My chest pain and other symptoms feel different from a panic attack. Please help.

Question

Hi doctor,

I have pain, which is like pressure or something I cannot explain, but it really hurts. It happens in my whole left chest and my upper left-back. I experienced it yesterday. This feeling frequently happens after I have done some tiring physical activities or when I am stressed. My left arm is hurting as well, and my neck also feels uncomfortable. I am squishing my arm and pushing my chest to try and somehow relieve the pain. I also have trouble breathing after a couple of minutes since the pain started. I cannot breathe properly, and I feel weak and dizzy. I feel like I am going to faint. The pain lasted for almost half an hour. After resting and trying to keep calm and relaxed, my breathing slowly returned to normal. Chest pain gradually decreased, but I still feel weak. I also have a history of a panic attack, but I can tell that it was a different feeling. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thanks for the query. These symptoms are probably due to anxiety, but another cause is subclavian steal syndrome (SSS). In SSS, blood is diverted from brain to arm during exertion leading to arm pain, dizziness, vertigo, visual impairment, etc. SSS occurs due to blockage of an artery supplying the arm called the subclavian artery. Ask someone to check pulses in both arms and compare both. The SSS affected arm has a low volume pulse. Check BP (blood pressure) in both arms. The affected arm has lower BP. If SSS is suspected on these findings, then a duplex ultrasound and CT (Computed tomography) scan or MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) are done to diagnose.