Palpitation and Chest pain?

I had similar symptoms and several er visits! My chest was very heavy, and I was waking in the night coughing.
I was very physically active, with no heartburn history. When my new doctor suggested I change my diet, I was highly doubtful that it could be that simple. That was 5 years ago, and my spouse just did the same thing. He is now free of heartburn meds, and all of the crazy symptoms that acid reflux can cause. Chest discomfort being the worst, and we don’t wish that on anyone. It does take a month to heal esophagus and relieve symptoms. The Acid Watcher Diet, by Jonathan Aviv, was our guide. Good luck. Be well!

@siddlebittle Hello. I would like to welcome you to Connect. Of course consulting a cardiologist is important when you have chest pain or palpitations. It can be possible to have these symptoms from other issues that are not heart related. Having a tight left side may indicate a problem like thoracic outlet syndrome and that may cause arm pain and shoulder blade pain symptoms and breathing issues. If you also have a cervical spine issues, you may also have neck muscle spasms that can tighten up the area between the neck and shoulder.

I do have TOS and cervical spine issues and had a C5/C6 fusion. TOS may affect breathing and tightness can physically restrict the expansion of the chest. I have done myofascial release to treat this and get my rib cage moving properly or closer to normal again. I have had chest pain caused by muscle spasms and stretching with fascial release has relieved it right away. Patients should not diagnose themselves. If heart issues have been ruled out, a physical therapist who does MFR therapy may be able to ease some of the tightness and pain.

Here is a link to our Myofascial release discussion. There is a provider search at http://mfrtherapists.com/

Neuropathy - Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Bad posture causes symptoms with TOS by having forward slouching posture that further compresses an area that is already compressed. Compression points are between the scalene muscles on the side of the neck and under the pec minor muscle going into the arm pit. Turning the head can cut off circulation to the arm. My hands used to turn blue and purple and get cold to the touch. Some patients can pass out from turning their heads. Many doctors miss this diagnosis. Typically TOS symptoms are increased at night because of either compressing the shoulder if a side sleeper or neck posture positions or sleeping with an elevated arm raised around should height. A forward head and neck position exacerbates symptoms. Doctor who do diagnose TOS are often thoracic surgeons and Mayo is a good place for this evaluation. When I was evaluated, they had tiny blood pressure cuffs on my fingers and by raising my arm and turning my head they demonstrated a big drop of blood pressure. When they listened to my pulse in my neck, and I turned my head, that pulse stopped. Here are a few links.
https://mskneurology.com/how-truly-treat-thoracic-outlet-syndrome/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17553-thoracic-outlet-syndrome-tos
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
Have you heard of thoracic outlet syndrome before?

@wil24 Susan, Yes, asking about TOS while you are at Mayo is a good idea. They will refer you for an evaluation to a vascular lab. I think the doctor I saw there was Dr Shepherd. It was in the Gonda building and so was my neurosurgeon, so it was easy to get there.

I am similar to you in that my pelvis goes out of alignment with one side being pulled forward due to tightness on one side of the body from my neck to my pelvis. It is tight through the rib cage and restricts expansion. This is what my physical therapist works on with stretching and Myofascial Release to loosen everything and get it back where it belongs.

TOS is not a spine problem, but it occurs next to the spine where nerves leave to spine and travel between scalene muscles and then between the collar bone and rib cage. My TOS was aggravated by the cervical spine surgery causing inflammation in the same area, and I had to bear with it for awhile in healing before I could go back to PT. My surgeon did let the PT address breathing issues about 2 months after surgery with instructions not to touch my neck. It did cause pain as scar tissue was tightening up after surgery. I finally put my hands on my chest near the collar bone and pulled down to alleviate the pain by stretching it, all without touching or moving my neck. I was in a neck brace and no spine hardware waiting for the fusion process to start. There is surgery for TOS in some circumstances, but it usually isn’t recommended because scar tissue from the surgery can make it worse. With cervical spine surgery, you may have increased tightness anyway in close proximity to the thoracic outlet (brachial plexus) area. That would be something to ask about. It sounds like the spine issue is the bigger problem and that is how it was for me which they determined during the evaluation.

FYI another reason for palpitations or Afib could be high levels of thyroid hormones and anxiety to a degree. They will probably check the thyroid in your work up.

If you have questions about this, please ask.

Jennifer

Hey, I am a Tilak and I am 21 years old and the same things happened with me from last 2 months, went to er multiple times but can't understand why it is happening please help me or give me some advice what should I do.

@tilak since you're young there could be many causes. You don't really explain what your symptoms are which is why Jennifer asked for more info. There are too many possibilities at your age for chest pain and palpations. The Emergency Room checked you out for the most obvious life threatening conditions and you passed without a result. Do you have a PCP and have you had a complete physical exam recently? That is where I'd start if I were you. Unless you have family history of early death due to cardiac illness a cardiologists will most likely not see you. Connect yourself with a PCP first and go from there.