Can fibromyalgia cause sharp chest pain

[izzy999]

I have been to the emergency room 2 times; Saw a cardiologist who has ruled out heart problems. Have had ekg, stress echocardiogram, coronary calcium score, heart monitor, blood tests, xray and everything has come back normal or very good within the past two years. Continue to get sharp pain on left side above breast. It lasts only a second or so. I take nexium for reflux or heartburn. Was told years ago that I have fibromyalgia. Can fibromyalgia or any other muscle, tendon, nerve issue cause these symptoms. Even though I'm told my heart is not an issue, I still am concerned and frightened when these pains occur. Any information on what it could be or what else I could do to find out the cause would be so appreciated. Thank you.  

[sara12345]

Just have to ask this as it was my cause of chest pain in the past.  I had every heart test available except for the groin test which all came out fine.  I was under extreme stress at the time which must have caused the pain.  

[TheLightSeeker]

Yes, those symptoms could be linked to Fibro, however, not caused by Fibro!

The understanding has to be that FMS is a syndrome of symptoms
and not a specific disease.( It's the best that we have so far.)
One has to look at underlying pathology with the given symptomology and current diagnosis, in order to arrive at helpful determinations.
Example: Well, first a blood volume test, would be required.
The majority of Fibro sufferers have low blood volume!
This test measures the red cell volume in ml to body weight in kg. The normal would be 30ml/1kg red cell volume per Kilogram of body weight. Any result of >15% less volume would be indicative of  a significant Pathogenic issue.

The other  test would be the 24H Holter ECG. You have done one,however,
the clinician would be looking for T-Wave pattern abnormalities, very consistent with Fibro sufferers also,where instead of peaks, there are valleys and inversions, in which case the blood in the left ventricle is not being pumped up efficiently through the aorta, and with possible tissue scarring occurring in the left ventricle pressing on the nerve, thus somewhat explaining the pain above the left breast.
So the physical evidence would be there, including often irregular heart beat
-not clinically significant in regards of "other" dx exploration- and  scarring, with EVERYTHING else showing normal!  
It is one of those situations where if the doctor is not looking for it, it will be most likely missed.
With the first test, if the doctor again is not looking for something specific, then he wouldn't even think about a blood volume test, but if a person  in an accident had lost a few pints of blood, that would constitute a medical emergency! The health implications, when the blood volume is significantly lower, can be devastating! Hmm.
You should see your cardiologist again as,without intending to alarm you, it would be important to verify or to rule out the suspicions, and proceed with
the appropriate treatment asap. The possible scarring, even if it may be
progressing very gradually, the cells have the incredible ability to regenerate, given the proper enviroment and support soon, before any possibly serious damage takes place.
Pursuing other investigation,while not being 100% clear on the heart/cardiovascular issues, is a serious medical oversight, to my opinion.
Again, this is just a suspicion,however, a significant one  to warrant thoroughness.
It does not preclude other possibilities as suggested in the above posts.

My final observation is that most Cardiologists are NOT Fibromyalgia friendly or knowledgeable to connect the dots between the Heart/CVsystem and FMS, so one needs to be proactive!
There's a great likelihood of the cardiologist minimizing this possibility,
or discounting the pathology in relation to your symptoms.
It would be advantageous to co-ordinate this with your Rheumatologist
(if you have one), as his input will likely weigh in your favour.
Wishing you well!
Niko

PS
Neurodreamz. Nice posts! However, do not include links in your posts.
It is against MedHelp rules. No links to any websites,forums and facebook.
(There are alternate creative ways of offering this information)
You can get a warning and eventually it may effect your membership status.
But please continue posting. Your  contribution is appreciated by many!

[Neurodreamz]

You're welcome! Glad to help as nerves can cause lots of funny symptoms.. I read this article below which lists some helpful stuff. I like the livestrong site.  I wonder if the stabbing pain was related to the neuropathy? I use Magnesium Malate, Epsom salt baths and Cayenne pepper cream for relief. All these work on the nerve fibres.
Take care, Laura

http://www.livestrong.com/article/103252-neuropathy-home-remedy/

[izzy999]

Thanks so much for your response. I have also been diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy, so I understand about the burning. I do have pain, not the neuropathy, in the muscles in my back and sometimes arms as well, that happen more frequent than the chest pain. I just don't think much about those. The cardiologist that I have seen several times, does not seem concerned with all the tests he ran, so I guess I shouldn't either, but it's hard to ignore. Thank again for your thoughts.  

[Neurodreamz]

I have FM. It's neuropathic pain, can be shooting pains, but normally burning pains.  It normally doesn't happen only in one place, to be Fibro, you need to hurt on many areas of the body. So, I don't think this is FM. Often when you have acid reflux, the pain can feel like a heart attack. It's likely related to that. have you had an ultrasound to check your gall bladder for stones? That can also cause pain in that left area. Hospitals always do cardiac tests as they don't want to liable in case it is a heart attack. L