Cardiologist Questions Cardiologist

“Stabbing chest pain?”

I was diagnosed recently with intercostal neuralgia. I have stabbing chest pain, numbness/weakness of my left arm and shoulder. The pain is constant and got worse today. Should I be worried?

Female | 21 years old
Complaint duration: Almost 3 weeks of intercostal neuralgia and the chest pain came one week ago, became worse today.
Medications: Ibuprofen
Conditions: Intercostal neuralgia

2 Answers

If ECG and Echo look fine then nothing to worry about from a cardiac standpoint
I don't know how you were diagnosed, but the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen should have helped. You don't say whether the pain changes with changes in position, or with deep breathing. You could have pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the pericardium, the outer layer of the heart. The most common cause is a virus. However, colchicine, a drug used for gout, is also used to treat pericarditis. You will need a prescription for the drug, so seeing a physician is absolutely necessary. An EKG can also be done, which may show pericarditis. Even if there are no EKG changes, colchicine may be more helpful than ibuprofen.
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