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Right upper chest pain while breathing and shoulder pain into upper back
I have pain in my right shoulder and upper back like an aching feeling but have pain while breathing only on the right side... if I take a deep breath it hurts to the bottom of my rib cage. It is kind of hard for me to breath due to shortness of breath. I have asthma so I first thought it was due to that but my inhaler really hasn’t helped my breathing... I am also having headaches with this. Is this an emergency situation or should I call pulmonologist tomorrow for an appointment?
3 Answers
Dear pt, what u described is pleuritic chest pain, need to make sure there is no fluid in pleural cavity , nio blood clots.or pneumonia. simple test that can answer all 3 quiestions is cta chest. ALSO RT SHOULDER PAIN COULD ALSO BE FOUND IN LIVER , GALL BLADDER PATHOLOGY, THAT PAIN IS CALLED REFERED PAIN.. IF ABDOMINAL SYMPTOMS US OF ABDOMEN SHOULD BE OBTAINED. PL CONSULT U R PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN, THKS
This kind of chest pain can occur with asthma, and is most likely the cause. Other diseases like pulmonary embolism can cause shortness of breath and chest pain, too, and would require different treatment. If pain and shortness of breath persists, I advise a visit to ER where you can be assessed and get chest ray or other tests to ensure safety.
James L. Pearle, M.D.
Only you can tell if it is an emergency. Either way, you should make an appointment with the physician who put you on Dulera, since that is a pulmonary medication.
South Atlanta Pulmonary and Critical Care, Assoc, LLP