Upper Left Chest Ache, Radiating To Back, Left Arm Pain, Finger Tingling

Posted on Sun, 15 May 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 15 May 2011 Answered on

Mon, 21 May 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : about 5 hours ago I began to have a dull ache in my upper left chest radiating to the same point in my back and my left arm began to ache a little and then feel a little numb and fingers tingle..should I worry?
I am a 33 year old female.

Answered by Dr. Sapan J. Pandya (1 hour later)

Hi XXXXXXX

Thanks for the query.

There are very low probabilities of you suffering with an Heart attack. It is rare in young women like you having regular menses suffering an Heart Attack as estrogen(female hormone) is a heart protective hormone. But still it would be better to get an ECG done to rule out any myocardial abnormality.

The typical chest pain of Heart Attack is very severe associated with severe sweating and sometimes difficulty in breathing.

The dull ache present in you along with numbness and tingling of fingers could be due to a nerve compression. It would be better to get examined by an Orthopedician, a X-ray of Cervical spine along with nerve conduction tests might be done.

Hope this answers your query. In case of any doubts, I am available for follow ups.

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