Question: I have suffered for 30 years with discomfort that may be related to my diaphragm, stomach, heart or lungs...or the nerves that serve any/all of them. I'm 62 yrs old, ex-smoker, still active, 20 lbs overweight. I have sensations that feel like my heart is pounding in my diaphragm...mostly at night while on my side, but other times as well. The throbbing increases until it releases, sometimes causing an explosive snort, but usually with the feeling of exploding effervescence that goes through my entire body. It's sometimes different or is accompanied by bloating, tightness in my chest and most recently, difficulty taking a deep breath. I have had countless nuclear stress tests, to rule out heart problems, but it's never my heart....except the day I had a heart attack. I've also been tested for abdominal aortic aneurism via ultrasound and nuclear CT, had upper GI's, lower GI's, some awful test where they pushed a camera down my throat and made me swallow something, had endoscopies, pulmonary function tests, etc, etc. I think there is something with my diaphragm or with the vagus nerve or the phrenic nerve. Interestingly, my diaphragm muscles have started to separate in the middle over the last 10 years. My cardiologist, GI, and Internist keep testing, but they don't seem think much of my nerve involvement idea... but I've gotten no answers for 30 years. This prevents me from sleeping and always makes me stress about whether I'm about to have another heart attack or have lung cancer or whatever. If anyone has any suggestions I'd like to hear them.

I don't think this is anxiety. It seems much more related to my weight than to any stress factors. The only stress comes when its causing bloating and making my chest feel tight and I worry whether its another heart attack. As far as not feeling my diaphragm, perhaps I didn't describe it well. I feels like my heart pounding in my abdomen and it affects my solar plexus...just as if someone was jabbing me in the stomach...and it interrupts my breathing the same as getting punched in the stomach. That continues until it releases, usually with the feeling of exploding effervescence throughout my entire body and even through my face and scalp. If nerves aren't involved, what else would transmit that sensation through my body? I have a hiatal hernia, which has been scoped a couple times and I'm told is not major. The various stomach meds I've been on each helped for some period...until their effectiveness waned.