heart muscles?

Question

three days ago, i was opening a large jar of pickles for my 16 year old...i tried several times by holding in the crook of my arm on the left side, pressing it between my body and arm.
a little later, i thought i was having a heart attack. the pain is still there. it feels heavy or pressure-like ive pulled something.
is it possible i've pulled something?
I just turned 40.

re: ribs....if i hurt my ribs, wouldnt it feel sore to the touch? this is kinda freaking me out lol

Answer 1

Question...any other symptoms?,,,,

Heartburn-like symptoms?
Back pain?
Electrical tingling in jaw?
Changes to rib pain if you lie down verses sitting/standing upright?
Increase/decrease if you rotate?

If you answer yes to the first three, go see a Dr., soon!
If yes to the last two, don't worry about it...lol...

Either way, and I say this quite seriously, TAKE AN ASPIRIN!!!!!!

All the best!

Answer 2

Actually you can't pull your heart muscles. They are involuntary muscles that work without your control. What can happen is that when the body works hard, heart has to pump more for the extra demand of blood & oxygen to the body. So there is more work load on heart muscles. Now if any part of the heart muscles has a compromised blood supply ( which occurs if any of the arteries supplying heart muscles is blocked), it can't cope up with the increased load, there is more oxygen & nutrition deficiency & the pain starts.

Heart pain usually occurs in the middle or left side of the chest. It's like heaviness, pressure like or tightness over the chest. It may rediate to the left arm or lower jaw. It usually starts during a work like exercise, climbing stairs, after a heavy meal & relives on rest or after taking Glyceryl Trinitrate under tongue. Your pain's character looks like heart pain though it may not be. If it persists for 3 days I think you better do an ECG immediately just for precaution. As you are 40 I think you should also check your lipid profile, blood sugar, serum electrolytes & do an ETT to find out if you have any risk factors for ischemic heart disease.

Answer 3

If you can do anything to make the pain better or worse, like stretching, pressing, rubbing, etc., then it's *not* cardiac in origin.

If you look at anatomical drawings of the musculature of the chest and arms, then you'll see that they're all rather intimately connected. There are large muscles for the heavy jobs, and you'll see smaller ones for making the various parts rotate and angulate.

It sounds as though the bizarre and rare motions and efforts that you made to open the jar overtaxed and strained one or more of the muscles that is meant for fine tuning instead of heavy effort. In your chest (and even worse if it's in your back muscle set) those muscles complain mightily when you've pissed them off like it sounds you have. And, because you use those muscle groups so much, it's really hard to lay off them and give them the full rest they need to recover.

Answer 4

You simply hurt a rib or muscle when you tried this method of opening a jar. Maybe you would want to invest in one of those rubber grippers to help you in the future. How do you open pop bottles with your teeth?

Answer 5

It sounds to me like you hurt your chest muscles. Is the discomfort constant? If so, it is unlikely to be your heart. Is it worse when you breathe? If so, it is unlikely to be your heart. Have your tried some over the counter pain meds? Ibuprofen, motrin, alleve? If the pain responded, it is unlikely to be your heart. These are just general guidelines, and if you are concerned, you are best off getting checked out by a doctor.

Answer 6

you have probably hurt your ribs