chest pain in years post surgery with a 7 yr old

My son is 7 years old. he had open heart surgery at 5 days old. He has coarctation of the aorta amongst other defects such as VSD, sub aortic stenosis and others. He has had regular check ups, all echos have come back great and no further problems have ever occured since the operation. Just recently he has been complaining about chest pain at random times, as if it comes and goes...this has been going on for a couple of weeks. He complains about once a day or maybe every other day. There are no other visible symptoms of a problem. Is this something I should be concerned about? Could this possibly be related to his history of heart problems/surgery? Please help, its starting to worry me. he is not due for another echo until he is 8 and had the last one at 5 1/2.

[Jeffrey R Boris, M.D.]

Dear Funki,

Chest pain after cardiac surgery is uncommon, but does happen.  Most times, it is due to unexplainable pain within the scar that may respond to injectino of steroids, but sometimes it can be due to a fractured sternal wire used in the closure of the ribs.  However, the most frequent cause of chest pain in kids has nothing to do with the heart at all, and is chest wall pain.  Without seeing him, I cannot tell what the cause of his pain is.  It would be best if he were seen by his primary care provider or cardiologist who could then get further history and examination to be able to tell you more completely.