Mid Back Pain After Exercise?

Today, I decided to run 1.25 miles, 1/4 of which was through rough terrain. (Dropped off my car at a local shop then literally ran back home.) That first 1/4 was run at a pretty quick clip for me--definitely faster than my usual runs--in much rougher terrain than I'm used to, but the rest was at a normal pace (between 5 and 6 mph) on pavement. During the run I had some difficulty breathing, due to the first 1/4+nasal congestion, and a lot of saliva (and therefore lots of spitting). Don't know if that matters, but I thought I'd mention it.

My heart rate, during that first 1/4 was higher than normal (my peak is between 160 and 185; I was probably in the upper range of that, maybe higher).

When I got home, I huffed and I puffed and I... sat down. When I did, I started noticing that my back felt tight, between my shoulders. I also had the urge to bite down on something.  I've felt similar during times of great exertion (and reminds me of my school days, during P.E.--I was the fat kid who hated to run). It lasted for about 5 minutes. Again, this was after the exercise, not during. During this time I also was very tired, like I could lay in bed and drift into cloud 9 for about 10 minutes, and started sweating profusely, though not unnaturally--I did just run a mile and a quarter.

What is this pain? Could it be heart related? Could it have been GERD? Could it just be breathing issues (my nose was stuffed, and I did nothing but mouth breathe.) Could it just be that I pushed myself too hard/over-exertion? I plan to make an appointment with my doctor, but I wanted to hear any ideas.

Known issues
- Right Bundle Branch Block. Idiopathic, no known CVD. Steady. Discovered in Dec 2010
- Allergy sufferer with some breathing issues. (currently congested, thank you temperature shift)
- Eosinophilic Esophagitis (asthma of the esophagus. Yeah, it's weird, I know.)
- GERD (currently taking Omeprazole, 20mg/day)

Recent Tests
- Recently (September) had a Treadmill Stress Test and an Echo. All normal (save for the RBBB)
- Had an EKG which my cardiologist said looked "OK" (RBBB with T-wave inversions in T1 through T3)

Stats
- 6'0, 220lbs (formerly 324lbs, but a fat boy as long as I can remember)
- Male, age 32
- Resting heart rate: ~60 +-8
- Blood Pressure: normally 115/68, but likely higher now due to the *ahem* fatty holidays...
- I run between 3 and 10 miles a day, 5+ days a week, usually around 5-6mph, usually about 3-5 miles at a time. Heart rate is usually in the upper 150's/low 160's during my runs.

As I said, going to the doctor about this, but wanted to see if maybe anyone else had experienced something like this.

[erijon]

The right thing to do is have your doctor check you out to be safe. Having said that, it does not sound cardiac in nature to me. I doubt that you would have made it home had you been experiencing a cardiac event. It is most likely a irritation of the lungs or just overexertion. I could also make a case for GERD. Also, your exercise tolerence makes CAD pretty unlikely.

See you doctor and get some reassurance.

Jon

[gnorb]

Thanks. My initial thought was actually overexertion, but after doing some inquisitive searches online, I kept coming up with "stable angina", and it being a sign of silent cardiovascular disease, particularly when it appears after exercise, and even more so when the weather gets colder. Needless to say, I've made the doc appointment.

A follow  up question, though, if I may: what's the difference between angina caused by CVD and overexertion? What exactly happens during the later? I guess that's where my confusion sets in. Is it possible that what I felt was actually a normal response?