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What Causes Sporadic Pain In The Chest?
Question: I was seen at my local ER today. I went in because I was having sporadic pain in my chest that radiated up through my shoulders, neck and jaw and it felt like there was a huge weight on my chest. They did x-rays, blood work, EKG and said nothing indicated that it was a heart attack. I noticed when I was there and having an "attack" that my heart rate dropped into the low 50s and the bradycardia alarm would go off. The ER doctor didn't seem concerned with that. In the end he said it was probably a muscle spasm and sent me home.
Can a muscle spasm really make me feel like that and more importantly can a muscle spasm cause bradycardia or is it the other way around?
Our local ER is notorious for misdiagnosing things. They told me I was having muscle spasms (yes that seems to be all I hear from them) when I was passing kidney stones from my kidney to my bladder. A trip out of town to another ER and a CAT scan confirmed that.
I have broken molars on both sides of my jaw. They haven't caused me much pain lately but are pretty tender and probably infected. How long does it take to develop endocarditis from such an infection? I realize it is very rare and it may not entirely fit my symptoms, I just want to cover my bases because I know that our ER didn't. The doctor looked in my mouth for a very brief moment today and said absolutely nothing about my broken teeth and possible connections.
Can a muscle spasm really make me feel like that and more importantly can a muscle spasm cause bradycardia or is it the other way around?
Our local ER is notorious for misdiagnosing things. They told me I was having muscle spasms (yes that seems to be all I hear from them) when I was passing kidney stones from my kidney to my bladder. A trip out of town to another ER and a CAT scan confirmed that.
I have broken molars on both sides of my jaw. They haven't caused me much pain lately but are pretty tender and probably infected. How long does it take to develop endocarditis from such an infection? I realize it is very rare and it may not entirely fit my symptoms, I just want to cover my bases because I know that our ER didn't. The doctor looked in my mouth for a very brief moment today and said absolutely nothing about my broken teeth and possible connections.
Brief Answer:
Details below!
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Have noted all your details.
If you are worried about endocarditis get a 2d echo done,It is a gold standard test to rule out endocarditis.Endocarditis may take weeks to develop or in some case it may present in a few days.However it very rare these days due to good antibiotic coverage.
As your blood tests and ekg were normal most likely it was not cardiac pain.A muscular spasm may mimic the symptoms of cardiac origin of pain.However a tread mill test and 2d echo should be done to rule out the possibility of coronary artery disease.
Don't bother much about heart rate on monitor,Attach you EKG,Exact heart rate can be calculated by looking at your EKG.
Details below!
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Have noted all your details.
If you are worried about endocarditis get a 2d echo done,It is a gold standard test to rule out endocarditis.Endocarditis may take weeks to develop or in some case it may present in a few days.However it very rare these days due to good antibiotic coverage.
As your blood tests and ekg were normal most likely it was not cardiac pain.A muscular spasm may mimic the symptoms of cardiac origin of pain.However a tread mill test and 2d echo should be done to rule out the possibility of coronary artery disease.
Don't bother much about heart rate on monitor,Attach you EKG,Exact heart rate can be calculated by looking at your EKG.
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
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