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Question:
What could cause my chest pain?
My cardiologist says that chest pain that includes chest wall tenderness or reproducible pain is almost never serious. I have pain that seems to flare up with my menstrual cycles, and I will get very painful sharp pains over my sternum. This area becomes painful to touch as well as some other spots on my ribcage. My doctor has done testing - Holter, ECG, Echo - and says pain that is stabbing or sharp for a few seconds is also not a concern. Can you explain to me better how this pain differs from the pain of PE or cardiac pain? What could cause this set of symptoms?
submitted by Angela from Maryland on 6/16/2014
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Atasu Nayak, MD
Thanks for the mail. Your chest pain is very atypical of angina. This pain is unlikely to be of cardiac in origin. Your Holter, ECHO and EKG are normal as you have mentioned. You may need a treadmill stress test to rule out ischemia. Please follow up with your cardiologist regarding the chest pain.
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Updated June 2014
