sharp pain on left side of chest

[KristiinSD]

which is worse when I breath deeply...Any thoughts? I almost feel like I have a broken rib, but of course "they" didn't mess with my left side at all....

Kristi
robotic mitral repair
11/30/05

[geebee]

Kristi,

If there is a problem with the heart, pain can be felt anywhere in the chest, neck, shoulders, or upper arms since the heart has very little nerve endings to feel pain. This is what is know as referred pain and it can be very confusing.

It could be a muscle pull but it could be something more serious like edema or pericarditis. I would definitely have it checked.

[DinahS]

After my first OHS and it turned out to be pneumonia. I had a small fever at night too. They put me on antibiotics for a few weeks and it went away. You should have it checked ASAP. God Bless!

[tobagotwo]

Naturally, you're going to want to check with your cardiologist to determine if there is a heart-related source to this pain. Particularly if the pain occurs every time you breathe in deeply, there is a possibility of fluid.

If that's not the case, then this sounds like a twinge of costochondritis to me. Even though you didn't have the sternotomy that many of us experienced, there is a possibility that some small damage was done to the intercostals internally, while getting at the site (they're on both sides of the ribs, in between them). Sometimes, it's just from the positioning. Again, it would not have been as extreme for you, but it is a very long time in one position.

Either way, when those nerves decide to reattach (which can take a week to nine months or more), they can go on the warpath. Or the small intercostal muscles themselves can throw fits, basically executing a rib-centered charlie-horse. Not as big as your leg, but it hurts as much or more.

Why would it hurt so much in the ribs? Ribs are chock-full of sensitive nerves, as evidenced by being a common source of ticklishness. Nature recognizes that important things are housed there, and booby-traps the ribs with excitable tripwires that cause us to try to squirm and pull away when they're touched.

I had an extended “clamp-down” some weeks after surgery, where I couldn’t move, much less take a full breath, due to excruciating pain from spasming chest muscles. I was fortunate it didn't come back.

If it’s trauma-caused, then gentle stretching and movement are the best things I know of for it.

Best wishes,

[MikeHeim]

I have had days where I have a sharp pain in my back on the left side. Other days where the sharp pain is on my right side, and still others where the pain is somewhere in the front or in my neck. All of these when I'm attempting to take deep breaths. I've basically found that the pain worsens when I forget to do my breathing exercises for awhile. The sharpest pains that I've had only seem to last a day in any specific location. I would say that if the pain only lasts for one day you probably don't need to worry about it. If it seems more persistent, I would call the doctor. When I had a touch of pneumonia after surgery, the pain was on one side and pretty persistent for several days.