Can Athma Cause Only Chest Pain as Symptom?
Before I get started I do not feel I have any reason to belive my shest pain is cardiac related. I have had multiple EKG's, Stress Echo, Blood tests and all have come back just fine. My blood pressure is perfect, my cholesteral is at perfect levels as well, I have had a few chest X-rays and I am told all that is visiable is asthma, and I have no family history of heart diease...I did smoke for 12 years though 
I quit a year an a half ago when my asthma came back. So that's good. I also do have issues with GERD, but I know the difference between heartburn and this.
Now my problem is my real only symptom of asthma are chest tightness, pain and shortness of breath. I never cough or wheeze like when I was a kid.
Sometimes it's just chest pain all day long. I may have one to two attacks a year where I cough and wheeze, but a few extra puffs of albuteral and some relaxing has done the trick so far.
I am scared that pain usually means something is wrong. Sometime it's tightness and congestion and other times it's just sharp pains in my chest all day and maybe for days at a time.
Thanks for any advice. I am new to learning about asthma.
Hello, this is very good to read for me i have had exactly the same its a coincidence (or is it) that i have had GERD well i do seem to have it and am taking pills which have really helped only started two days ago my chest pains and shortness of breath are present still, have you had people say oh it must be anxiety and doctors give you stupid excuses ...its muscular/plueracy/skeletol go home a rest and in 2 day syou will feel fine 3 months later my chest pains are here, anyway my tests all came back perfect aswell im 22 perfect weight never smoke dont drink excessively etc etc, i do have asthma and i think GERD may flair this up and ive read Gerd can reproduce symptoms not disimalar to angina, my pain tends to be around the wall of the chest which does suggest more asthmatic related rather than heart also no left arm problems/dizziness etc,
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (2)
- Report Abuse
Also ive never had heartburn noteven with the GERD but i can feel this is definately not heartburn i think we have the same thing definately other symptoms my doctor asked about are, excess burping, wheezing throat, dizziness this is my 11th doctor and i trust him,he is not a yesman and firstone to ask mesensible probing questions rather than think oh this is a stupid patient i am king doctor i will decide what you have and jump to the first conlusion
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (2)
- Report Abuse
I am so happy to be reading this. I have had chest pain/pressure for almost a year. I have had all the same tests with everything coming back normal. At first it was diagnosed at costochondritis. The pain actually went away for about 2 months and after a night of partying (which I rarely do) and I had a couple of Cigerettes (which I technically quit, but cheat every once in a while), it came back FULL FORCE. It's been about 2 weeks and I have gone to the doctor and hospital. I feel like people think I am a hypocondriac, which I am not, this pain in real and it can be consuming when I start thinking about the problems that it could be. Anyway, I tried Nexium which didn't work and it actually went away when I started taking Zoloft for anxiety. I quit zoloft to possibly try to have another child and now a month later it's back. I asked my doctor if I could go back on Zoloft and she told me that I don't have anxiety. I have a physical in 2 weeks, so I will let everyone know what she says. Please keep me posted on your condition, I am sorry you are going through this, but's it's comforting to know that I am not alone.
Sincerely,
Megan Chrz
-
- Ranked Helpful (2)
- Report Abuse
Thank you both for your posts. They mean a lot. I will say things are getting a little better since winter is coming and I have less symptoms here in the winter.
FYZI I also have anxiety and only take Xanax when needed. I take it often, but this pain is different and I am pretty sure is caused by asthma.
I know how you feel and let us know how things go. It;s always heloful to hear others in similiar situations
Best of luck :)
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (2)
- Report Abuse
I too thought initially I had heartburn, but that went away, but my chest is still sore. I usually have a terrible cough this time of year, but this time it is just the chest tightening, and my throat feels a bit closed. At other times, my back, between the shoulder blades, hurts too.
I do not smoke, nor drink, and sleep well. I thought it was aniexty, but for this long? It has been two weeks now, and has not eased up at all.
I used to take advair for the bad cough, but nothing of late.
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (2)
- Report Abuse
My daughter has chest tightness ( painful ) as of late. She is 21 and has had asthma since 5th grade. She recently asked her Pulmonary Dr. why does her peak flow meter score or number qualify as good ( 400-450 ) but yet she still has chest tightness. Also when this happens her emergency inhaler ( albuterol ) does not really help make the tightness go away. He said that many of his patients express this to him but that he does not know what to say to that. REALLY REALLY FRUSTRATED!!!!!!
7 weeks later after this talk with her Dr. she goes to the ER with an asthma attack they give her pregnisone-----------it helped it took like 12- to 14 hrs to really kick in but the tightness is gone
She had had the flu a month ago--------I feel that she was not given an antibiotic and pregnisone quick enough to clean up after the flu. ( 3 weeks or so late)
To complicate things she had been tested for allergies ( RAST testing ) and came up negative so she under 2 different Dr.s ( ENT and pulmonary) care went off flonase and allegra
Now we find out from these same Dr.s way after the fact that negative does not always mean negative and that she does have allergies
So I think the day by day effects of these allergies ( Fall seasonal ones) drained literally and figuratively her system which triggered her asthma only we did not put two and two together until way after the fact . We thought we were dealing with a new factor.
I wish the Dr. had said even though you tested negative for allergies there still might be a chance that you have them so watch out.
Please COMMENT ANYONE
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (2)
- Report Abuse
I have been asthmatic all of my life. For the past couple of years I have been suffering with pain in my chest that is exercise induced and is identical to angina but have been through every heart test known to man and they cannot find a thing wrong with my heart. This is great but the what is causing my pain?
This pain is so bad it stops me dead in my tracks. Pain and shortness of breath. A couple of weeks ago I wore a holtor monitor (again) and this time I decided to experiment. I walked until the pain started and recorded the time and described the pain, when it ended and such. Rested and walked again until the pain started and recorded it. Saw my cardiologist yesterday for the test results and he said the heart sounded great but when I recorded the pain in my chest the meter showed that the muscles in the chest area were going crazy. He wants me to take one more test, a nuclear test just to be on the safe side (have had everything done from nuclear stress test to angiogram) and then he wants me to see a lung specialist because he said it may be asthma.
I have to say this. You have to take the bull by the horns here because some doctors start to look at you like it is all in your head when they can't come up with a diagnosis. Should this happen, it is time to find a new doctor. And we have to take action. I was doing 20 to 25 laps every day in an olympic pool until this happened and I will be darned if I will just sit down and rot and allow some doctor to tell me it is all in my head simply because he/she doesn't have an answer for the problem.
Happy to have found this site because now I know that I am not alone nor am I crazy. Good luck to all and please lets keep posting information, results and diagnosis to help each other out.
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (4)
- Report Abuse
In the last year, i have had many episodes of suddenly feeling exteme exhaustion...along with chest tightness....like a weight on my chest
These were usually exacerbated by exertion...had to sit or lie down...
but that would help only temporarily
Kept quiet about it until one day I was sure something was wrong with my heart...symptoms resembled angina...got demoralised ...couldn't understand why this was happening at a young age....I dont smoke...but my workload can get really stressful...was my stress so much so as to cause the beginning of a heart failure?
Went to the doc.....BP ,pulse ,auscultatory findings......all normal
He was convinced that i was hypochondriac...willing to send me for counselling on how to stop worrying or whatever..
UGH! The lack of faith that the doc had in me demoralised me even more..
Then suddenly one day my mom remembered that she had similar symptoms when she was young..and it had turned out to be asthma!
2 puffs of the inhaler and wow what relief!!
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (1)
- Report Abuse
I was born with asthma, it was bad when I was a baby, but it stayed managed until 4th grade, and again until this past year. I had gotten a severe sinus infection, and for the first time in a decade, I had started wheezing again.
However, as controlled as my asthma is, I still have SEVERE chest pain. I have no idea what the problem is. Its in the same general area as what you guys report, left side of the chest, in the ribs, no pain in the arm usually, but always sharp and stabbing. It also felt like it was going into my tummy, but kept to the left side. I do the same thing when I exercise too. My mom always told me it was because I was getting stressed, but there's been times where I thought I was pretty "not stressed" and I still would have these pains. I cannot figure out what causes them, and my inhaler doesn't really help them. Like the pain stops after a few minutes, but my chest still feels heavy. And sometimes it doesn't help it all. I've found that if I lie down flat and exhale deeply for a few minutes, no matter how painful, it goes away.
Even though I've figured out how to get rid of the pain, I'd like to know what causes it and to make myself feel better that its nothing serious. It really keeps me awake at night because it freaks me out when it happens. That's another thing, it mostly happens at night. I also have severe allergies, thus the continually sinus infections.
I hope you guys know, because I seriously have no idea, and I don't like puffing on my inhaler that much because albuterol makes your heart race...and I've heard many more interesting side affects of inhaler. Its for emergencies only, and I'd like to keep those to an extreme minimum.