Aa
It Hurts so bad! Please help
I'm a 15 year old Female, 5'7 or 5'8 ish, 120 pounds. I have really bad pains in my chest and I went to the doctor for them, he barely looked and said I probably pulled a muscle. It feels sharp and I feel as though If I move my heart will stretch and maybe rip. if that makes sense. Today I moved alittle and the pain got sharper and then it felt as though something snapped, I literally felt something snap!!! and it was bad enough pain to make me cry. Now my heart feels as though its pulsing pain, and I feel helpless.I joined like 15 min ago to see if anyone has some insight! Please help!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Dear Cralaya,
I’m so sorry you are in this much discomfort. I do have good news, which is that by the description of your symptoms, this is VERY unlikely to be pain due to your heart. In other words, you are not having a heart attack. If the pain is worse with chest muscle movement, it is most likely musculoskeletal pain for whatever reason, either due to a muscle strain, trauma, or an infection. Typically ibuprofen can be all you need to make it improve.
However, there is also the possibility that it could be an infection of the sac around your heart called the pericardium; the infection is called pericarditis. I can’t completely tell by your symptoms what exactly this is. Your primary care doctor should be able to tell if it is pericarditis. If it is, it would be important to go to a cardiologist and make sure that you don’t have too much fluid around your heart, which can compress the heart and cause significant problems with the function of your heart. Another potential option is an infection of the heart itself, called myocarditis. This is a much less likely option, though. Finally, if the pain is as severe as you are saying, you may need to consider going to your local emergency department.
I’m so sorry you are in this much discomfort. I do have good news, which is that by the description of your symptoms, this is VERY unlikely to be pain due to your heart. In other words, you are not having a heart attack. If the pain is worse with chest muscle movement, it is most likely musculoskeletal pain for whatever reason, either due to a muscle strain, trauma, or an infection. Typically ibuprofen can be all you need to make it improve.
However, there is also the possibility that it could be an infection of the sac around your heart called the pericardium; the infection is called pericarditis. I can’t completely tell by your symptoms what exactly this is. Your primary care doctor should be able to tell if it is pericarditis. If it is, it would be important to go to a cardiologist and make sure that you don’t have too much fluid around your heart, which can compress the heart and cause significant problems with the function of your heart. Another potential option is an infection of the heart itself, called myocarditis. This is a much less likely option, though. Finally, if the pain is as severe as you are saying, you may need to consider going to your local emergency department.
Thank you so much for your help. At my next Doctors appointment, which is tomorrow or the day after, I will make sure to bring up the infection of the pericardium, and make sure it is not anything serious. I will definitely try ibuprofen. I was very worried about it being a heart attack, and it was scary, so thanks for calming my nerves!. I think I will keep a log of how often it happens and how bad it is also to make it clearer for my doctor. Thanks SO much!
-Cralaya
-Cralaya
You are reading content posted in the Pediatric Heart Forum
Fearing autism, many parents aren't vaccinating their kids. Can doctors reverse this dangerous trend?
Is a gluten-free diet right for you?
We answer your top questions about the flu vaccine.
Learn which over-the-counter medicines are safe for you and your baby
Yummy eats that will keep your child healthy and happy
Healing home remedies for common ailments
