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Respiratory Disorders (Expert Forum)
Chest Pain when running
Answered by
MN
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Chest Pain when running
by Lisa848, Jul 05, 2008 03:14PM
My daughter has been involved in sports for years. She has had asthma since the age of 2. She was diagnosed with exercised induced asthma a few years ago. She has just begun running a couple of miles a day. Today she was complaining about pain in her sternum area and was finding it hard to breath. She has always been active and said that she never had so much trouble with pain and breathing. Would this be an asthma symptom or possibly something else?
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish Health, Jul 09, 2008 05:15PM
, Jul 09, 2008 05:15PM
Chest pain is seldom a symptom associated with asthma, but very labored breathing with exercise can sometimes cause separation of rib-cartilage from the sternum or just inflammation of the cartilage, resulting in pain and tenderness to touch and/or pressure on examination. You note that she has just begun running a couple of miles a day. If she has done this without working-up to this distance, injury of the chest wall would be much more likely. This would be an example of chest wall, musculoskeletal pain, but we must not assume that this is musculoskeletal pain and not attribute it to asthma.
There are other considerations including heart disease, such as valvular or coronary artery, disease of one of the "great” vessels such as the aorta, abnormal heart rhythms and pulmonary hypertension. While uncommon, any of these can occur in a young person. You should ask your daughter to put the running "on hold" until these more serious conditions are carefully ruled-out by her doctors. They should also determine if her exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is optimally controlled.
There are other considerations including heart disease, such as valvular or coronary artery, disease of one of the "great” vessels such as the aorta, abnormal heart rhythms and pulmonary hypertension. While uncommon, any of these can occur in a young person. You should ask your daughter to put the running "on hold" until these more serious conditions are carefully ruled-out by her doctors. They should also determine if her exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is optimally controlled.
