Hi @clayhere -- I'm sure it's frustrating for you that you can't get any answers. Did the Mayo neurologist provide any diagnosis?

I'm also tagging a member who has shared a lot of great information on different treatments to see if they can offer any suggestions.
Chris @artscaping do you have any suggestions for @clayhere ?

John

Hello Clay,

I've had symptoms that made me think I had a heart problem, but I don't. What I do have is tightness in my chest with thoracic outlet syndrome that causes my neck to be tight, and the position of my head and neck, can trigger a muscle spasm into the front of my chest near the sternum. I've done that with a forward and turned head position causing an instant spasm, and I've been able to massage out the spasm and stop the pain. TOS has caused my ribs to twist out of shape which is painful where ribs connect with the sternum. It's like a straight jacket that twists my chest out of shape and it even caused a functional scoliosis, but that is normal again after long term physical therapy. I also had a ruptured cervical disc that was contributing to kicking up the muscle spasms, and I am close to 2 years post-op from surgery at Mayo for my spine which helped a lot of the issues. Stress can also trigger this when muscle tighten, and with TOS, posture is very important. What I think happens is that the nerves that control the heart and lungs are passing through overly tight muscles in the neck and chest and triggering this. The TOS is worse on one side, and has prevented me from breathing properly when one side doesn't expand enough, and then it can trap phlegm, and I've had repeating chest infections on that side, but without normal symptoms, so it made it hard for me to distinguish this from asthma and allergies that I also have, so if I don't get enough air, my heart rate goes up, and can be over 100 at rest. A course of antibiotics resolved this and returned my heart rate to normal again. I've worked on proper mechanics with breathing in physical therapy. I take allergy shots regularly to control this, and I am better at recognizing when I'm getting an infection and treat it right away and I had to clear phlegm when I feel it. I'm not sure what activity is triggering your symptoms. For me, if I have the chest infection, I will notice my heart rate go up when climbing stairs or a slight exertion. Twenty years ago, I had a whiplash that probably caused the spine issues and may be the reason that the TOS is worse on one side because my head was turned to the left during the impact. The physical therapist who has helped me the most is a traditional therapist who also does myofascial release work to loosen the tight fascia that binds the body together. For example, I had a "scolosis" that I could not untwist until the tissue allowed that movement and I remember the day that every thoracic vertebrae reset itself into a normal position when I rolled on a device in therapy right after my PT had released tissue. That gave me instant relief from the fatigue that was always there when it was out of alignment. This was prior to my neck surgery, and I wouldn't be doing this after spine surgery while wearing a neck brace or without my surgeon's blessing. I've also had improvement in a bulging thoracic disc seen on my MRIs after therapy realigned my body, and I no longer feel the stiffness at that level in my spine and it moves better. You can look for information on the John Barnes methods of myofascial release as the website has a lot of information. It is a hands on therapy like kneading bread dough in slow motion, so the therapist holds the stretch with her hands until the fascia releases. I've done this for a few years and it has helped a lot. I did have a setback because of recovering from spine surgery, but I am making good progress again. TOS can easily be missed by doctors because it is hardly mentioned in medical schools. Mayo can diagnose and treat it and that's why I came here because I had that along with the spine problems and some unusual symptoms that several spine surgeons missed, and I was having trouble finding a surgeon who would help me. I came to Mayo, and it changed my life.