Help: Chest pain, high heart rate, exhaustion

@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?

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.

I do have 2 dogs and a cat. The thing is, I’ve been around dogs before and never had issues, and then I got a new puppy so not sure what is happening. My allergies are also under decent control it’s literally just my chest. My pulmonologist is trying things but nothing is working. Cardiac tests come back fine, but my heart rate is a little high. My primary dr is doing more tests to atleast eliminate some possibilities. My health anxiety is through the roof now and wondering how much is that manifesting into physical symptoms

Some animals are prone to causing more allergies, in my case chest pain, than others. I had a Doberman die of heart failure (that at the time didn’t give me allergies) and no pets at home until I got a German Shepard puppy and he immediately made me wheeze and hurt my chest.

Very interesting. It’s one of the things I’ll be testing to find the cause of all of this. The other dog I also don’t have a lot of interactions with but the new puppy of course I’ve been close to for a few months now

For months now this pain in my chest comes and goes and is excruciating. I have asthma and GERD. Ive been put on new asthma and allergy meds and my breathing has been checked religiously and checks out fine. Ive had several recent EKGs and nothing can be found. I’m wondering if something musculoskeletal can be responsible for this. Lately my butt/leg/foot has been in pain and sciatica could def be the cause. Could that also cause chest pain? The pain can be anywhere on my chest. Left/right/middle/nearing the shoulder and hurts when pressed on. Also pain/pressure immediately when lying flat on back.

For months now this pain in my chest comes and goes and is excruciating. I have asthma and GERD. Ive been put on new asthma and allergy meds and my breathing has been checked religiously and checks out fine. Ive had several recent EKGs and nothing can be found. I’m wondering if something musculoskeletal can be responsible for this. Lately my butt/leg/foot has been in pain and sciatica could def be the cause. Could that also cause chest pain? The pain can be anywhere on my chest. Left/right/middle/nearing the shoulder and hurts when pressed on. Also pain/pressure immediately when lying flat on back.

@cjfutrell could it be costochondritis?