Blood Clot??

[aembry]

Does it usually hurt in your chest if you had a pulmonary embolism? I'm having pain in my right side.. right under my breast and kind of around the side. My leg hurt for just a bit last night and then a little while after that I started hurting and freaked out because a blood clot was the first thing I thought of.  It's not a constant pain.. It's just there when I move a certain way.  I work in a hospital and I'm always pushing stretchers and wheel chairs so I thought maybe it could be a pulled muslce.  But it's not sore... just hurts when I move a certain way. No pain when I breathe in deep or no shortness of breath.  Would I know if I have a PE... is the pain more severe?

[Janpes]

I have to comment here that you don't always present with the chest pain and shortness of breath for a PE. From experience I can say all I felt was a tightness and some tiny tiny breathing issues. Some people I know who have had a PE had no other symptoms than getting a little breathless when going up flights of stairs.
If you are ever in doubt then go get yourself checked out, even if it proves to be nothing more than chest muscle pain it is better to be safe than sorry.
The best way to test for a PE is a CT scan with contrast.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
A pulmonary embolus presents with the sudden onset of chest pain and shortness of breath. The pain is sharp and worsens when taking a deep breath which is often due to involvement of pleuracausing pleuritic chest pain. You are 23 years of age and not constantly immobile due to your profession, hence chances of this chest pain being due to pulmonary embolism are less. However you can consult a physician and get it examined. Pulmonary angiogram is the best test for pulmonary embolism.

I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.