What Causes Difficulty In Breathing With Bouts Of Cough And Chest Pain?

I am 62 and went to the doctor last week because I had started a really bad cough and was achy and had a terrible headache, which is very unusual for me. He said it was a viral infection and antibotics wouldn t help, just needed to rest and recuperate. I was at work today by myself and had a bad coughing spell. I suddenly had some sort of attack where I couldn t breathe. I was gasping, but the more I gasped, I felt like my whole chest and rib cage were in a vise being squeezed. It was incredibly painful. My heart was pounding and I tried to stay calm but kept gasping. It finally passed. But then my chest and upper arms hurt. Four hours later they are still sore. I don t have asthma. Can t figure out what this is. I am pretty healthy, though somewhat overweight and do have some brochial problems in my past.