Heart pain

jmayk8 · Post by **jmayk8** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:06 am

I know I have mentioned this before but, I wanted to bring it up again.
When I was taking Vit D a while back, I would get these shooting pains in my heart. I know what heartburn is and it's not it. I have started taking a multivitamin a few days ago and last night I rolled over in bed and the stabbing heart pain made me freeze up bc it hurt so bad. I literally make myself stop breathing bc when I breathe or take a deep breath it makes the pain worse. It only lasts a few seconds...
What could this be??
Jenny

mzh · Post by **mzh** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:28 am

Have you had a cardiologist check you out? It may have been co-incidental that it happened when you took the vitamins. How scary....

ladyathome · Post by **ladyathome** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:43 am

I don't have an answer for you, but I have the same thing...
It worried me so much that I had an Echo-cardiogram - my heart is fine.
For me, it completely went away when I removed dairy, beef, gluten, soy, sugar, and all grains (rice, grits, quinoa etc..). I have no idea why or which of these cause the problem. I had a bad weekend of eating (incorporated some of the above) and was awakened early Monday morning with that pain again.
Sometimes I do think it's gas that settles around the heart...other times I'm not sure. The pain can be really intense, not the same as you would hear someone describe "heartburn"; It's a stabbing feeling.
What leads me to believe it's gas settling around the heart is, every once in a while when I have that pain, I will belch several times, and it seems to ease the pain, but not often enough. I have also felt it on the opposite side, but certainly not as often or as intense.

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 9:16 am

I know several women suffering with what was ultimately diagnosed as chostochondritis. It's basically inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs near the heart, and it can have an autoimmune origin.
I had a friend go to the hospital many times fearing she was having a heart attack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costochondritis

KD · Post by KD » Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:48 am

Since it happened with movement the cause can be structural like having a rib out of place or as mentioned above costochondritis. Both can be addressed by a good Chiropractor. I have lots of rib pain off and on and my DH the chiropractor fixes it!! Sometimes it wakes me up in the middle of the night and can be excrutiating. If it lasts only seconds and does not persist it may not be serious enough for treatment. I must also mention chest pain that occurs regularly should rule out any cardiac involvement by your GP or a cardiologist. The other comment I have since you are bringing up vitamin supplements make sure you are not taking them just before you go to bed and you are taking them with food. Vitamins need cofactors from food to work properly.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 9:50 pm

I used to have pain in the chest and went to the ER a couple of times for it. They couldn't find anything wrong. Once I began eating a low-histamine diet, the pain didn't return. I seem to recall that you're taking an antihistamine, which should help if the pain is histamine-related. Are you eating high-histamine foods before the pain occurs?

Hopefully one of the possibilities we've listed will ring true. Heart pain can be scary because it could be serious - but it also could be something minor.

Gloria

jmayk8 · Post by **jmayk8** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:28 am

Thanks for all of your replies.
I have a GI appt coming up so I guess I will bring it up to my Doctor. I will always remember to take my vitamin with food (i'm pretty sure I always do) and yes Gloria, I am still taking benedryl at night time.
Thanks,
Jenny :)

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:53 am

Hi Jenny,

I can't remember if you had your heart checked out. For peace of mind, it's a good idea. But usually significant heart pain occurs with activity, not at rest.

Heartburn is acid reflux, and you say you know it's not that. I think ladyathome has a good idea. Maybe you just have a gas bubble in your stomach and need to burp - which is harder to do in bed when lying down. This happens to me occasionally, and it is a most uncomfortable feeling. You know, my mom always said that when I was a baby, it was hard to get me to burp. So maybe some things never change. I find that if I sit up and rotate my torso around in different positions, I will find a position that helps me burp. Also, I imagine you know that it's best to sleep on the left side.

I also agree with Zizzle and KD that it could be costochondritis.

Love,

Polly

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:58 am

Hi Jenny I can only imagine how unsettling that must be. First I would in cases like this always consult with your primary care doctor as this not something to second guess your way through.

With that said as Zizzle points out costochondritis is a real possibility. Have you had your vitamin D level tested recently? The reason I ask and in this case is a bit counterintuitive, but LOW levels of vitamin D does often result in chest pain.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22761623

We describe 2 patients with chest pain that were initially worked up for cardiac etiologies but were eventually diagnosed with costochondritis and vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is known to cause hypertrophic costochondral junctions in children ("rachitic rosaries") and sternal pain with adults diagnosed with osteomalacia

Even though you are periodically taking a supplement does not necessarily mean you are absorbing it well.

Take care

jmayk8 · Post by **jmayk8** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:44 pm

Thanks Polly
Thanks Joe

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:05 pm

Check out the Celiac Diva's previous history of chest pain, diagnosed as chostochondritis, and ultimately caused by Celiac disease.

http://www.theceliacdiva.com/the-diva-i ... c-disease/

Noodler · Post by **Noodler** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 5:00 pm

I have had this pain and it does feel like it is cardiac in origin. The doctor's think it is PVCs but I did have a fairly normal echocardiogram. I have oesophageal dysmotility caused I think by eosinophilic oesophagitis but the docs never seem to relate this to my food allergies. The oesophagus could be causing the pain in chest. Good luck.

Al