POSSIBLE HEART ATTACK

Question:

Dear Dr. Veliz:

Every once in a while, I have pain in my left shoulder that travels to my left hand. When this happens, I commonly feel short of breath and nauseated. Is it possible that the pain can be stressing me out and that stress can be causing me to be nauseated and short of breath?

Answer:

Even though you are not experiencing chest pain, shoulder pain traveling to your left hand, especially when associated with nausea and shortness of breath, can be originating from your heart. If you are currently experiencing those symptoms, I strongly suggest that you dial 911 immediately. If they are occurring sporadically, then you should quickly contact your primary care physician or cardiologist for further work up. It is very common for someone to be experiencing a heart attack without chest pain. This is even more common in persons with diabetes who have disorders of their autonomic nervous system.

Making sure that the pain is not originating from your heart takes precedence over determining whether or not the pain is originating from your shoulder or your neck. It is possible for a pinched nerve in one’s neck to result in shoulder pain and arm pain without any neck pain.

I wish you luck.