Costochondritis

[cmasse]

I am diagnosed with Costochondritis and I get very bad chest pains, with pains in my upper ribs and up to my jaw. Everything came out normal EKG, bloodwork, chest x-ray, etc. I am on pain medications that are not working. I will be getting a cortisone injection in my chest eventually. I have Costochondritis for almost 2 months now.

I also had 5 episodes of trouble breathing and pressure in my chest. In fact, I woke up at 2 in the morning on Thursday and I had trouble breathing. My question is even though that it is Costochondritis, how do I know the episodes I am having are not from a heart attack?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Cassie

[Shellshocker]

I replied to the other post you had up asking for your age (guess it was deleted).  At 25 I would say you are pretty safe from a heart attack.  Not saying it dosn't happen to young people but it is pretty rare and usually only from drug use or congenital probelms.

  You also post you have shortness of breath.  On the other post I advised you should probably see the doctor if that is new to you as it is easy to get pneumonia since you probably have not been taking deep breaths.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Cmasse,

I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with Costochondritis. It can be a very painful condition. Do you understand the diagnosis and why you are having the type of pain that you describe?

I think that you can be more assured that your chest pain is not cardiac related due to the negative results of the EKG and blood work that I assumed looked at your cardiac enzymes. In a 25 year old MI's (Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarct) are very rare. Obviously not impossible but rare. Costochondritis can cause the symptoms you are experiencing and add the anxiety factor and it may very well feel like an MI.

Symptoms of an MI are often different for females than they are for males. We often do not have the classic chest pains and shortness of breath that males experience. So if the pain is the same as it has been I would assume it is related to the Costochondritis. If your pain and symptoms change you may wonder if something else is happening. Trust your physician to know the difference.

Good luck to you. I hope you will soon be feeling better.

Take Care,
Tuck