chest pain, heavinrss in chest,

[hpa818]

I am a healthy and fit 47 year old female.  One week ago, out of the blue, while sitting at the table, I experienced sharp pains on the left side of my chest...really just one spot.  I thought it was gas.  Still had pain and difficulty taking a deep breath on Saturday but now my left shoulder and left arm ached.  Went to ER Saturday afternoon, EKG showned normal sinus rhythm...after sitting there for 3 hours I left.  Symptoms continued through Sunday, not any worse but still there.  Monday morning went to cardiologist.  Monday afternoon had V-Q scan and chest x-ray...apparently showed nothing because they let me go home.  Wednesday had a nuclear stress test and Thursday echocardiogram, (must have been find, no one has contacted me with any results)...It is now one week later and I am feeling better but taking a deep breath is still work.  I also noticed that I have not had one single hot flash since this happened  seven days ago...I had been having hot flashes three to six times a day...I just want to feel better....made an appt. with gastroenterologist for next week...just frustrated because I am normally the healthiest person ever.  Any ideas?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the forum!
The painful spot on the chest could be costochondritis (inflammation of the joint between rib and sternum. The inflammation around the joint area gives sharp pain on taking a breath. This can also cause tenderness on pressing the area which pains. An orthopedic doctor can diagnose this for you. Pleuritis and Pulmonary embolism are other possibilities causing shortness of breath with chest pain and referred pain to left shoulder. A CT scan of the chest can rule out both.
Chances are that you could be having gastro esophageal reflux (GERD), where the food in your stomach is thrown up into your food pipe or esophagus. This also causes burning sensation or discomfort in the chest area. Another possibility is hiatal hernia, where a portion of stomach herniates into the chest cavity through the diaphragm. This along with chest discomfort cause shortness of breath too. These two conditions can also cause pain in the left shoulder region.
It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please discuss these possibilities with your doctor. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[philip314]

Sharp chest pain and pain when breathinbg can be caused by costochondritis, which is infamation of the chest wall. If all those tests are normal and you are healthy this is probbably it. There ussually isn't a specific cause for this.