Does anyone have this/know what this is ?!
Question: Quite often (a few times a week , sometimes a few times a day) I get a really tight and really painful feeling around my chest/rib area . I can only take really short shallow breaths because if i breath normally I can feel the pain and the harder I breathe the more painful it is . So basically I just take lots of short shallow breaths until it goes . It can last 30 seconds to 5 minutes which seems like a long time ! I usually know that its gone because I almost feel it 'pop' and go away . . . Has anyone else had this - it's very annoying and painful , do you know what it is . I hope this made sense ! Thanks :)
Answers: Quite often (a few times a week , sometimes a few times a day) I get a really tight and really painful feeling around my chest/rib area . I can only take really short shallow breaths because if i breath normally I can feel the pain and the harder I breathe the more painful it is . So basically I just take lots of short shallow breaths until it goes . It can last 30 seconds to 5 minutes which seems like a long time ! I usually know that its gone because I almost feel it 'pop' and go away . . . Has anyone else had this - it's very annoying and painful , do you know what it is . I hope this made sense ! Thanks :)
Wow... you described what I used to get several times a week. I saw doctor after doctor as a child and they could never figure it out. I finally found a doc in my adult years who explained the cause to me. It happens to me only occasionally now (I'm 45 ).
He said it was due to certain chest muscles contracting, constricting my ability to fully inflate my lungs, hence, the stabbing pain. I mean, it really felt as if my chest was being stabbed with each breath. The doc said that although the condition isn't real common, it's not dangerous in any way. Sort of like when you get your fingers pinched in a door, but not enough to break anything, just painful like crazy.
I figured a way to shorten the "attacks," but you need somewhere to lie down in order to do it. Lie down on a flat surface, not too cushy and don't use a pillow. Try to imagine yourself in the most relaxing, peaceful place you've ever been (or are dying to go to, heh heh ). Continue to take shallow breaths. Relaxation is the key, because your chest muscles need to well, relax. lol
Valerian root is a natural herb that helps to relax muscles without the drugged up feeling you get from taking prescription muscle-relaxants. It might be worth a try. It can be found in pharmacies, health food stores, and even some of the larger grocery stores in the vitamin section. Since your attacks happen so often, I wonder if it might help to just take one every morning for awhile, to see if it helps.
I hope your problem will go away real soon. :)
may be a panic attack.......
i do get that too...or i used to way more than i do now. so did my mom, so does my boyfriend etc. i think it's normal. im not sure though. i'm sorry i don't know what causes it but my mom told me that it was an air bubble or air pocket that needed to be popped and to try and burp it away....i don't know if you know how to make yourself burp..but it works for me...it takes a little bit though.
I've had similar chest pain before. Sometimes I get it from asthma. I also get it from gastroesophageal reflux disease
GERD. Sometimes I get it from my spastic stomach problem (my "nervous" stomach spasms from stress and i just get random, excruciating, stabbing chest pain). Treatments for these conditions include : albuterol inhalers for asthma, preventative steroid inhalers, Prilosec (available over the counter) for GERD, very small doses of Xanax for spastic stomach
Also, here is a list of other possibilities:
Hypertension
(high blood pressure) as a cause of chest pain in both men and women is listed first because it is the single most common cause of chest pain, including coronary artery disease itself.
Considering the fact that 64 million people in this country have hypertension, and approximately 75% of them are either unaware of its presence, or are not adequately treated, it is not hard to understand why so many individuals with high blood pressure are having chest pain.
Although it is a long known fact that hypertension can cause chest pain, it is not a commonly known fact. Indeed, most doctors including cardiologists seem to be completely unaware of it.
GERD
or gastroesophageal reflux disease is causes by failure of the sphincter at the lower end of the esophagus to close properly. As a result, there is often regurgitation of gastric acid from the stomach into the lower esophagus producing spasm and inflammation of the lining that may produce chest pain that is very similar to angina pectoris, including the fact that it may be precipitated by exertion, and relieved by sublingual nitroglycerine. In fact, esophageal disorders often coexist with coronary artery disease. Chest pain from esophageal disorders is usually precipitated by eating of food, or by lying down after eating, and it can be relieved by antacids and milk. Often it is accompanied by heartburn and difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). Unlike angina pectoris, which typically radiates across the upper and mid chest, esophageal pain tends to be located at the lower end of the sternum (breastbone) and radiates to the epigastrium. Certain kinds of food more characteristically produce esophageal pain. These include alcohol, spicy food, Mexican food, and coffee. Unlike angina, which tends to last less than 5-10 minutes, esophageal pain may last for hours and fluctuate in intensity. GERD can be effectively treated with proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec.
Hiatal hernia.
A hiatal hernia, also called a diaphragmatic hernia, is an abnormally large opening in the diaphragm where the esophagus connects to the stomach. As a result, the upper end of the stomach may herniate into the chest cavity. This is not likely to occur while someone is sitting or standing.
Lungs: (Pleurisy)
A variety of disorders involving the lung may be associated with chest pain. Pneumonia is one of the most common, particularly when it involves the lining of the surface of the lung known as the pleura. Inflammation of the pleura is called pleurisy. Pleuritic pain tend to be sharp, and of brief duration when it is present.
Pulmonary Embolism:
Another major cause of chest pain is a pulmonary embolism. An embolism is a mobile blood clot that usually occurs after a surgical procedure, particularly if the patient has been lying immobile in bed for several days.
Pneumothorax:
A pneumothorax is an important cause of chest pain. It occurs when air perforates the outer surface of the lung forcing ambient air into the chest cavity. When this happens, the victim suffers chest pain followed by collapse of the perforated lung and shortness of breath. Usually the pain is in the lateral chest rather than the center of the chest, and it may be aggravated by breathing. The diagnosis of pneumothorax can readily be made with a chest x-ray.
Pulmonary Hypertension
is a rare cause of chest pain. As you might infer, this is an elevation of the pressure in the pulmonary arteries.
Aortic Valve Disease
Mitral Valve Prolapse
has been claimed to cause chest pain. There is no anatomical reason why mitral valve prolapse should cause chest pain. Because both this disorder and recurring chest patient pain are so common, mitral valve prolapse is often discovered coincidentally in the evaluation of a patient with chest pain symptoms.
Pericarditis:
This is due to an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart called the pericardium, and is accompanied by unique changes in the electrocardiogram. Viral and bacterial infections may sometimes involve the pericardium and will produce chest pain very similar to that seen with cardiac pain.
Dissecting aneurysm of the aorta
is enlargement and separation of the wall of the aorta, the main artery exiting from the heart. When present, it may cause chest pain and be mistaken for an acute heart attack. When chest pain is present, it usually is severe, may involve the back and even the abdomen, and is a medical emergency.
Syphilis:
While syphilis is rarely seen today, it occasionally does occur, particularly in individuals who spent their earlier years in undeveloped countries where this disease is still prevalent. The lesions of syphilis have a predilection for the ostia of the coronary arteries; that is, where the coronary arteries exit from the aorta just above the aortic valves. By causing marked narrowing of the ostia, blood flow is markedly reduced in the coronary arteries. This will cause chest pain that is identical to that caused by obstructive coronary artery disease. Surgical intervention as well as antibiotic treatment of the syphilis are the recommended forms of therapy.
Premature Beats
may be accompanied by a sharp, stabbing pain over the heart area, and occasionally may be associated with a fleeting choking sensation. Usually such symptoms occur at rest and decrease during physical activity, but may reoccur when activity ceases.
Cervical Disk:
A cervical disk may irritate the nerve roots going to the chest wall and produce chronic chest pain that is aggravated by walking and certain body positions. The pain tends to be more superficial than that seen with obstructive coronary artery disease and is more likely to be present at rest.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome:
The nerves and blood vessels that enter the arm often have to go through a bottleneck of muscles. If a blood vessel or a nerve is kinked by a muscle or a rib, arm and chest pain may develop that is associated with walking. Since exertional chest pain is a hallmark of coronary artery disease, it is easy to see why confusion may arise. The pain is induced by swinging of the arms, and can be reproduced by elevating the arm and rotating it.
Tietze's Syndrome:
Inflammation and swelling of the cartilage between the rib and breastbone (costochondral or chondrosternal joints is known as Tietze's syndrome. Such chest pain tends to be superficial rather than deep, is aggravated by breathing, and is very tender if the area is pressed.
Tenderness of the muscles of the chest wall:
A variety of factors may be responsible for tenderness of chest wall muscles including injury from direct trauma (usually several days before the onset of pain), coughing, and weight lifting causing a pulled muscle. Usually the chest pain is localized to a small area, is brief while it lasts, is aggravated by chest wall movements, turning, twisting and deep breathing, and may last many hours.
Herpes Zoster:
A severe skin rash that does not spread beyond the midline, may cause extreme chest pain in the pre-eruptive stage. Typically the skin is extremely sensitive over the involved area. Herpes may not be suspected until the skin eruption actually occurs
Hyperventilation Syndrome:
An extremely common cause of chest pain is the hyperventilation syndrome. Hyperventilation is simply over breathing as a result of anxiety or fear. It also has been called panic attacks. Typically the subject unconsciously starts to breath more rapidly and deeply when under stress. The over breathing is often interspersed with deep sighs. In its acute form it will quickly produce a variety of symptoms including lightheadedness, dizziness, a far away feeling, numbness, palpitations, blurred visions, flushing, and tingling of the hands and around the mouth. Sometimes the victim will even faint. In its milder form, the subject may be constantly over breathing throughout the day. In so doing there is increased use of the chest muscles. If there is enough overuse of these muscles, they will become painful producing chest pain.
Primary Muscle Pain:
This includes some poorly understood disorders that have been called fibrositis, fibromyalgia, myalgia and neuralgia. The pain of these disorders tend to be chronic and ill-defined by the patient, are usually not related to exertion, and are confined to localized areas of the chest in locations that are different than what is seen with cardiac pain. The patient is usually more concerned about the significance of the symptoms, and whether it is a sign of heart disease rather than the intensity of the pain.
Cancer
may originate or spread to any structure in the chest including the heart and cause chest pain. Such pain tends to be continuous and not related to physical exertion. The diagnosis often may be made by a chest x-ray. Cancer also may spread to the spine and vertebrae with irritation of the nerve roots that go to the chest. Such pain may be quite severe and will not respond to the usual cardiac medications.
Perforation of a peptic ulcer:
The only symptoms might be discomfort that is mistakenly thought to be coming from the chest.
Pancreatitis:
Acute inflammation of the pancreas may cause severe chest pain that although predominantly in the epigastrium, also radiates to the chest. Such pain is often accompanied by changes in the electrocardiogram.
Gallbladder disease:
In the acute stage of
i usually get those...the most annoying time is when i'm hanging out with my friends and i can't help but laugh at whatever we're doing so it hurts like hell. i used to think it was just my rib-cage expanding and growing bigger, but i might be wrong.