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Having Chest Pain Only In Morning. Should I Be Concern?

Posted on Thu, 16 May 2013

Question: Hi there,

I am wondering whether you can help.

Almost every morning i wake up with chest pains. They are not terrible but enough to stop me being able to fall back to sleep and i cannot find any comfortable position.

About 5 minutes after i get out of bed the pain completely disappears and that is the last i hear of it until the next morning.

I am 5"7 tall and weigh around 87 kg.

I exercise mainly once a week by doing a lot of swimming on a Monday night but even when I swim really fast i do not get any pain at all, it is literally just when I wake up.

I have been to my local GP who told me that he is not particularly worried however I would like to get to the bottom of it.

Thanking you in advance,
XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (1 hour later)

Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic

If you could 'do a lot of swimming', then there is probably no significant heart or lung disease...
If it is only related to posture, Oesophagus / spine may have to be looked at.
A reflux from stomach, as in Hiatus hernia for example, can be confirmed by Upper G I Endoscopy
MRI of thoracic spine may shoe deformity and nerve compression, if any

Clinical examination, followed by routine blood tests, EKG and Chest X-ray should be the first step. At times, ECHO, sleep studies may be in order...
Reducing the weight and sleeping with head-end elevated may help

Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (7 minutes later)

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply.

It is not posture related because I have been to sleep sometimes in the afternoon and when i wake up the pain is not there. It is only in the morning.

I am not 100% sure but it could be that the only day this doesn't happen is the morning after swimming. Does this make any sense at all?

Would you suggest i insist on these checks now or should i leave it for a bit and see what happens?

Someone suggested taking ibuprofen for a period of time. Could this be true?

Thanks,
XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (17 minutes later)

Hi,

Ibuprofen is a NSAID)
It may give symptomatic relief in skeletal muscle pain.

It doesn't sound reasonable - not to occur after a day of strenuous effort
It could be Psychological relief / or you were too tired to notice...

If it does not interfere with your life style, there may not be any harm to wait and watch...

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (24 hours later)

Dr. Anantharamakrishnan,

Thank you for your reply.

I did a lot of swimming last night and firstly did not have any pain during or after swimming.

I woke up this morning and definitely noticed a difference. Although i felt a slight discomfort it was a lot better than other days strangely. I was able to find a comfortable position and fall back to sleep. Could there be an explanation for this?

Kind regards,
XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (3 hours later)

Dear Mr XXXXXXX

Glad to know that you had a good night...

The simple strain of physical activity might have relaxed a skeletal muscle...
A particular posture could have caused the spasm / and relieved it too...

Exercise induces neuro-endocrine hormones (endorphins is an example) - that cause sensation of well being....people get addicted to exercise!

Have early dinner / do regular exercise / all will be well

All the best

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar