Actual heart pains caused by acid reflux? Are doctors scamming people?
I went in the emergency room today because I’ve been having chest pains for the last three days.
After tests were done I was told its just acid reflux, but I hardly ever get heartburn.
However, after a fatty meal I do get sharp stabbing pains in my heart (left side of chest).
How can a doctor equivicate heartburn, which is a burning sensation, with sharp stabbing pains like heart attack symptoms. My left arm has been hurting also.
All this and Im only 21.
Whats weird is that it has lasted for 3 days. How can acid reflux be causing constant pain for 3 days when I have no symptoms of normal heartburn (i.e. burning sensation)?
They did blood tests, the Electrocardiogram, they did chest xray, and ultrasound on my gallbladder and liver. But they didn’t find anything abnormal.
The pain still persists, when I take a deep breath I get a sharp stabbing pain in my heart. Its as though I have a clogged artery and when my lungs expand with air it puts greater pressure on my heart region causing the pain in the heart. Thanks for the help so far, these answers have been helpful.
Filed under: Acid Reflux
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Acid reflux or other digestive problems can mimic cardiac chest pain. There are more conclusive ways to determine if your pain is cardiac in nature.
First of all, did the doctor give you a nitroglycerin tablet in the ER? If he did, did it help? If the pain is resolved with nitro, that’s a good indication that it may be cardiac.
Second, did he do an EKG? This would indicate any possible cardiac events. If nothing showed up on the EKG, then things are pointing more toward a gastrointestinal problem.
Third, did they draw blood samples? The lab can check various enzymes in the blood (troponin I & CKMB) that become elevated following damage to the heart. If these enzymes aren’t elevated, then there apparently wasn’t an event that caused any damage to the heart.
Fourth, did they give you a "GI Cocktail" (sometimes called a "green lady") to drink? If so, did it resolve the pain? This drink is made of an anesthetic agent, and antispasmodic, and an acid neutralizer. If you get relief from this drink, that’s a really good indication that it was heartburn.
Let me know what you find out.
P.S. – Just re-read your post. You describe the pain as "sharp, stabbing pain". That’s not typical of a cardiac problem. Of course, there are no 100%’s in medicine, but typically, cardiac chest pain feels more dull, or perhaps not even painful, but rather "pressure".
No, doctors are not scamming people. Acid reflux can cause pains in your chest. If all your heart tests were negative, then the pain was not caused by your heart. Also the fact that you have pains after a fatty meal indicates it is in your digestive system. Finally, you are only 21; the chances of you having a heart attack are very slim.
Hi there
Well, to answer your Q, pain coming from the heart is generally not a stabbing type pain, it is usually a heavy pressing feeling (like an elephant is sitting on my chest), or a burning sensation. It is true that heart pain can spread, usually down the left arm, but there are always exceptions to the rule. Dr’s use an ECG and blood tests to rule out angina, or heart attack, with both negative it is highly unlikely to be your heart. They also look at risk factors for heart disease, taking into consideration age, family history, cholesterol, smoking,drinking etc etc.
Experience have taught doctors that if the above is negative, the normal culprit is the digestive track, either heart burn or a hiatus hernia (tummy pulling through the diaphragm( the muscle layer that separates your chest from you intestines)) that can cause quite a bit of pain and discomfort, and then there is the wind that gets stuck in your esophagus, that cause a sharp stabbing pain, which is usually relieved by burping. Sometimes gall stones can also cause this type of pain, especially after a fatty meal! Hope this helps!
it could be that and gas floats around.however i dont know about the arm pain.?might go back or have a ekg ran.Go to the ER if it happens or keeps up.Could be something else
Yes, I agree that it sounds like a blocked/clogged artery. It could also be a clogged vein. Both will cause a decrease in blood flow to the heart, which in turn can cause physical sensations of pain, especially in the chest.
Get a second opinion, sweetie.
It sounds to me like you need to dig a little deeper for what’s going on.
Acid reflux can cause an uncomfortable sensation in your chest or throat, like when you dry-swallow a pill and it feels like it’s stuck. It also causes burning, and your stomach can hurt too, which are all complications of heital hernia. If anything, you can get them to do tests on your esophagus, and G.I. Tract to see if there are any abnormalities there.
But get a second opinion. I’m not buyin’ just acid reflux. There is another complication.
It would be extremely rare for a 21 year old to be having any cardiac related chest pain due to heart attack. Having said that, I’ve seen it, but in those that are using drugs, or had a rare reaction to cold medicine. Sometimes people can have non-ischemic chest pain, meaning not due to heart attack or lack of blood flow to the heart, but can be due to heart valve problems. That is not common though. Even though they did tests for gallbladder, there is still more they can due to rule it out. It’s a specialized test to check for problems, not ultrasound, just can’t remember the name now! It’s an xray procedure. The fact that it occurs after a fatty meal, seems to go with gall bladder problems. Don’t stop at the ER. You need a regular doc that can follow you up and do more testing. That way he can due one test, if negative do another. Follow up is important, just not in the ER. You need someone to organzie your care!
There are many types of chest pain. The most dangerous is due to heart disease. That’s why it should be firstly excluded.
Acid reflux would cause chest pain which is similar to that caused by heart disease. One simple therapeutic test is response of pain to antacids, if it responds it’s most probably secondary to acid reflux.
However, in your case, pain seems to be due to inflammation of the pleura (the covering of the lung / lining of the chest). That may result from many causes one of them is exposure to cold. That means you should consult a chest physician for a proper evaluation.