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Mystery Breathing Issues. Heart Attack Symptoms, but No Heart Attack
I tried posting a long version of this, but I'm not sure the website likes that.
Quick rundown of me:
29yo Male
245lbs
Smoker since 16
Surgeries/Issues: Went septic once due to pilonidal cyst on butt. Had 7 total surgeries until I got those fixed forever. Had weird blood in stool/gal bladder pain 2 years ago, but endo/colonoscopy came up with nothing, and it resolved on it's on.
The last week and a half I've had what I called "Airway Tightness" where it feels like I SHOULD be struggling to breath, but I am not. It just feesl like my airways are... Well... Inflammed or tight. I have never "ran out" of breath, as far as I can tell. I reached out to PCP and he perscribed an Albuterol inhaler, and to take some Zrytec. This didn't seem to improve anything.
Though it is has gotten worse over the week and a half. At first it was just the breathing, but then followed dizziness, and what felt like a heart attack. I have been to the Walk In Clinic, and now the ER twice. Both ER trips felt like heart attacks.
My last dizzy spell was so bad I crawled into the back door at work and wash rushed to the ER. My airways felt like they closed up which sent my heart through the roof, and that's when I got so dizzy I could barely stand. This happened both trips to ER, but not since then.
Both trips to ER they did blood work, and Xrays of my chest. All came back negative for any infections, or heart related issues, such as clots, damages, etc I also did an EKG, so it seems my heart is fine.
ER, and the Walk in both claimed either Anxiety, or GERDs, with one ER literally turning me away after dosing me with Ativan after a 175/95 BP.
I reached out to my Aunt who is a PA, and she wasn't conviced of the simple Anxiety answer. I am not what I would call an nervous person. All my friends call me laid back. Life is good to me, good family, wife, job, etc I've never struggled with any of it. I am good with people, and don't suffer from social anxiety either.
The other answers I got were from a GI friend of mine who said maybe it was a viral lung infection that's got my inner ear infected as well. He said it's very common, and he's even dealt with it before. He even brought up jaw pain near my ear, which I am experiencing, but mainly thought it was due to a tooth I had pulled on that side in late March.
My PCP didn't fully agree. He said Costochondritis and Vertigo, as there was no sign of infection in my blood or Xrays. He sent me home with Meclizine, and Ibuprofen with order to take 600mg.
I am overall doing okay today. Not great, and still suffering with some dizziness and breathing issues, but overall I think I've slightly improved. The only way I have found relief for this is to take an Epsom salt bath, and lay down for a bit. My wife can rub certain parts of my neck and back, and that does cause some breathing pain, as well as regular "muscle strain" type pain. When the breathing gets bad though, the only thing I can do is ride it out for about 20 minutes until it goes away.
Does this sound familiar to any of you, or is it just a simple case of Anxiety and some Costochondritis?
I'd be happy to answer more questions down below.
Thank you all for what you do here!
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@unflinchingalva Welcome to Connect. The symptoms of chest tightness and breathing issues with tight chest muscles along with some vertigo could possibly be related to either a cervical spine injury like a whiplash or thoracic outlet syndrome. I have both conditions and get muscle spasms that can independently rotate my neck vertebrae. I also had a fusion of C5 C6. One side of my neck is tighter that restricts chest expansion a little bit. I also have allergies and asthma that produce phlegm that gets trapped a bit when my lungs don't move enough, so all of that together can create some symptoms of chest tightness and some discomfort. I do get pain from tight chest muscles. What helps is physical therapy and my PT stretches out the tight muscles with a technique called myofascial release.
Do you have a history of neck or shoulder injuries?
Thanks for the welcome!
No, I haven't ever had any neck or shoulder injuries. Only thing close to that was an injury sustained during Jiu Jitsu where my lower left rib cartilage got separated from the bone. I never went to the doctor for this either, just had the EMT I go to class with take his best guess.
I do a lot of driving for work too, so maybe I am also not helping the situation by jostling around in a vehicle all day. I have taken 3 days off of work now due to the scare I gave my boss on Wednesday.
I don't have asthma or allergies to the best of my knowledge either. I also find it odd that during this entire time, I haven't really been producing any phlegm or even a light cough.
I may try some stretching in the morning, as moving around doesn't seem to harm the current issue, other than some dizziness.
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1 Reaction@unflinchingalva I am having similar issues. I had a cardiac work up, PCP exam, kidney exam, and pulmonary exam.
My heart rate is normal…
However, the cardiologist said my symptoms are related to being over weight. I believe he is correct. I’m carrying a lot of extra pounds so it’s a struggle for the body…
It very well could just be that. I am technically obese.
I didn't mention above, but I am 6'3 at 245 so I don't look too bad, but with all the weight, all the sitting around for work, lack of exercise the last few months, etc I am sure that's not helping anything.
Maybe this is a wake up call for me?
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1 Reaction@unflinchingalva
You are too young to have these symptoms so something is up.
Have you had any MRIs of your chest and cervical spine to see what is going on with spinal cord/nerves/blood vessels and soft tissues?
Did you have Covid shots and the Covid infection? This can cause some of the symptoms you are experiencing. I had the same symptoms as you and all tests were negative but months later, my ekg/ecg showed an old infarction and some heart damage! I only found this out after preoperative testing for a different condition. I also had cervical spine compression which was causing a variety of symptoms.
Did you ever fall and injure your head/neck?
@unflinchingalva The issue with the cartilage separation in your ribs seems to me that it could be part of the issues. I sounds like your rib cage doesn't move properly and that will keep you from expelling phlegm. Everyone has mucous in their lungs to carry out dust and stuff you breathe in which is carried upward by the cilia beating and pushing it outward. If you are a smoker, it paralyzes the cilia. It's just if you have allergies, there will me more mucous, but having it is normal.
My suggestion is to find a good physical therapist perhaps one connected to an orthopedic surgeon as there are sometimes offices linked to therapy. If you drive most of the day, it may be an issue of repetitive stress that could provoke TOS or thoracic outlet syndrome. I have TOS, and driving does provoke it because of the raised arm position. There are specialists who are usually thoracic vascular surgeons who understand TOS, but they are few and far between. Most doctors do not understand it, and miss the diagnosis. Some TOS patients pass out if they turn their head because it cuts off arterial blood supply in their neck. My pulse stops when I turn my head. If you can come to Mayo, it is a great place to evaluate TOS.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
Myofascial release may help you too. Here is our MFR discussion where you can learn more. MFR has helped me with my TOS.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
There is a provider search at http://mfrtherapists.com/