Question: I recently went to the ER with pain in my chest when breathing deeply. They did blood tests and my D-dimer result was .64. They then did a CT which was fine. I am wondering what would cause the high D-dimer. I do have a swollen knee that they diagnosed as bursitis. Would this cause that result?

I did not get a report. The doctor in the ER did a full cardiac check also. The only thing he commented on, with the blood work, was the D-dimer which he said required that he do a CT to rule out any clots. He told me a normal reading for the D-dimer would be .5 and mine was .64. I started a new job last fall that requires a lot of stair climbing. I also work with special needs kids and do some running with them. My knee started hurting about 2 months ago and has been getting progressively worse. There was not one specific injury that I can recall. It is swollen in several spots: above the knee, to the left of the knee cap and to the right of the knee cap. There isn't really any pain when pushing on it, but movement in certain directions and even walking in general can hurt. Steps in particular are quite painful and I try to use the elevator as much as possible. The swelling seems to always be there whether I am resting or moving. The doctor said it was bursitis. He did an xray of my knee and did not see any arthritis, just some bone spurs.

Thank you, that gives me great relief. I suppose they had to do the CT because it was slightly elevated, but it gave me a concern. I appreciate your rapid response.