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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Numbness In The Left Arm And Tightness In The Chest?

I am experiencing numbness in my left arm, along with tightness there and in my chest. I had to be taken to the hospital and they checked everything. Everything was negative and they didn t know exactly why these symptoms were going on with me. The doctor stated it may be stress related. Can you help me? It s still happening and it s a scary thing
Tue, 18 Dec 2018
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello,

Anxiety might cause spasms in the muscles of the chest and cause symptoms that are similar to the heart problems. The way to say it is from anxiety is to have tests done like ECG, if on pain troponin, CBC, heart ultrasound and probably chest xray. If all these come out negative then it is very likely it is not from the heart but from muscles spasms.
You can take some pain killers like paracetamol and ibuprofen and possibly diazepam. If you notice improvement with these then it is anxiety and you should talk with your doctor related to treatment for anxiety. Diazepam helps with anxiety but should not be used more then a week as it causes dependence, there are other effective drugs for anxiety that don't cause dependence.

I hope I have answered to your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Take care.

Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj,General & Family Physician
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What Causes Numbness In The Left Arm And Tightness In The Chest?

Hello, Anxiety might cause spasms in the muscles of the chest and cause symptoms that are similar to the heart problems. The way to say it is from anxiety is to have tests done like ECG, if on pain troponin, CBC, heart ultrasound and probably chest xray. If all these come out negative then it is very likely it is not from the heart but from muscles spasms. You can take some pain killers like paracetamol and ibuprofen and possibly diazepam. If you notice improvement with these then it is anxiety and you should talk with your doctor related to treatment for anxiety. Diazepam helps with anxiety but should not be used more then a week as it causes dependence, there are other effective drugs for anxiety that don t cause dependence. I hope I have answered to your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Take care. Kind regards, Antoneta Zotaj,General & Family Physician