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Chest Tightness, Nausea, Tingling Pricking In The Fingers, Shortness Of Breath. Damage Heart?

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Posted on Wed, 13 Jun 2012
Question: I am a 49 white female. When using a climbing harness to ascend a tree 2 days ago, I inadvertently restricted the flow of blood in my legs because the harness was compressing my inner thighs. I experienced symptoms similar to a heart attack (chest tightness & pain, nausea, shortness of breath). The nausea caused me to descend to the ground quickly. After the harness was loosened, I felt immediate relief but experienced sharp tingling pricking in my fingers for about 15 minutes and a general uncomfortable feeling for a couple of hours. Should I have a follow up exam to see if there was any damage to my heart? Could this situation possibly cause a blood clot?
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (50 minutes later)
Hello,

Thanks for posting your query.

Using a climbing harness can cause venous pooling of the blood in legs compromising the blood supply to heart and brain. The symptoms you experienced were due to Cardiac Ischemia. Now that your symptoms have been relieved, there is nothing much that can be done to revert any damage it might have caused to the heart.

I would advise you to consult your Cardiologist to have a complete cardiac check up to find out any damage it has caused to your heart. Using a climbing harness is not likely to induce a blood clot formation.

Once again, I really think that you should proceed for an evaluation at your cardiologist's office. This will help rule out any worrisome problem which could cause you a significant degree of detriment.

I hope this answers your query effectively. In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.

Regards.
Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Jyoti Patil
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Practicing since :1994

Answered : 12314 Questions

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Chest Tightness, Nausea, Tingling Pricking In The Fingers, Shortness Of Breath. Damage Heart?

Hello,

Thanks for posting your query.

Using a climbing harness can cause venous pooling of the blood in legs compromising the blood supply to heart and brain. The symptoms you experienced were due to Cardiac Ischemia. Now that your symptoms have been relieved, there is nothing much that can be done to revert any damage it might have caused to the heart.

I would advise you to consult your Cardiologist to have a complete cardiac check up to find out any damage it has caused to your heart. Using a climbing harness is not likely to induce a blood clot formation.

Once again, I really think that you should proceed for an evaluation at your cardiologist's office. This will help rule out any worrisome problem which could cause you a significant degree of detriment.

I hope this answers your query effectively. In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.

Regards.