Stabbing Chest Pain when Lying on Left Side: Heart or Muscle?
Though a stabbing pain in the chest when lying on the left side can be caused by muscle, it can also be caused by a heart problem.
“Stabbing chest pains can arise from the heart, the lungs, the GI system or the musculoskeletal system,” says Nichole M. Polin, MD, FACC, Director, Cardio-Oncology Clinic, Ochsner Health System.
“Positional discomfort such as when a person lies on their left side typically occurs from musculoskeletal pain or from indigestion,” continues Dr. Polin.
The key variable here is change in body position. If there’s something wrong with a pectoralis muscle (e.g., strain from working out earlier in the day), doesn’t it stand to reason that this would be the cause of stabbing pain in the chest that occurs only when you lie on or turn towards your left side?
This could be triggering a spasm or a pulling of an injured muscle. Spasms can hurt quite a bit but typically do not last long.
Dr. Polin continues, “It can also occur when inflammation is present around the heart [pericarditis] or the lungs.
“If the pain worsens with inspiration [breathing in] or movement, it is unlikely to be caused by a serious blockage in the coronary arteries.”
If your coronary arteries are clogged, ask yourself why this would cause pain upon movement.
The coronary arteries have no idea when the body is moving.
Pain from coronary artery blockages is not caused by turning over on one’s side.
The pain is caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart, thanks to the plaque buildup in the arteries causing a reduced diameter through which the blood flows.
Shutterstock/Explode
This has nothing to do with turning over on one’s side, though the cardiac ischemia from blocked coronary arteries can definitely occur on the left side. It’s just that movement does NOT trigger it.
“If other symptoms are present such as fever, excessive sweating or shortness of breath, medical attention should be sought,” says Dr. Polin.
“Otherwise, one can try an antacid or an over the counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen.”
Next time you experience bad chest pain upon turning over onto your left side, take inventory of any other nearby area where there is discomfort – even if it’s only mild discomfort.
The anxiety over the chest pain may be masking your perception of something hurting elsewhere at the same time.
For instance, perhaps there’s a little twinge in your back every time you also feel the chest pain upon lying on your left side.
Dr. Polin is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, ABIM – cardiovascular disease, ABIM – interventional cardiology and certification board of nuclear cardiology. ochsner.org/services/heart-vascular-services
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
Pain in the Left Arm from Heart Attack vs. Muscle Problem
Comparison of how left arm pain from a heart attack feels vs. from a muscle problem…
“When people feel pain in their left arm, they are often worried that it could be a sign of a heart attack,” says Nichole M. Polin, MD, FACC, Director, Cardio-Oncology Clinic, Ochsner Health System.
“The pain can be more confusing if orthopedic issues are also present such as arthritis of the shoulder or neck or a rotator cuff injury,” continues Dr. Polin.
“Typically, if a person is having a heart attack, pain in the left arm would not be the only symptom.
“More often, this pain would also be associated with a pain or discomfort in the chest, excessive sweating, nausea, weakness or shortness of breath.
“Musculoskeletal pain is usually reproducible with motion and palpation [pressing on the area with your fingers] and would not be associated with the above symptoms.”
The feeling in the left arm from a heart attack is often described by patients as a “shooting pain.”
It’s sudden and intense, and may have a burning quality to it.
However, pain of a muscular origin would not be shooting or burning, nor would it suddenly streak down the arm while you’re at rest and not even using the arm – unless it is a muscle spasm.
And in that case, the spasm likely would be more focal rather than involving the entire arm.
A muscle spasm can be sudden and attention-getting, but it often lasts just seconds or less.
A spasm may recur every few minutes and go on like this for a while.
Left arm pain from a heart attack would not behave this way.
A pinched nerve in the neck, too, can cause a sudden sharp pain in the arm, but there would also likely be tingling or numbness with it.
Dr. Polin is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, ABIM – cardiovascular disease, ABIM – interventional cardiology and certification board of nuclear cardiology. ochsner.org/services/heart-vascular-services
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/OSTILL
Freezing Seborrheic Keratosis: How Long Before It Falls Off?
How long does it take for a seborrheic keratosis to fall off after getting sprayed with liquid nitrogen, also known as freezing or cryosurgery?
A seborrheic keratosis is a benign skin barnacle. They typically begin appearing after age 40 and can grow anywhere on the body.
They can scare people into thinking they’re melanoma, especially since they can be dark or with more than one color, uneven in border and suddenly begin changing in appearance.
From a medical standpoint, seborrheic keratoses are meaningless. However, cosmetically, they can be concerning to some people.
I had a seborrheic keratosis on my forehead sprayed with liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy).
My dermatologist already had the freezing-spray out for some actinic keratoses lesions (these should always be removed, as they consist of atypical cells caused by sun damage).
She offered to also spray the seborrheic keratosis (no extra charge), so I said okay.
Within hours, its caramel color turned dark (below). After a few weeks, it still looked the same as it had the evening it got sprayed.
After a few weeks, it still looked the same as it had the evening it got sprayed.
The seborrheic keratosis was just as much stuck to my skin as it was before the cryotherapy.
Finally I contacted the dermatologist’s office and asked how long it usually takes for the liquid nitrogen to make a seborrheic keratosis fall off.
I was told “up to four weeks.”
Twenty-six days later, the lesion was still seemingly very stuck to my skin. At no time did I try to pick it off.
However, under 20x magnification, one area of it seemed to be a little disengaged from the skin. Of course, I did not try to pull at it.
Everything else about it looked the same as it had the day of treatment.
Two days later – four weeks out from the cryosurgery – I noticed before washing my face that the thing was just hanging by a thread, sticking out sideways, ready to drop off.
With the aid of the 20x mirror, I gently disengaged it with my fingers.
I’d say that more than 90 percent of it was already completely detached from my skin, and just a tiny tiny portion of it was still connected.
Instead of pulling it in a linear fashion, I gently rotated it to loosen its grip, and it detached, completely intact (below) and still looking as it did hours after the liquid nitrogen spray.
My seborrheic keratosis lesion on a makeup pad
So in my case, it took four weeks on the dot.
The lesson learned here is just because a freezing chemical spray can cause a skin lesion to fall off, doesn’t mean that there should necessarily be any dramatic changes in appearance (as there often is with actinic keratoses).
The lesion seemly came off all at once, save for that teensy part of it.
The day prior the whole thing seemed to still be solidly attached, minus the one area where it had seemed to be slightly disengaged.
And ironically, that area was the very area where it was still holding on, on day 28.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Heart Hurt When You Cough? Or Is It a Chest Muscle?
Is it at all possible for the heart to literally “hurt,” especially from coughing?
Many people have experienced chest pain triggered by coughing but not at any other time.
“Chest pain with coughing is not uncommon, especially if a person is coughing a lot,” says Nichole M. Polin, MD, FACC, Director, Cardio-Oncology Clinic, Ochsner Health System.
“Pain can occur from overuse of the muscles in the chest and cause soreness,” explains Dr. Polin.
No amount of coughing, however, can cause pain to emanate from the heart itself.
But don’t forget that the skeletal muscles that are sore from a lot of forceful coughing are located in the chest, in front of (anterior to) the heart. In fact, the sternum bone, which protects the heart, is between the muscles and the heart.
True “heart pain” is when something is wrong with the heart itself, such as inadequate blood flow through its coronary arteries due to plaque buildup, or, another problem could be related to a valve in the heart that doesn’t open and close properly.
Another heart condition could involve arterial spasms.
If one of these coronary arteries just happens to go into a spontaneous spasm (which can occur at rest), this too, can cause chest pain from a “hurting heart.”
But coughing forcefully will not damage the heart, though it will indeed give you a scratchy sore throat along with the sore chest muscles.
Think of it this way if you’re still worried: Coughing hard all day long from a bad cold stresses the entire body much less than does, for example, a challenging hike for several miles, a blitzing group fitness class, a hardcore strength training workout or laborious duties at the workplace all day long.
Coughing is the body’s protective reflex — nature’s response — for clearing mucus, irritants and pathogens from the airways during a common cold or COVID-19, helping to keep the lungs open and prevent deeper infection.
“Sharp chest pain which is worse with inspiration [inhaling] can also occur if there is inflammation of the lining of the lung or ‘pleurisy,’ associated with an upper respiratory infection,” adds Dr. Polin.
An upper respiratory tract infection can cause coughing.
Dr. Polin is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, ABIM – cardiovascular disease, ABIM – interventional cardiology and certification board of nuclear cardiology.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
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