little Chest pain in the middle of chest

[talktosu]

I'm sujay from india.

26yrs old /male / 5ft 6inch / 79kgs.

I've a problem from last 1 month. I don't know, it's a panic pain or something serious. I'm heavy smoker from last 10 years (daily 10-15 cigarettes) but now i decided to quit smoking after reading some articles. I've no medical problems in the past. But recently one of my friend is suffering with some heart problem (he is also 26yrs). After that incident i think, i've some problems. so, i went to a lab and test. I feel a little chest pain(just sparking) at the center of my chest, sometimes it's move to left and sometime to right (mostly in rib joint area) and it's increase when i quit cigarette for 1-2 days, after smoking it's alright. I feel a little pressure in my left chest, when i'm completely alone & think about this. One day suddenly i started some freehand exercise, then the sparking pain is also increases. Our family members have no heart disease in past.

My ECG report is normal & lipid profile is also normal as per report.

Cholesterol -total - 185.0 mg/dL
HDL-Cholesterol - 32.5 mg/dL
LDL-Cholesterol - 137.5 mg/dL
Triglycerides(T.G) - 75.0 mg%
VLDL-Cholesterol - 15.0 mg/dL

I don't know, it's gas pain or heart pain or muscle pain. I don't do any exercises, sleep a little (5-6hrs regularly from last 1year) regularly & don't maintain any diet chart but always avoid junk food and red meat.

I need to know, is this a serious problem or not? Please help, i'm really worried about this. I think my HDL level is below the border line, can i increase this with diet control? Please help.

[John Kenyon, CNA]

Hello -

While your smoking is a very big risk factor for heart disease over the long term, and you're very, very wise to decide to quit, I'm not going to use this pain of yours to try and frighten you into quitting. You need to do that or someday you'll either have heart disease or something equally bad, and you know that, so no lectures here.

The pain you describe does not sound remotely like heart pain. It does, however, sound like it might be due to some inflammation of the cartilage where your ribs join your breast bone. This is called costochondritis, and usually is highly localized (unlike heart pain, which almost always radiates to one or more distant areas), is aggravated by upper body movement, and responds well to anti-inflammatory pain medications such as ibuprofin or naproxyn.

Heart pain also is rarely stable, but tends to progress, and is usually accompanied by other symptoms (such as weakness, faintness, nausea, shortness of breath, etc.).

Your blood lipids are very good overall, and this somewhat makes up for the low HDL, which is preferred to be closer to 40, but that in itself isn't a major risk for you at this point, although it's something you could work on.

In short, your pain sounds unlike anything serious. I'd suggest a trial of one of the anti-inflammatory drugs as mentioned above. Otherwise, by all means go forward with your plan to stop smoking, which will eliminate a major risk for a great many things you realy don't want to develop later on. Good luck to you, and please follow up with us as needed.

[talktosu]

Thank you for your quick reply. I'm really feeling much better than before.

Now I restrict my cigarette smoking to 1-2 per day ( previously 10-15). Within a few days i will be able to quit this completely. But after restriction over the cigarettes, i faced a few problem. i found some mild chest pains in the center of my chest & mostly on left chest.. sometimes right also, but not in rib joint. I feel a bit chest tightness also.

One more thing, i've a problem with cough.. it's increases after my morning meal & sometime i feel like something is want to exit from my lungs. But no vomiting. Now, the color of the cough is white, a few days earlier it's yellowish & after restrict upon cigarette it was yellowish with very little black contents. Now, there is no black contents, it's white now. i don't know, it's normal cough or something serious. I don't have cough problem before.. but from last 1 year it's pain me.

Want your suggestions for that.

[John Kenyon, CNA]

You're very welcome and I'm glad you're feeling better.

The cough you're experiencing, since it happens in the morning after eating, may be related to acid reflux from the stomach, or could also be due to loosening of secretions due to much-reduced smoking. If it's gone from yellow to white, then it's probably improving, or else that change could be due to less tar and other combustion by-products entering the lungs. Hopefully this resolves completely as you finish your smoking cessation program.

The pain is likely related to the coughing. If the cough and pain don't resolve or at least start to get better over the course of a week or so, you should have this checked by a doctor. Otherwise it sounds as though you are doing really well. Keep up the good work.

[talktosu]

Thank you for your another quick response. Now, I smoke only 1-3 cigarettes per day & the coughing is under control now. I think very soon i will quit smoking. But I feel a bit strain in the middle of the chest sometimes.. when I stretched my hands or when i lay down in bed(not all the time). Yesterday I see some blood coming from my mouth (not with cough.. with spit - don't know it's from respiratory organs or from gum or teeth.. may be teeth, coz my teeth is very poor). There is no pain. I tried to cough more, but no blood coming. But in the afternoon.. when i spit.. i see some blood.. I don't know what is the reason behind it. From tomorrow i wake up at 6:00AM (but i always wake up at 9:30) & feel i've some problem with my breathings. I've another problem form last 1-2 months in breathings. Sometimes I breath suddenly & inhale a lot of air.. ( daily 1-2 times).. I don't know why it's occours.

So, I consult a doctor tomorrow, but i'm not satisfied.. he gives me some tablets.. named droxyl clav 500(2 times), dicynine (3 times) & becosule (1time).. I don't know, what is going in my organs.. can u pls help me for that.

[John Kenyon, CNA]

The chest discomfort ("strain") is almost certainly orthopedic and/or muscular, as it is provoked by certain bodily movements. No problem there.

The blood from your mouth, since it was not produced by coughing nor vomited up, and since you acknowlege dental problems, is probably due to inflammation of your gums, which often happens with poor dental hygeine and can produce spontaneous gum bleeding at random times. If at all possible, even if you do nothing else, it would be important to have your teeth checked and have a deep cleaning done to reduce inflammation of the gums, as this is often a source of later trouble in various organ systems, something that can be avoided with proper maintainane.

Other than that it sounds as though you are doing well.