types of chestpain

Been having some quite bad pains in my chest. sometimes in the middle, sometimes on the left side. to me they feel totally different from any asthma pains and i assumed it was more like a heart pain. been to a & e about it on the day I was wearing my Halter (24h ECG) so immediately they did an ECG (i know lol despite the halter) and investigated me with only my heart in mind. however, apart from a fast heartbeat which they told me not to worry about, they said there was nothing wrong with me. also my results from the halter have not come back yet and they told me i would hear about them very soon if there was a problem with them.

so my question is, could i have misjudged it? is this pain all along my asthma and not my heart? i cannot explain how it feels except it ""hurts"". no, it does not particularly make my breathing harder, but it does not help either. i dont really know to be honest, as i tend to have to sit down when the pain comes as it hurts. going up the stairs makes it worse. salbutamol has occasionally helped, but most of the time it doesnt.

*sigh* at a loss as to what to do about it!

Lizzie xxxx

P.S. just looking to hear about experiences or advice. nothing medical

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my asthma chest pains are like that also. Its the first sign i have that im having an attack

Amanda

X

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Hi,

I get the odd chest pain too, though not as bad as that. Also the fast heartbeat which will be investigated.

My chest pains are mainly middle/left too when they do happen, and sharpish. However, I also have an unrelated spine condition which refers pain all over the place but especially my left arm/shoulder, and sometimes round the heart and in the front of the chest on the left side - 'cardiac' type pains are apparently typical of this so I've tended to put them down to that, but it could be the asthma too, if I really have asthma (I'm a confusing case...).

Not sure what you can do about them - sorry! I just wait for mine to go but can see if yours are worse and last longer you might want to do something about it. Though they don't seem too worried about the heart side of things which I guess is reassuring.

[Annista]

Hi Lizzie

Not knowing what's causing a problem is very worrying and you are quite right to bring your chest pain to the attention of your doctor, and to go to A&E to get checked out. I was diagnosed with a minor heart complaint a couple of years ago. The symptoms were a feeling of pressure in the middle of my chest with pain going up my neck, along my jaw and down my right arm. There was also breathlessness which wasn't helped by the ventolin, and dizzyness.

I had assumed, as you do, that it was all due to the asthma and hit the meds hard which, not surprisingly, did absolutely nothing to help. Briefly captured by the green meanies, got a good explanation of the cause of the problem from the consultant at the hospital followed by loads of outpatient tests - 24 hour heart monitor, echo-caridogram etc., all of which showed no treatment necessary except for 1 aspirin every day.

This is quite a long winded way of saying don't worry too much. You are having the right investigations done to find the cause of the pain and if there was anything life threatening going on it is likely that you would already have been told about it - the longer you wait for a result the less likely it is that there is something sinister happening.

I hope you get your results soon and that there is a simple explanation and a reasonably easy fix.

xx

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Hi Lizzie,

I get similar chest pains, either in the middle of my chest or off to the left side. It can be really worrying and quite upsetting, as it is painful and you don't know where it is coming from!

I don't have any heart issues (now i touch wood!) and usually the pain does not precede or follow an attack. It is often just a sharp pain, though can be a dull ache, and although it does go away after a while it is uncomfortable. Taking the salbutamol does sometimes help, but most of the time it is just a placebo for me! For me i think it is related to that nasty feeling of having something heavy balanced on your chest - I take Montelukast to help this at night, but do sometimes wake up breathless and sore in my chest.

It's good that you got yourself checked out at A&E and it is nothing more serious. Try not to worry, though I know it isn't a nice thing to live with, and mention it to your asthma nurse or GP next time you go.

Natalie xxx