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Heart pain below left nipple?
Hi, I'm newer on here and have some concerns. I am 22 years old and in pretty good shape, but for the past 3 months, I have been experiencing some bad chest pain. I'm 5'4, 115 lbs, had a physical in December; BP 100/60, total cholesterol 189, pulse always around 70bpm. From the moment I wake up in the morning to the moment I fall asleep at night I have some pressure and tightness exactly 2 ribs, or 2.5 inches below my left nipple. It doesn't go away! It's constant. What scares me is that my left arm feels like it is getting no circulation; not numbness, just a tingling feeling. Another thing that scares me is that sometimes I feel a very sharp spasm along with this pain like I'm being stabbed. I've had several EKG's all normal; I've had an echo done, came back perfect. Why am I feeling this? My doctor keeps thinking it's anxiety, but I know it's not.
What other possibilities could it be? I've had my lungs checked out, and the only mild thing the doctor could find with my lungs is minor hyperinflation; sometimes I have air trapped in there like asthma, but I had an albuterol inhaler to get rid of it, but the problem is still there.
I thought it might be a slipped rib/rib out of place, but I went to a chiropactor for a few weeks and it didn't help at all. Also, when I feel I can take a deep breath, I can hear and feel my ribs/lungs popping when I exhale.
I also thought about costochondritis, but I read that it doesn't last as long as mine has, nor does it have any affect on my left arm feeling the way it does.
Another thing I thought about is a pinched nerve, which might explain my left arm feeling weird. But there are no nerves in the chest that innervate the entire left arm down to my wrist.
Pleurisy is another thing that came to mind, which might explain the popping when I exhale, but I've taken ibuprofen for months to no avail.
The last thing I can think of is a pulled intercostal muscle, which might explain the spasming but it doesn't explain the left arm.
This is why I'm posting in the Heart forum. What else could it be? Could I possibly have a clogged coronary artery? But if that's the case, wouldn't my blood pressure be higher, along with my cholesterol? Both of those things are perfectly normal (BP and cholesterol that is). I think I might be a little young for cardiac problems given my physical. Also, wouldn't the chest pain, if it were cardiac, be in the center of the chest, and not so much on the left side? Speaking of location, where exactly is the heart? I've read it's between the lungs, in the center, so I'm unsure. If it is in the center, then why can I feel it racing exactly 2 inches below my left nipple where the original source of my pain is?
Please help me! I would really appreciate some answers on what could possibly be wrong with me. Thank you in advance and God Bless!
What other possibilities could it be? I've had my lungs checked out, and the only mild thing the doctor could find with my lungs is minor hyperinflation; sometimes I have air trapped in there like asthma, but I had an albuterol inhaler to get rid of it, but the problem is still there.
I thought it might be a slipped rib/rib out of place, but I went to a chiropactor for a few weeks and it didn't help at all. Also, when I feel I can take a deep breath, I can hear and feel my ribs/lungs popping when I exhale.
I also thought about costochondritis, but I read that it doesn't last as long as mine has, nor does it have any affect on my left arm feeling the way it does.
Another thing I thought about is a pinched nerve, which might explain my left arm feeling weird. But there are no nerves in the chest that innervate the entire left arm down to my wrist.
Pleurisy is another thing that came to mind, which might explain the popping when I exhale, but I've taken ibuprofen for months to no avail.
The last thing I can think of is a pulled intercostal muscle, which might explain the spasming but it doesn't explain the left arm.
This is why I'm posting in the Heart forum. What else could it be? Could I possibly have a clogged coronary artery? But if that's the case, wouldn't my blood pressure be higher, along with my cholesterol? Both of those things are perfectly normal (BP and cholesterol that is). I think I might be a little young for cardiac problems given my physical. Also, wouldn't the chest pain, if it were cardiac, be in the center of the chest, and not so much on the left side? Speaking of location, where exactly is the heart? I've read it's between the lungs, in the center, so I'm unsure. If it is in the center, then why can I feel it racing exactly 2 inches below my left nipple where the original source of my pain is?
Please help me! I would really appreciate some answers on what could possibly be wrong with me. Thank you in advance and God Bless!
To anyone reading this in the future, I believe this could be a good match for what OP described: https://www.texaschildrens.org/blog/sharp-chest-pain-your-child-might-have-pcs
I too have been having the exact same symptoms and it is making my quality of life significantly worse. 18 yr old male. If somebody knows any way to fix this please let us know.
Im not sure if you still read this, but I am feeling close to the same exact symptoms. Tightness below my left nipple and a little to the left. It has me nervous cause its been like this for a few weeks straight nonstop. Please let me know if you ever found out what was wrong.
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