What Causes Chest Pains And Breathlessness While Having Tachycardia And Opacity At The Lung Base?

Posted on Thu, 26 Dec 2013

Question: Hi yes I have been having what the doctors call Tachycardia my resting heart rate at range of 125-145. I get Chest pains a squeezing sensation and makes it hard to breathe. They know I have a complete Right bundle branch block. They tell me this is all anxiety. I don't believe so because it happens even when resting and I don't feel bothered at all. I wen to the emergency room because it got really bad and they said on my chest x-ray they found increased Opacity at the right Lung base adjacent to right heart border. Im 28yrs old female, I have had many scans over the years due to elevated ICPs and such and even had brain surgery back in September. Nothing like this has shown up on my scans in the past. What is going on with me?

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (4 hours later)

Brief Answer: You will need more investigations Detailed Answer: Hi friend, Welcome to Health Care Magic The two issues are likely to be different / unrelated. _________________________________________________________ For the lung, you ought to consult a Pulmonologist. CT scan (High Resolution) is usually the next step Further approach is often based on its outcome / occasionally, bronchoscopy and biopsy may be necessary ___________________________________________________________ Right Bundle Branch Block is often an incidental finding. It could be from right heart abnormality or a disorder of conduction system Some common causes for increased heart rate are - Anaemia / Anxiety / Alcohol / Tobacco (smoking) / Caffeine (too much tea, coffee, cola) / Fever / Infection / Pain / Stress / Thyroid / ‘cold’ medicines and so on… At times, abnormal nerve paths in the heart (bypass tracts) or disease of the conduction system may be responsible! Your heart will need evaluation by the Cardiologist. HOLTER (24 to 48 hour ambulatory monitoring) / ECHOcardiogram / TMT (Treadmill exercise ECG) / LABORATORY work-up – may all be necessary for further assessment and assistance. Some may even need Electrophysiological Studies (EPS) The treating doctor may suggest them depending on need, based on his assessment of the situation. Good luck Take care Wishing all well God bless

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