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Have High Blood Pressure And Getting Sharp Pain In Lower Rib Area. What Is Causing This?
Posted on
Tue, 25 Dec 2012
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 25 Dec 2012
Answered on
Tue, 15 Jan 2013
Last reviewed on
Question : hi i went to my dr today for shooting sharp pains that last for a few seconds and it almost makes me fall down. its on my left lower rib cage area. and my bp is high 144/95 and it comes on sometimes when i inhale. but it doesnt feel like my lungs the dr said they are clean .im just getting over a cold.sometime the pain goes to my back shoulder.
Hello,
Thanks for the query.
The shooting sharp pain in the lower rib cage area could be due to two possibilities - one is pleural (covering of lung) disease and other is the involvement of the nerves. The pleural diseases may not be very apparent on general examination and even on x rays. Careful testing and investigations like ultrasonography, CT scan or MRI scans may required.
The nerve involvement may be due to compression of nerve somewhere along the course starting from the spinal cord to its distribution in the spaces between ribs. Also the inflammation of the nerve or the infection by virus (like herpes zoster) can cause such symptoms.
I would suggest you to take an opinion from the chest physician regarding this. If he finds it is not due to pleura then neurological evaluation will be needed which may include MRI scan of the spinal cord.
In the men time routine pain killers will be helpful in relieving you of this pain.
Hope that answers your query. If there are more questions, I will be happy to answer.
Good luck.
Thanks for the query.
The shooting sharp pain in the lower rib cage area could be due to two possibilities - one is pleural (covering of lung) disease and other is the involvement of the nerves. The pleural diseases may not be very apparent on general examination and even on x rays. Careful testing and investigations like ultrasonography, CT scan or MRI scans may required.
The nerve involvement may be due to compression of nerve somewhere along the course starting from the spinal cord to its distribution in the spaces between ribs. Also the inflammation of the nerve or the infection by virus (like herpes zoster) can cause such symptoms.
I would suggest you to take an opinion from the chest physician regarding this. If he finds it is not due to pleura then neurological evaluation will be needed which may include MRI scan of the spinal cord.
In the men time routine pain killers will be helpful in relieving you of this pain.
Hope that answers your query. If there are more questions, I will be happy to answer.
Good luck.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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