What Causes Stabbing Pain In Chest With Shortness Of Breath?
Hello. I am a 30 year old female, am underweight, and a smoker. A couple of hours ago I started havinf these sharp stabbing pains in the left side of my chest and feel short of breath. The pain seems to hurt more when I take deep breaths. Is this something I should be very concerned about and take a trip to my local emergency room or can it wait until I can schedule an appointment with my doctor? Thanks!
Hello and Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.
I can understand your concern. Yes, you should definitely go to emergency room. Since you are active smoker, left-sided chest pain should always be evaluated for heart diseases first. So get done blood pressure monitoring, ECG, 2D echo and stress test. If all these are normal then no need to worry for heart diseases. Sometimes musculoskeletal pain can also cause similar symptoms. So apply warm water pad on affected areas of chest. Take simple painkiller like Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. It is better to quit smoking as soon as possible.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
I find this answer helpful
You found this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer.
For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service
[Sample answer]
We use cookies in order to offer you most relevant experience and using this website you acknowledge that you have already read and understood our
Privacy Policy
What Causes Stabbing Pain In Chest With Shortness Of Breath?
Hello and Welcome to Ask A Doctor service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. I can understand your concern. Yes, you should definitely go to emergency room. Since you are active smoker, left-sided chest pain should always be evaluated for heart diseases first. So get done blood pressure monitoring, ECG, 2D echo and stress test. If all these are normal then no need to worry for heart diseases. Sometimes musculoskeletal pain can also cause similar symptoms. So apply warm water pad on affected areas of chest. Take simple painkiller like Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. It is better to quit smoking as soon as possible. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.