Sharp Chest Pain: What it Means and When You Should See the Doctor

I told my doctor about a couple of incidences of sharp chest pain that I had when I was very upset and crying (death of my father was one time), and she said it was probably just a muscle spasm.

It happened again when my pet dog died, and the pain is so intense that it stops me in my tracks. I had to force myself to settle down somewhat or I feel as if I might faint.

The third time it happened was when I was at the airport after saying goodbye to my daughter who was ill, and at that time, I really did become somewhat dizzy and had to sit down. The pain is very intense.

Could this really be just a muscle issue?

Not trying to be nit-picky, but the good doctor made a grammatical error. He stated "No sharp chest pain can occur with serious conditions." 

I am certain he meant "can occur without".

Again, not picking here, just trying to make sure that no-one misunderstood.

A very timely article for me. Spent a few hours in the emergency room last night and received very intense care after experiencing pain in the chest. To my relief, all tests , i.e. EKG, blood work, chest x-ray and gall bladder ultra sound, were negative and I got a clean bill of health all around. I am very appreciative of the excellent response to my concerns last night. And so grateful that I was taken so seriously.

This has started happening to me when at rest or sitting at desk at work. I describe it as a finger point of pain, thats about the size of it. Never in the same spot but generally around where the ribs connect in center of the chest. Never occurs when I'm working out or walking which I do every day. I just started BP meds for pre hypertension and have read where theses sometimes can cause this.