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Sharp Pain In Chest, Stents In Heart, GERD Symptoms. Treatment ?
Question: Hi Dr,
Once in a while I get a sharp poking pain around my left chest area. Its like someone is poking me with a pin. I am a heart patient, having 3 stents put in and having a heart attack in Aug last year. I also have GERD.
Do you think I should be overly concerned abou the sharp pain. It comes and goes and does not bother me too much.
Thank you Sir.
Regards,
XXXXXXX
Singapore
Once in a while I get a sharp poking pain around my left chest area. Its like someone is poking me with a pin. I am a heart patient, having 3 stents put in and having a heart attack in Aug last year. I also have GERD.
Do you think I should be overly concerned abou the sharp pain. It comes and goes and does not bother me too much.
Thank you Sir.
Regards,
XXXXXXX
Singapore
Hello XXXXXXX.
Thanks for posting your query.
We have to take your symptoms in context. If you have chest pain at rest and it is associated with bloating and burping then it is more reassuring that GERD is the main cause. The same is true if you have symptoms after meals.
In addition - if you are able to press on your chest and duplicate the symptoms that way - it points toward a possible musculoskeletal origin such as costochondritis or musculoskeletal chest pain.
Now - your cardiac history is significant. Assuming, You take your medications as prescribed and see your physicians regularly we don't have to worry much. I do want to emphasize however, that if your symptoms are more apparent with exertion or if you have any associated sweating or shortness of breath when it occurs then I think you should have it worked up.
At a minimum, I recommend that you inform your cardiologist of the symptoms you are having. He will appreciate the update and may ask you to come in. This is your heart we are talking about here so there is no such thing as overreacting. They could possibly check an EKG or Do a quick stress test to rule out a cardiac cause of your symptoms.
I know you are dealing with something stressful here and I hope my answers have been helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Wishing you good health.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga.
Thanks for posting your query.
We have to take your symptoms in context. If you have chest pain at rest and it is associated with bloating and burping then it is more reassuring that GERD is the main cause. The same is true if you have symptoms after meals.
In addition - if you are able to press on your chest and duplicate the symptoms that way - it points toward a possible musculoskeletal origin such as costochondritis or musculoskeletal chest pain.
Now - your cardiac history is significant. Assuming, You take your medications as prescribed and see your physicians regularly we don't have to worry much. I do want to emphasize however, that if your symptoms are more apparent with exertion or if you have any associated sweating or shortness of breath when it occurs then I think you should have it worked up.
At a minimum, I recommend that you inform your cardiologist of the symptoms you are having. He will appreciate the update and may ask you to come in. This is your heart we are talking about here so there is no such thing as overreacting. They could possibly check an EKG or Do a quick stress test to rule out a cardiac cause of your symptoms.
I know you are dealing with something stressful here and I hope my answers have been helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Wishing you good health.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
Hi Dr,
Thank you for your email response. Right now when I speak with you, I dont feel any of the poking pain at all.
It seems to come once a day and then vanishes.
I used to have this same kind of poking pain when I had a bad bout of GERD. Thus far I think my GERD is under control but I used to have very much gas in the past week. It is better now, and I am wondering whether GERD is actually the cause of the poking like sensation.
Thank you Dr. I do appreciate it.
Thank you for your email response. Right now when I speak with you, I dont feel any of the poking pain at all.
It seems to come once a day and then vanishes.
I used to have this same kind of poking pain when I had a bad bout of GERD. Thus far I think my GERD is under control but I used to have very much gas in the past week. It is better now, and I am wondering whether GERD is actually the cause of the poking like sensation.
Thank you Dr. I do appreciate it.
Hello and thanks for your followup.
I would lean toward your line of thinking as well with the GERD as a major culprit here. What you might try is taking an acid suppressing medication such as prilosec twice daily for 5 days and then once daily for 10 days. If you had a bit of esophagitis or gastritis this will likely lead to a good and durable resolution of your symptoms.
Stay in tune with your symptoms, however, and do let your physicians know if they recur or get any worse over time.
Thank you for sharing your health question with me. I hope you found my responses to be adequate and helpful. I am available should you have any additional concerns in the future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
I would lean toward your line of thinking as well with the GERD as a major culprit here. What you might try is taking an acid suppressing medication such as prilosec twice daily for 5 days and then once daily for 10 days. If you had a bit of esophagitis or gastritis this will likely lead to a good and durable resolution of your symptoms.
Stay in tune with your symptoms, however, and do let your physicians know if they recur or get any worse over time.
Thank you for sharing your health question with me. I hope you found my responses to be adequate and helpful. I am available should you have any additional concerns in the future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
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