Pain in chest of child 10yrs old

[modrome]

I have a daughter who is having chest pains twice a day.  They are quick, some painful, others not so painful.  They happen at any given time during the day.  They are while she is reading, playing, eating, sitting, standing, anything....with no pattern.  They last only seconds.  She has been to a heart doctor twice within the last year, and found nothing out of the usual.  They use to be only once every couple of weeks, now they are every day.  I can't find any information that matches what she is going through on the internet. Can anyone tell me what is happening.
She is a picture of health.  Normal weight, normal height, very active in sports, happy, and easy going.  Her only past medical history is from when she was a baby.  When she was four months old, it was discovered that she had a hemangioma in her air way.  She was put on steroids for 10 months.  This stopped the hemangioma from growing and blocking her airway.  She has never had any other health problems.
Does anyone have any idea, what might be causing this pain in her upper left chest?

[beck41]

you might want to check with a gastroenterologist.  my husband had a history of chest pains as a child.  he had every test the doctors could think of and they finally decided that it was just "nerves".  when he was in his 20's he was finally diagnosed as having achalasia with esophageal spasms.  the esophageal spasms can be very intense at times and come and go randomly.

[josnuthouse]

My 11 year old had a similar problem.   He was rushed to hosp w/chest pain... hurt to breath... they put him in ICU overnight.. said it was probably pericarditis.   Follow up testing w/family Dr.  ruled out all heart problems... turned out that he had GERD.   Rather young for such a problem, but we modified his diet... put him on Nexium for awhile... Now he has no further problems with it at all.   Sometimes the simplist answers are the easiest to overlook.... good luck

[italia64]

Hello,
Dr. Carlo Pappone is a very good cardiologist specialized in arrthymia problem. He works at the San Raffaele Hospital in milan.  The web site below is where you can find out more about Dr. Pappone and his department.  If your daughter issue does not involve an arrthymia problem, you can still go at San Raffaele hospital where there are very experienced and excellent cardiologists.  I am Italian and have full confidence in Italian doctors that have studied in italy.  Dr. Andrea Natale (a native italian) is considered one the best cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic.

http://www.af-ablation.org/index.htm

[modrome]

The only reason that I don't think that this is a pulled muscle it that it started two years ago, very slowly.  At that time, it would only happen once every couple of months.  Now it is up to twice a day. I don't truely know if a chest muscle would act like that. The two doctors that we have seen within the past two year both have not been worried about it.  
She doesn't have access to monkey bars, (we now live in Italy), as far as pulling and straining chest muscles.  
I will try to count her heart beats when these happen, but she is usually at school.  
Thank you for you answer back.  I seem to be reading, in letters submitted by other concerned parents, that this is happening in girls. Any thoughts on that?

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Dear Modrome,

Sorry to hear about your daughter's chest discomfort. The pain your daughter is experiencing is not from blockages in the heart arteries as typically seen with adults.  I am not sure what tests your daughter's cardiologist has ordered, but he may have ruled out any major heart problems.  However, I would  ask about the possibility of a rhythm disturbance. I think it is very likely that your daughters pain is not coming from her heart.
This pain could be from the muscles and bones in the chest, esophagus or stomach, lung or possibly related to the hemangioma.
I can imagine how stressful this must be, I would recommend talking about her pain with the doctor and discussing the possible causes.  He/she may recommend some tests or other specialists which may find the cause of her symptoms. Hope she feels better.


Thanks for your question,


CCF-MD-KE

[ozark]

do you think, if she is so active in sports, that this may be due to a muscle strain?  good luck

[italia64]

Hi,my daugther too in the past couple of years has complained of chest pain. At first I taught that she was been silly because I (her mom) have PVC/PAC that cause me chest pain... so I taught she was copying me..waiting to be like me (if she just knew how hard it is to cope with this condition!!!)... in any case since she complained about this more than a couple of time - I finally took her to a cardiologist. The doctor did an EKC and checked her out very well... The doctor said that usually when children complain of chest pain it is  costocordiatris (not sure about the spelling) but basically  it means that the rig cage right were it meets (in the center of the chest) gets inflammed.  Does your daugther play with the monkey bars at school? or hangs of those bars on play grounds?  Every time we go to the play ground and she uses those pieces of equipment she always complains of chest pain. The doctor also suggested to press in the middle of the chest every time she complains.  If the pain gets worst as you press is because the bones are sore... if it was a heart problem the pain would not get worst with pressing in the middle of the chest.  Also the cardiologist suggest to count the heart beats every time she complains of chest pain to see if the beats are regular or too fast or too slow.  My daugther is 7 years old.

Hope this help.
Italia 64