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Chest pain and extremely scared

I am a 20 year old female. Occasionally I get upper left sided chest pain ( just left of the center of my chest). At time i feel like i am not getting enough oxygen when taking deep breaths and it forces me to yawn (this happens with and without chest pain, more so without). I tend to get very scared and anxious because i automatically assume that I am having a heart attack and will die. Ive been to the emergency room atleast 6 times this year (2012) due to chest pain and was told that everything looks fine. Ive seen a cardiologist and had EKG test done, stress test done, and a echocardiogram. The cardiologist also told me that everything looked fine and I was ok. The pain only seems to go away when i take a 800mg ibuprofen. Sometimes it is accompanied by left arm pain and back pain. I thought it may be gas because at times my stomach hurts and i havent had a good bowel movement in a long time but after taking Prilosec and gas x the pain remained!! Can someone please help me and tell me what this may be!!!!!
Best Answer
3455166 tn?1347507133
Okay, well considering the pain abates with ibuprofen, I doubt this this anything cardiac-related.

Usually, if you experience pain upon some exertion, then this can signify something cardiovascular, put one of the most distinushing characteristics of cardiac pain, is that it is not localized in one area, it originates deep inside and radiates, with accompanying pain down the left arm and shoulder. If the pain occasionally comes and goes whether you are active or inactive, and its localized mainly in one spot - then it is most likely either musculoskeletal in nature (maybe one of your ribs are inflammed?) or just some general neuralgia (nerve pain). The nerve pain could be caused from one of the muscles pinching a nerve, and this could also explain the arm pain too.

Cardiac issues are essentially zero at your age. You can still go to your GP and explain the pain and have him or her look you over, but if the ibuprofen fixes the problem, then that tells me that its something non-cardiac.

You had a stress test done, all came back normal right? Any pain during the run? If all is good, then you are good and healthy - tests don't lie. A heart attack, if you aren't too clear on exactly what it is, is when your heart does not receive oxygen-rich blood and because of this since the oxygen is what "refreshes" all the cells inside you, part of the heart muscle can be damaged or even die off if not treated promptly. This can and usually is caused by long term plaque build-up in the arteries - in other words high "bad cholesterol" and unhealthy lipid levels (blood fat).

Now the symtoms caused by your immediate anxiety following the incident can produce some whacky feelings that can cause you to confuse them with something organic in nature, I recommend you read up on exactly how many symptoms anxiety can produce - it can cause a lot of them and many can mistake simple uncomfortable symptoms generated by their anxiety as something serious.



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3455166 tn?1347507133
My pleasure! Glad I could help out.

Its under your collar bone you say? Well, your heart is FAR away from there. So yeah, you have nothing to be concerned over in the slightest.
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Avatar universal
The stress test technician said something very similar. She asked if i would feel pain during the run but it actually would stop or be non existent. I am scheduled to see another cardiologist this coming friday so we'll see what they say also! Thank you for your help you really have helped me feel a sense of ease!
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Avatar universal
My family has no history of heart disease or these symptoms. its my upper left chest area, right beneath my collar bone.
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Avatar universal
My fiance and my friend are having the same problems. Does your family have any history of this at all?  Where is the pain, is it localized to a certain area, like certain ribs? do you have heart palpitations? are you Short of breath when it happens?

Some people do and it could be just how your body deals with stress. I have been researching for my fiance, I think he has costochondritis, he has had chest pain since just after him with pneumonia. It comes on like a heart attack and he collapses from the pain at work.
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