Burning chest pain.

[racingheart77]

So for the last week or two have mostly been fine. Still got occasional mild flare ups and pains every other day or so but then out of no where I get a huge flare up while resting. I also am usually feeling tired before they happen. Anyway it started off kind of mild like always but then it just kept getting worse. I felt an extreme burning pain in the center of my sternum and it would not go away for a solid 2 hours. I eventually decided to go waiting near the hospital just in case because it hurt so much. I also had a mild gag going on but never actually vomited. Anyone else get this frequently? I've had EKGs and an bother heart test done and they say nothing is wrong there. I really hope we figure out what I causing the pain.

 

[Pistol]

You definitely need to get your heart checked to rule out MI etc - however, what you describe sounds like it COULD be GI related, especially a peptic ulcer. 

[racingheart77]

I did get it checked out. My arteries are clean. Is this not a common pots symptom?

[p8d]

I had/have horrible GERD like pain.  I remember having it on the TTT.  I saw on some DI video some Dr saying this isn’t uncommon in dysautonomia.  In my case it was extreme and eventually I could hardly eat. I was hospitalized when I hit 84# and had to have TPN for 6 weeks. I think, but don’t recall much from that time, that they said it was neuropathy.  Antacids didn’t touch it.  I’m on gabapentin now which after finding the correct dose really helps.  

[racingheart77]

your 84 years old?

 

This burning pain is distinct from heartburn. Is it the same way for you?

[Weyland]

Chest pain is a common problem pots syndrome . I've had my heart checked out also,but I still sometimes get bad chest pain and did the waiting outside the hospital.  Every time Ive gone to the er thinking I was dying,  my tests come back fine..

[Dumodal]

I do get it too, for me it's not painful but it's like a heavy burning sensation in the center left of my sternum, I went to the A&E like 20 Times All comes clear.

[p8d]

@racingheart77, I weighed 84 pounds!  I’m not 84 years old.  Yes, it’s different from heartburn.  I also get chest pain which is very different.

[statesof]

Hi @racingheart77 I have had some of the 'burning' chest pain that you mentioned, it was often present with chest pressure or sometimes a feel like there was a weight on my chest as well. It was distinct from heart burn, sometimes it would almost feel sunburn-like when it started. I don't know what it was or what caused it but my doctor thought it was somehow related to the fact that I have POTS.

Aspirin and verapamil are the two meds that seemed to make it better for me, which makes me think it did have to do with my heart not acid reflux or heart burn, because meds to treat those did not help me.

[Peter Charlton]

Might this be Coronary Artery Spasm also known as Prinzmetal Angina?

My understanding is that the Autonomic Nervous System also controls vascular smooth muscle contraction, in Dysautonomia, this can go too far so that your arteries feeding blood to your heart constrict too much, therefore restricting blood flow and causing angina like symptoms even when your heart is structurally clear.  Often occurring when relaxed rather than like normal angina which occurs due to exercise.

I believe I get this, its a different heartburn feeling, not so much the acid burning feeling but a hard squeezing pressure. I have my own little ECG that shows when this happens my T waves which should be a little bump after the normal spike of the R wave, actually tower over the proceeding R wave. Now I have had two cardiologists claim this is fine, but a cardiologist on the net says "Be suspicious of LAD occlusion when the T wave towers over the R wave. (LAD occlusion being a blocking of a vascular artery via a different mechanism than CAS, but its still a blockage).  So I am not always convinced every cardiologist who looks at your ECG when this is occurring, and says nothing is wrong, actually knows everything there is to now about cardiology.    

 

[yogini]

The heart is slightly to the left, not in the center.  There are probably many issues that could cause this symptom.  Burning in the center seems like acid reflux to me, but if you are having a new symptom like this it's important to discuss with your doctor right away.  Hope you feel better soon. 

[Milliesgirl]

This is what happened to my niece. Doc afyer doc missed it until he ,just happened" to be in her hospital room and saw it occur. She has lupus. But she also had some bad habits that contributed to her immediately having a quintile bypass.  I'm sure its pro ably rare though. So don't freak out!

[Pistol]

I see that your strip shows tachycardia and one PVC ( premature contraction ) The towering T-waves could be caused by the way the leads are placed on your body and the angle in which the electrical conduction is reflected. A real EKG displays the electrical conduction from several angles therefore it can be interpreted differently. It would show in which lead (or in what area of the heart) the T-wave is elevated. This would give the doc a better idea if the elevation is serious or harmless in my understanding.