (PCS), also known as Texidor's twinge, is a common cause of chest pain complaints in children and adolescents. It also occurs, though less frequently, in adults. PCS manifests itself as a very intense, sharp pain, typically at the left side of the chest, which is worse when taking breaths. Patients often think that they are having a heart attack which causes them to panic. This pain typically lasts from 30 seconds to a few minutes. Though some episodes last just a few breaths, in rare cases they can persist for up to 30 minutes. In most cases the pain is resolved quickly and completely"

"The cause of PCS is unknown. There is no known cure for PCS. However PCS is also not believed to be dangerous."

I do think that you should go to the doctor to get checked out regardless. However, as it seems you have decided to not take immediate action, I think you should at least read that article and possibly bring it up to your doctor. Hope it is nothing more serious.


Mike

 

[marinebiopink]

Im going to turn in for the night. Thank You again. Mr Berke for your advice. Ill post the results tomorrow. I am going to ask my uncle tomorrow morning if I am ok or not. Thank you All for your concerns.

 

[Vanadium 50]

but i also don't want to scare my parents who are both mor then 3 hours away.

They would rather be scared than have to plan your funeral.

Call 9-1-1 now.

 

[nismaratwork]

For the love of god, go to a doctor! If it's just muscular pain, or heartburn, great, but you don't take chances with these things. You need an enzyme workup and EKG right ******* now, not tomorrow. Young people DO have heart attacks, and no offense to Osyrus, but don't listen to the Egyptian god of death.

You're hearing a number of very intelligent people from a wide range of disciplines tell you the same thing: get to an emergency room ASAP. If you feel fine when you get up, you STILL should go!

 

[berkeman]

Im going to turn in for the night. Thank You again. Mr Berke for your advice. Ill post the results tomorrow. I am going to ask my uncle tomorrow morning if I am ok or not. Thank you All for your concerns.

I spoke with marinebiopink again this morning, and the pain has gone away. She promises to see her doc in the next couple of days.

 

[rhody]

I am concerned as well.

I hope and pray that someone had the sense to hunt this person down and contact their base commander and close relatives. I don't want to read about pink's problems in tomorrow's news along with the PF history.

Rhody...

BTW, This brings up an important subject. What are the rules for impending emergencies for people who post here, Evo's last episode with BP is one good example, and she is a mentor ! Maybe some rules should be discussed between mentors and Greg and "standard procedures" should be put in place. I vote for Vanadium_50 to moderate, he always (to me anyway) has sound, pithy advice, just what is called for in situations like this. Plus, if member sees a post like this first, some general advice on how to report it would be great.

Edit, just saw Berkeman's post, glad things are ok for now, but all of what I said still stands, you guys are great as coming up with ideas that work, look at how smoothly PF runs day to day.

 

[DaveC426913]

BTW, This brings up an important subject. What are the rules for impending emergencies for people who post here, Evo's last episode with BP is one good example, and she is a mentor ! Maybe some rules should be discussed between mentors and Greg and "standard procedures" should be put in place. I vote for Vanadium_50 to moderate, he always (to me anyway) has sound, pithy advice, just what is called for in situations like this. Plus, if member sees a post like this first, some general advice on how to report it would be great.

PF has only one position on this (Though it is not in the PF Rules. Moonbear has a post soemwhere along the following lines):

• We do not offer medical advice. This is enforced.
• Our only medical advice is: if you are concerned about it, talk to your doctor; if you are concerned about it right now, go to a clinic or the hospital right now.
• Posts offering anything other than the above should be reported using the Report button, so that they can be removed.

 

[nismaratwork]

I spoke with marinebiopink again this morning, and the pain has gone away. She promises to see her doc in the next couple of days.

It is vitally important that she see a doctor ASAP, or there may be no conclusive diagnosis! Enzyme levels from damaged cardiac tissue will be gone by then. Yes, it is overwhelmingly likely that this was a spasm of the interstitial muscles beneath the pectorals, but you don't take chances with this. This could also be something other than an actual infarc, but still be pain that is a sign of arterial blockage. I'm begging you Berkman, convince this girl to see a doctor NOW, please.

 

[Monique]

Go see a doctor if you care about your life, it is incredibly irresponsible not to do so. You shouldn't even drive yourself, because you will be endangering other people who are on the road.

 

[berkeman]

It is vitally important that she see a doctor ASAP, or there may be no conclusive diagnosis! Enzyme levels from damaged cardiac tissue will be gone by then. Yes, it is overwhelmingly likely that this was a spasm of the interstitial muscles beneath the pectorals, but you don't take chances with this. This could also be something other than an actual infarc, but still be pain that is a sign of arterial blockage. I'm begging you Berkman, convince this girl to see a doctor NOW, please.

I agree that there is a lot more value in seeing a doctor while the pain is going on, as opposed to two days later. There's only so much we can do over the Internet or by long distance phone call, unfortunately.