I have been experiencing dull pains under my breast bone on the left side, in my back on the left side and under my arm on the left side. Three yrs. ago I had an angiogram which came out OK and back in Oct. I had a stress test and an echocardiagram. My Doc assures me that my heart is OK but I keep having this discomfort a lot esp. when I am tired. I smoke and am about 40 lbs. overweight and am a 51 yr. old female. I've had breast exams and lung exrays which were Ok. I have an anxiety disorder but am concerned b/c these dull pains are almost constant. It sort of feels like the outer heart membrane may have an infection--it's really hard to describe but has been disrupting my daily life and the Doc says that I'm OK. Could being out of shape and not getting a whole lot of exercise cause this? I'm tired a lot and feel a general overall weakness. Any help would be much appreciated. Can a person "think" themselves into having chest pains? Candee

hi, candy.

i can't speak to whether it could be anxiety or some other cause. all i can tell you is that i had surgery 2 years ago for an asd after having a stroke (i was 30!).

anyway, i had gone in for 10 years complaining of breathlessness. i had numerous stress-echocardiograms. never did a problem show up. the moral of the story is that these tests are not as foolproof as they'd have you think. i would recommend a second opinion to be sure. it would be worth the peace of mind.

best of luck...