Unexplained heartpain like musclepain

[Robbyha]

Hi all,

I'm 50 years old, male, have a calcified aortic valve stenosis, bicuspid by birth, LVH, slightly insufficiency and slightly ST segment abnormalities. AVA 1,1 cm2 and gradient 68mmHg.

Until now cardiologists can't explain my fatigue, tight in the chest on the left side and sometimes shortness of breath because mostly the time i don't have these symptoms when i run or cycle for a couple of hours.

But after a while the symptoms appears when lying down and continuous the next day.
Cardiologists can't measure any kind of heart troubles like ischemia, cardiac arythmia and palpitations during ECG, Echo or bicycletest. No valve leakage, no left ventrical fibrilation etc. and that's the point!

I'm sure it's not phychical.

Robby

 

[Guest]

chestpain, on the left side, tight in the chest, shortness of breath and fatigue',

most of the time i don't have these symptoms when i run or cycle for a couple of hours. After a while these symptoms appears at rest when lying down and continuous the next day.

Robby,

I have a nerve that gets irritated from time to time, originating in my spine, travels between my ribs, left side, to the sternum. Exercise and lifting can irritate it and I won't feel it until the next morning when I get up, and sometimes during the following day. My symptoms are pain along the chest wall, muscle tightness or spasms caused by the irritated nerve. Depending on how irritated it is determines how much pain I feel. Last week I had an episode with a little more chest pain than usual. I took a couple of advil and that helped. I decided that if the pain did not get better or increased and traveled I'd haul myself off to the ER. It was enough to worry me a bit.

Have you discussed an irritated nerve with your primary doctor or costochondritis? Here's a link to Mayo on costochondritis

Good luck with finding the cause, sometimes it takes longer than we would like but once we know and can have it treated, our minds are eased.

 

[Robbyha]

Hi,
very interesting information you gave about costochondritis and very much thanks for that.
I've never heard before and i checked the symptoms. They don't match the pain i feel.
It feels more like tightness in the chest but it is not a stinging or stabbing pain.
Fatigue dominates and sometimes shortness of breath.
Exercise and lifting like bench presses and dips don't irritate to me.

 

[Lily]

Hi Robby -

The last few years, as my deteriorating bicuspid valve got worse, I had some strange sudden-onset attack-like episodes that I'm sure were related to my valve problem, though they weren't quite like what you are describing; when they would begin, mine felt a bit like a sudden severe nerve pinch that spread across my shoulders, with sweats and sudden increased heart rate and etcetera, usually lasting 20-30 minutes and always very scary to me. The first time it happened, I honestly thought I was having a heart attack.

I haven't read a description similar to what I experienced anywhere else either, so I think it might have been fairly unique within my system as my valve declined. They and several other unusual little things that were evidently little symptoms for me, like sudden-onset double vision episodes, "went away" after I got my new valve.

So even if noone here may suffer with the same episode, that doesn't mean that these aren't something, possibly unique to you, related to your heart.

Best wishes .

 

[MGene]

Verrryy interrressstting!

Verrryy interrressstting!

Could it be? This may be an explaination for my symptoms.

It follows the rib area and sometimes centers just left of the sternum with sharp pain. CT scans have shown nothing but my anneurysm that could be agrivating this and is a trigger point for the pressure.

Several Dr.s have suggested muscular skeletal(or muscleur,LOL) but never verbally put a name to it.

They have stepped up my Ct's to every 6 months because of the pain and also the fact that my aorta measures at any time between 5 and 5.3.

Thanks very much for that link, it puts my mind slightly at ease. and I will be checking it out with my PA soon.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Rob -

Have you had a Nuclear Stress Test where they have you walk on a Treadmill which increases in speed and incline every 3 minutes (Bruce Protocol), with an injection of some sort of radioactive material in the last minute before your have reached your 'limit', followed by laying flat on a 'runway' as a large radioactive sensor records 3 dimensional images of your heart?

If not, that is a common 'next step' in diagnosis.

If the Nuclear Imaging Test shows any signs of coronary artery blockage, then they will most likely recommend a Heart Catheterization / Angiogram where they insert a catheter into an artery, position it in various locations in the Coronary Arteries, and inject radioactive dye to isolate blockages and determine their size.

Your Cardiologist can prescribe / conduct these types of tests.

'AL C'

 

[Robbyha]

'AL C', thanks for your reply. I've not had a Nuclear Stress Test and probably they will step over.
Soon i'll get a bicycletest, the second one but this time more intense, and after that maybe a heart Catheterization will follow. It depends on the results of the bicycletest.
I have already had a MRI-scan (more than 2 hours in a pipe!!!) but no more results than the unpleasant TEE had given.

as Lily wrotes:
"possibly unique to you, related to your heart"
Lily, i am very you gave me this reply!