This is crazy - Heart Disorders Message Board

tother · 08-11-2005, 09:47 AM

Hi, ive posted a few times now regarding like the same issue, i have like slight chest pain from time to time and chest pressure. Also sometimes (more so latly) my arms have been feeling cold at random times. And shortness of breathe at like random times through out the day. After countless visits to the doctor finally they gave me a puffer with Ventolin HFC. This doesnt really seem to help what so ever. This appears to be getting a little bit better as far as frequency, but when it does happen its worse. For instance I was sitting in my desk at work today and all of the sudden for like 3 seconds I had the most crushing chest pain ever, than besides a bit short of breathe, I continued on working, like 5mins later it happened again. After that all was fine.

One thing I noticed and im wondering if anyone can tell me what this means, for the first time since this started happening (like 1.5months ago now) I went to go into a pool, I couldnt comfortably submerge my body past my stomach into the water - it felt like massive pressue on my chest as soon as I put it in the water. Normally swimming is like 2nd nature to me. What would cause this?

Lenin · 08-11-2005, 03:36 PM

tother,

Ventolin is for ASTHMA. Is that what you have?

tother · 08-11-2005, 05:17 PM

Ventolin is for asmtha, im aware of that, after 5 trips to the doctor and them telling me im fine with running no tests besides a pulmonary blow test in which I was told my results were very good, and a chest x-ray in which i was told i was fine. However still for some reason they gave me Ventolin. The ventolin does nothing - im assuming because I dont actually have asmtha. But like ive been to the ER twice and family doctor on 3 occassions.
To be honest im losing hope on getting this figured out and its only getting worse. If I cant get the doctors to do anything though im not really sure what to do other than just sit by and wait for something serious to happen.

One doctors quote was "20 years from now you might still be expereicing this, but nothing to worry about because you are fine" - this was after he listened to my heart for like 3seconds than was trying to practically force me out the door.

Lenin · 08-12-2005, 05:08 AM

tother,

To me, it sounds most like a chest wall inflammation, chostochondritis. It's been devilling mne too for the last two weeks after I stretched wrong first thing in the morning.
With costochondritis, it usually hurts when taking a FULL inhalation because that stretches the ligaments to their limit. Analgesics usually help. THe pain comes and goes and can refer to the arm or neck. In fact it can be a thoracic spine problem that gets the process going.
What it doesn't do it get worse with exercise and it dooesn't cause shortness of breath (just the need to take SHALLOW breaths.

) Unfortunately it can hurt for a week or for a couple months.

Most heart related problems DO hurt much worse with exercise and of course require more care and concern.

Try some naproxen a couple/3 times a day (Alleve, Naprosyn, both OTC) and see if the pain gets better.

If it goes on for too much longer, maybe a stress test with nuclear markers is a good idea. What does it feel like if you run for 5 minutes?

Ask your doctor what his reasons were for his thinking you might have asthma? If you DO, it of course can be the cause of your symptoms whether or not the Ventolin works. I'm not up on asthma but I'm sure there are better confirmatory tests than just giving a drug and shooing you out of the office.

tother · 08-12-2005, 08:39 AM

Umn, well like I havent just ran for 5mins. Like I played like a half hour game of squash the other day, very fast paced sport. I crazy tired, but otherwise no chest pain or anything like that. Infact the only time i felt pain was when I submerged my body past my chest into the water when we went to swim afterwards. It felt like a crushing feeling on my chest. Needless to say I didnt stay in the pool.