Help: Chest pain, high heart rate, exhaustion

Hi @cjfutrell and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Chest pain can be very frightening especially when your physicians are having trouble diagnosing it. You will see that I moved yours and @willows post to this discussion so the two of you could connect with other people who have been through something similar.

You might be interested in reading this article - Asthma and Chest Pain: What's the Connection? - Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/asthma/asthma-and-chest-pain

I agree that a lot of the pain could come from being sedentary. With the pandemic, a lot of people are less active. Are you doing anything to keep up with any physical activity?

Hi! Thank you for responding. When all of this pain started I guess I convinced myself not moving around a lot might be better for my health as to not aggravate the chest pains but I can realize why it could do the opposite. I have been trying to do more lately but I don’t think it’s been enough time.

Thank you for this. I did actually get a puppy around the time this all started. I did get allergy tests done recently but I’m not even sure if animals were on that test. I’m going to call up my allergist soon.

I also did the allergy tests that showed a slight allergies to dogs, worse for cats but the pain in the chest seemed way out of proportion to the test results. Too bad for me, I love animals and are not nervous around them. I have had
to care for and train my dogs and went to dog school. In order to rid myself of allergies I took allergy shots for 2 years, all to no avail. Now I have a pet free household and feel fine. I always enquire if I am going out visiting whether there are animals in the house. I take my steroid inhaler before going but it is only of limited help. Mostly I just don’t go where there are animals. Reptiles and fish are ok. To have some living creatures in the house ( besides my husband that is) I bought a 90 gallon aquarium and some Africian Cichlids (very responsive fish and hardy);If you are contemplating this I suggest you study first and buy the best quality filter. It’s a hobby and requires work however it is rewarding in that it’s beautiful addition to the house. Stay away from salt water fish until you are very very experienced.
I am sorry that there seems to be no medical knowledge out there of our condition. I feel it is related to asthma but different in some significant way. Please let me know how you are doing as you search for answers. I have only met one other person who had this pain and I am 74 years of age. Also note that all fur bearing animals can cause allergies , it’s not their fur it’s the invisible protein in their saliva that floats in the air and that we unwittingly inhale that causes problems.

Thank you for your time. I want to understand better where you are coming from. Can you explain all the symptoms you were having and feeling? I have non stop all day chest pain that never goes away. I have my allergies under control in terms of nose/eyes symptoms no sneezing or watery itchy eyes but my chest is always very tense and tight and get random sharp pains here and there near the ribs/shoulders/anywhere on my torso. I’m going to see my allergist again but also might find a way to quarantine away from all animals for a while.

Regarding my symptoms, tight chest, sharp pains, difficulty getting enough air to feel a sense of satisfaction when taking a breath, pains also in my upper back. Coughing basically non productive or a slight bit of mucus coming up. This can last up to 3 weeks after exposure to an animal, and the frustrating thing is that I am not petting them or touching them but just a slight exposure can bring on the pain and other symptoms. Ug! As well I have GERD but I can tell the difference and it is under effective control. I have had air flow tests and these are fine but I wasn’t having an attack or showing symptoms at the time. There is an article from that is mentioned on this site that describes asthma and it sure sounds like us.

Also may I suggest that regarding animals that you completely avoid them for a month. I think you may notice a big improvement in your symptoms. With regards to having them all throughout the day. I had that as well.

I should also mention that apart from animals, aerosols can trigger a smaller discomfort, and certain cleaning agents, glass cleaners for example. Smoking ANYTHING is an absolute no no for me. I live in Montreal and air pollution is not excessive but like in all cities it’s there.

Do you have animals at home? If so you should try and get someone to look after them, outside of your home. My constant chest pain left me and only returned if exposed to a fur bearing animal or feathered bird. It took about 3 weeks after the animals were gone for me to feel a significant reduction in pain. It’s not their fur or dander that causes allergies it is their breath that contains invisible partials that float in the air and that we inhale as we breathe. Physicians tend to test for allergies which can be readily recognized as a biological process having to do with the immune system. Irritants on the other hand can be awfully painful but are not tested per se. In cases like ours it is really important to discover irritants as well as allergies. For example, irritants for me include, smoke, aerosols, fumes, certain brands of glass cleaners, etc. These can give me the chest pain in a more limited way. So I suggest that you try and identify your irritants and make the necessary changes. The medical profession can’t do this for you. Good luck, I hope you make progress. It’s awfully hard to place a pet elsewhere as they are members of the family, but sometimes it has to be done. Hope this helps.

@cjfutrell @willows The Healthline article Amanda posted covers a lot of reasons for chest pain in addition to asthma, some serious. Sometimes patients can figure things out, but you can easily miss a serious issue with the same symptoms, so please discuss with your doctor if you have not done so already. Since we are in a pandemic, it may be worth it to test for Covid because of the respiratory symptoms. Having asthma is a risk if you get Covid.

That being said, I do have allergies and asthma and sometimes have chest pain so here are some things I have learned. For me chest pain is an indication that my allergies may not be controlled. I do allergy shots, and use HEPA air filters inside the home with air conditioning and vacuum cleaners have filtration so it doesn't just redistribute dust into the air. If I get trapped phlegm that causes chest discomfort, that can easily turn into a respiratory infection and require antibiotics. I also have a physical issue that causes chest pain, thoracic outlet syndrome, and that creates tightness in my chest that is greater on one side so that side doesn't expand as much on inhalation, and that is always where a chest infection will start because phlegm is retained. I know that I am in trouble if when I get up to walk around, my heart races a bit. Then I get out my Mupiroicin antibiotic ointment and use some in each nostril at night for several days. This is something I did prior to having a surgery at Mayo to prevent a staff infection after surgery. It worked for my re-occuring respiratory infections and my doctor gave me a prescription for it to use as needed.

I have to stay current with allergy shots about every 4 days and do stretching for tight muscles around my chest and diaphragm. I am allergic to my cats and do allergy shots for that which works well enough. Keeping everything vaccumed goes a long way to preventing issues as well as encasing the pillows and mattress with protection for dust mites, and changing and washing bedding often. I do nasal saline rinses for my sinuses because that is usually where an infection starts before it moves down into my lungs. Cough drops and Vicks Vapo rub helps to open airways because the menthol vapors relax the airways allowing the phlegm to move more easily. Food allergies can also factor into excess phlegm production and I have those too, so I avoid foods that cause me trouble. Movement and walking help clear the chest, and you can always use the breathing exercise device that hospitals give to patients after surgery to get the lungs inflated to keep the mucous moving. Taking Mucinex (or generic) thins the mucous making it easier to expel. Put on clean clothes every day to avoid an allergens that may have accumulated on clothing while outside or around animals or dust. You can always shower before bed to clean allergens off your body or hair before you sleep. Another thing to check is are you allergic to your pillow; does it have feathers?