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01920.txt
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1994-01-17
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48 lines
$Unique_ID{BRK01920}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Chest Pain: Heart Attack or Something Else?}
$Subject{Chest Pain pains Heart Attack attacks sore muscle muscles myalgia
tender tenderness cartilage rib ribs bone bones sternum discomfort reproduce
reproduced reproducing}
$Volume{}
$Log{}
Copyright (c) 1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Chest Pain: Heart Attack or Something Else?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION: I have a curious story to tell you, and I think there is a medical
twist to it that I hope your intuition can help make clear. We were dining
with another couple, when our male friend began to experience some distress.
It must have been a pain in his chest, for he put his hand up to his left
side, seemed to push for a moment, and then smiled. "It's OK", he said. "No
problem". He seemed all right after that, and the dinner went on. He refused
to give us any explanation, but just continued to reassure us that it was
nothing. But what was it? Is this something his wife should know about? I
hope you can help us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWER: A tough call, but I would like to give it a try. Let us assume he
did have a chest pain as the source of his discomfort. When he put his hand
to his chest and pushed, it reproduced the pain he had just experienced. The
source of the pain might have been a sore muscle (myalgia), or a tender
swollen cartilage that connects the ribs to the middle chest bone (the
sternum). In either case, it wasn't the pain caused by a heart attack, for
that can't be reproduced by pushing on the chest wall. And that was the
reason he smiled. I can only guess that he learned the gesture from his
physician, but can't speculate as to why. Perhaps if you show him this, he
may be more willing to explain. I think his wife would know if there was
something of a more serious nature to discuss.
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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.