Chest pains since I have been on Prednisone

Posted by janettec @janettec, Dec 27, 2022

I must say upfront that when I first mentioned the following symptoms to my GP just a few months after my diagnosis of PMR last February (2022), my GP was quick to react. I was immediately scheduled for many tests to evaluate my heart. All showed that everything seemed good and all my bloodwork prior to PMR was really quite good for a 73 year old lady.
The symptoms that were unusual for me stated about a month into being on Prednisone. Out of the blue, I would get a sudden headache, followed by a weird buzz around my jaw, and then what I can only describe as a pain in my chest that made me wonder if I was having a heart attack. The headache and jaw buzz quickly went away, but trying to get rid of the pain around my heart, which at times was quite severe, was difficult. I discovered that Asprin worked well - and almost immediately but not Tums, or a drink of water, milk, chewing or anything else I could think of. Since then the signal with the headache and buzz around the jaw has gone away but I will quite often wake up at night with "heart cramp" (for want of a better description). I am now under the care of an internist who tells me this is just "GERD" ... and is not to worry. Does anyone else know of this experience?

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I have had many bouts of what I refer to as rib cage pain. It usually signals an onset of a flare up for me. I am currently on 2mg of prednisone. Sounds like your cardiac workup came back ok? I find that heat helps. Good luck.

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I have found that using a wedge pillow at night really helps. Also, my primary recommended omeprazole. Both have worked for me.
Best of luck.

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