I assumed I used to be having coronary heart assaults: Here’s what was actually occurring

In the house of about six months, my chest ache went from being an occasional pang to being fairly fixed. It would strike within the centre of my chest most days – a pointy, stabbing sensation that took my breath away.

Episodes would final 40 minutes at a time, till the paracetamol kicked in.

I began experiencing palpitations so unhealthy that I might see my coronary heart beating via my garments. I used to be taking six painkillers a day and had satisfied myself a coronary heart assault was imminent, ending up in A&E thrice.

Each time I had an ECG – an electrocardiogram to verify {the electrical} exercise of my coronary heart – however these confirmed nothing untoward.

Over the following 18 months I underwent a number of extra ECG exams and even an angiogram, the place medical doctors pump dye into your coronary heart by way of a catheter (a skinny tube) fed into an arm or leg. The angiogram confirmed that each artery into my coronary heart was clear, which was an enormous aid.

But I used to be discovered to have hypertension and excessive ldl cholesterol and was placed on beta blockers for the previous and statins for the latter.

 Yet whereas the palpitations eased, the chest ache remained. Then someday, sick with fear, I noticed a locum GP. She reached over, pressed my fourth rib down and I nearly shot out of my chair like a champagne cork from the ache.

‘You have costochondritis,’ she mentioned.

I had by no means heard of this situation – primarily irritation of the cartilage that attaches the ribs to the ribcage – however it’s surprisingly widespread amongst folks of all ages.

Research means that as many as one in 5 sufferers who seek the advice of their GP about chest ache have an issue referring to the muscle tissue, ribs and joints within the chest wall. While it will probably have an effect on any age group, some research present costochondritis is extra widespread amongst ladies and in individuals who overdo it on the fitness center.

As many as one in 5 sufferers who seek the advice of their GP about chest ache are discovered to have an issue referring to the muscle tissue, ribs and joints within the chest wall. While it will probably have an effect on any age group, some research present it is extra widespread amongst ladies and individuals who overdo it on the fitness center.

The ache itself is a pointy, stabbing sensation on the entrance of the chest. It may be so extreme that folks panic into considering it is one thing a lot worse, comparable to a coronary heart or lung drawback.

My mom had her first coronary heart assault at 45, one other solely weeks later (she survived each). But my father went to mattress early with what he thought was indigestion on the age of 75 and died within the evening. No surprise I fretted a lot.

In reality, the ache from costochondritis comes from damage to the ribcage — not from the center, lungs or blood vessels it protects. Specifically, it comes from a number of of the joints between your ribs and the breastbone, which have turn out to be infected.

The most typical websites of the ache are near the breastbone, on the stage of the fourth, fifth and sixth ribs. Without tenderness in that space, the reason for chest ache is unlikely to be costochondritis.

Diagnosing costochondritis is actually a matter of ‘prognosis by exclusion’, in keeping with Dr Tom Walton, a advisor rheumatologist and costochondritis specialist at Colchester General Hospital.

‘There are numerous causes of chest wall ache and in drugs we’re taught to rule out the worst factor it could possibly be first, earlier than transferring to extra benign diagnoses,’ he says.

This means checking first for situations comparable to coronary coronary heart illness and blood clots, which may set off comparable signs.

But as chest ache is a symptom of quite a few situations, sufferers with costochondritis might finally be recognized following examination by completely different specialists, comparable to a heart specialist; or a chest specialist for underlying lung issues, or a rheumatologist, following referral to a ache clinic. ‘Costochondritis is a kind of humorous situations that does not match neatly into one speciality,’ provides Dr Walton. ‘Sometimes the signs can mimic these of fibromyalgia [a chronic pain condition] or ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory spinal situation that causes ache within the ribcage.’

The most typical trigger is a viral chest an infection, the place the issue, brought on by extreme coughing, sometimes lasts 4 to 6 weeks ‘then goes away by itself,’ says Dr Walton. Injury, from heavy lifting or a automotive accident, as an example, may set off it, as can repetitive actions that pressure the chest wall, comparable to overdoing it on the fitness center. In different instances, Dr Walton provides, there may be ‘no discernible trigger’. While it often clears up, some sufferers have persistent signs, as I did, which they discover debilitating. And nervousness could make it worse.

‘Like any continual ache, you assume, ‘Is this most cancers, my coronary heart, my lungs?’ and other people get very nervous about it,’ says Dr Walton. He stresses that it is essential to get any chest ache investigated to rule out probably severe causes. Standard therapy entails avoiding sport, leisure methods, painkillers and mild stretching or physiotherapy.

Dr Walton recommends anti-inflammatories, comparable to ibuprofen. As for the trigger in my case, he urged the statins I’ve been taking could possibly be contributing to my chest pains, as muscle and joint pains may be widespread side-effects of the medicine.

‘Consult your GP to see if they might suggest a break or a special statin or a decrease dose: chances are you’ll discover it makes no distinction, however it’s price a strive,’ he says.

But the GP who recognized my costochondritis had one other – much less apparent – suggestion. As I left her consulting room she added: ‘You would possibly wish to verify that you simply’re carrying the suitable measurement bra, as a result of a poor-fitting one could make the ache worse.’

Through many months of ache this was one thing that had by no means occurred to me. So off I trotted for a bra becoming.

The lingerie specialist took one have a look at the 38B bra I had worn for many years and shook her head. It turned out that the underwiring was urgent on the breast itself (quite than sitting beneath, on the ribcage) whereas the strap on the again was additionally being pulled too excessive. It was a catastrophe of a bra.

An different full-cup 40D was urged; I attempted it on and the distinction was extraordinary.

It was snug, I might breathe simply and the chest ache was a lot much less – and all for £18. What a revelation. I felt quite silly however some 80 per cent of British ladies put on the incorrect measurement bra, in keeping with Soozie Jenkinson, head of lingerie design at M&S, who recommends common bra fittings to verify you’re carrying the proper measurement. A well-fitting bra mustn’t dig into your cup, your shoulders or wherever in your physique, with help coming from the band underneath the breasts and never the shoulder straps, as this may trigger the again strap to stand up.

‘Our physique form modifications consistently due to vital life occasions, comparable to having a child, shedding or gaining weight or taking on rigorous train – carrying the suitable measurement may be life-changing,’ says Soozie Jenkinson.

Breasts aren’t like toes, which often keep the identical measurement,’ agrees Professor Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, head of analysis in breast well being on the University of Portsmouth. ‘A number of ladies who put on a 34B of their twenties stick with it shopping for that measurement even after they’ve had youngsters. Even throughout the menstrual cycle the breast can acquire as much as 44 per cent in quantity.

‘There may be large modifications in only one month and that is earlier than you take into consideration any surgical procedure, improve in train ranges, weight acquire and weight reduction.

‘There is proof to indicate {that a} poor-fitting bra impacts your again, neck and shoulders and might trigger extreme ache and complications.

‘I’ve seen divots in ladies’s shoulders brought on by the bra straps being too small and too tight. This can create neurological signs down the arm, pins and needles and numbness within the palms. There are appreciable well being implications from carrying a foul bra.’

She provides: ‘A poorly-fitting bra may cause asymmetry within the gait and muscle exercise. Muscles are actually tight within the incorrect bra however they then chill out in the event you put on the suitable one. You must really feel relaxed in your bra as a result of the incorrect one can change your anatomy.’

Indeed a examine led by Professor Wakefield-Scurr, revealed within the journal Gait & Posture in 2021, discovered {that a} supportive ‘posture’ bra ‘considerably improved’ the posture of girls with bigger breasts by decreasing the drag on their shoulder blades, correcting hunched postures and bettering shoulder motion within the group of girls carrying them, in contrast with those that wore an ordinary bra or no bra in any respect.

Proper lingerie apart, the outlook for anybody with costochondritis is reassuring: most instances are gentle and settle inside just a few months with or with out easy treatment. Nine out of ten persons are pain-free inside a 12 months.

In my expertise, a brisk arm-swinging stroll outdoors for an hour additionally makes a distinction, as does avoiding heavy lifting. So, with a brand new bra that is snug and a assessment of my statins within the diary, it is fingers crossed.