Pressure in chest and bilateral arm heaviness

[skygirl5]

Can someone please help me figure out what is going on with my body?  My symptoms are:
First of all, I suddenly feel a bilateral sensation in my arms of extreme heaviness (not numbness, not tingling) that starts at about mid forearm level and goes up my arms
At the same time, my chest feels like it is in a barrel and I am being squeezed completely around
These 2 symtoms last about 30-seconds to 1 minute and occur "out-of-the-blue", such as when shopping  or sitting on the couch.  It has happened at work and at home.
The last time this occured, for the first time,  I had a dull aching pain in the center of my back, between my shoulder blades, for about 5-8 minutes.  These "spells" concern me and this last one really scared me, thinking it might be a heart attack.  I chewed aspirin and tried to relax and eventually the aching pain went away.
I am a 58 year old woman with no history of heart disease except for familial history of my dad dying at 59 of heart disease.  I am only 5 pounds overweight and do not have high blood pressure or diabetes or any major illness.
Twice I have gone to the ER, thinking I'm having a heart attack.  The results are negative. I have been seen by 2 cardiologists and have had negative EKGs and stress Echos.  I do have a high CRP level  (about 5).  The cardiologists say I should check with my mental health professional since I have a history (controlled on meds) of depression.  Mentally, I feel good.
My psychiatrist says these are spontaneous panic attacks.  Then he says that I should make sure everything is okay with my heart.
One more part of my history that may be important - I have had herniated discs (C5-6-7) that have not bothered me for years.  I was in a carwreck and had MRIs.  I did physical therapy and was able to avoid surgery and relieve the pain. That was about 10 years ago.  I rarely have any neck pain now.
Does anyone have a similar experience or any ideas?  Thank you!

[LainRoberts]

I found this excellent website with clear descriptions of a whole range of possible causes.    http://www.ehealthstar.com/arm-pain.php

[rbljr53]

I'm a 62 year old male; on the night of March 30, after going to bed, I started having symptoms as commonly described by others: tightness in the chest, bilateral pain in the biceps, feeling of being flushed.  The feelings came in ‘waves’, lasting around a minute.  They were coming every 15 to 20 minutes.  I right away suspected a heart attack, as the men in my family have a long history (my father at 70, his first cousin at 49, my grandfather at 58, my brother at 60).  Ambulance to the ER, lots of cardiac testing,  which were all fine.  I was still having these waves in the ambulance and in the ER.  So, like everyone else, I’m still in the dark as to answers.  I had an episode this morning, which prompted me to find this  message board.  Both times this has happened, I had been laying down, which makes me think it could be related to my reflux.  BTW, I have not had back or disc problems, I do not have a smart phone, I do not regularly sit at a computer, and I’m pretty sure I’m not menopausal!  I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a year ago, but since no  one else has mentioned this, I’m sure it’s  unrelated to these episodes.  It’s a little discouraging that, in the 7 years this thread has been going,  that no one has gotten a specific answer.

[Gillian789]

Hi all, I have been having these symptoms too and it is scary to say the least. I went to my doctor who says it may be menopause (see we are all more or less the same age) he has put me on hormones , started yesterday so holding thumbs will let you know if they do the trick as my ECG also showed no heart problems

[Paymo3]

All - same symptoms to a tee except I have undergone full cardiac, neurology and stroke tests - all negative.  Blood work good except for a spell I was anemic and - oddly - have much too much Vit D (I don't take supplements or spend too much time in the sun so they  cannot determine why).  I have Hashimotos Hypothyroidism but it's well under control.  I am 46, very fit, and eat well with no prior spinal injuries.

Although the fact that it isn't crystal clear as to why this is happening- I have to admit I am feeling LESS stress about it knowing how many others experience this routinely like me and at least no one seems to be told that it is something life threatening. ;)

My biggest concern is that the majority of my episodes occur while I am sleeping...it literally wakes me up.  I have a temperpedic bed, special pillow and sleep on my back.  So not really in a situation that lends itself to spinal movement or pinching as cause.

[nickthedig]

Yes same symptoms for me too only I got to eating too much pushy and got bad posture from it and also a huge herniated dig. Now I got clamchowda coming out intead of urine. Whaddayagonna do, ya know?

[TJQVO2]

Hi Everyone,  I have had very similar symptoms.  I am a 58 year old male, 6 feet tall and 150 lbs.  I am very fit and exercise daily.  My symptoms start in my upper back and then I get this pressure around my entire chest and then both arms just get crazy weak.  The whole thing lasts only 1-3 minutes and this happened twice last week within 24 hours and it happened again today.  I have well controlled hypertension.  I have had two fusions in my lower back and a previous MRI has shown some bulging cervical discs.  I do not have any significant neck pain and my low back feels great since my last surgery 2+ years ago.  I'm a little worried that this is CAD so I'm gonna contact my PCP tomorrow.  Will post again if I learn anything.  Thanks to all for sharing.