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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is It Normal To Have Chest Discomfort Post Treatment For Cardiac Arrest?

I went into cardiac arrest 10 days ago while in ER having dislocated shoulder put back in place.I had no pulse an stopped breathing . Was told they did CPR five minutes . Am a 75 year old female d am having a lot of discomfort in chest and back and seems worse today. Is this normal and how long can I expect it to last.
Mon, 24 Aug 2015
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Cardiologist 's  Response
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your worry.

If you have not had angina in the past (angina is the chest tenderness or heaviness produced by a narrowing or blockage in one and/or more coronary arteries), then this can come from the CPR. If the chest discomfort you are sensing these days, have become notable by you these days, after the CPR, then this may be a pain from the ribs. There is a certain trauma to the ribs when we apply CPR manually (hand-massage of the heart), and even rib-breaking is not uncommon. If this is the case, I suggest you to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory steroids (NSAIDs), a drug from this class would alleviate your pain. Also, I would recommend you to do a plain chest X-ray, to confirm or exclude the ribs as the origin of the pain. If you have had angina in the past, then I recommend you to a cardiac check-up, adding the age to the problem. Therefore, a consult with a cardiologist, and performing EKG, echocardiogram and a cardiac stress test, would be in order.

I hope I was helpful with my answer. Take care.

Kind regards,
Dr. Meriton
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Is It Normal To Have Chest Discomfort Post Treatment For Cardiac Arrest?

Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your worry. If you have not had angina in the past (angina is the chest tenderness or heaviness produced by a narrowing or blockage in one and/or more coronary arteries), then this can come from the CPR. If the chest discomfort you are sensing these days, have become notable by you these days, after the CPR, then this may be a pain from the ribs. There is a certain trauma to the ribs when we apply CPR manually (hand-massage of the heart), and even rib-breaking is not uncommon. If this is the case, I suggest you to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory steroids (NSAIDs), a drug from this class would alleviate your pain. Also, I would recommend you to do a plain chest X-ray, to confirm or exclude the ribs as the origin of the pain. If you have had angina in the past, then I recommend you to a cardiac check-up, adding the age to the problem. Therefore, a consult with a cardiologist, and performing EKG, echocardiogram and a cardiac stress test, would be in order. I hope I was helpful with my answer. Take care. Kind regards, Dr. Meriton