Medical Questions » Heart Questions » Question No. 501
| Question: | Despite having a coronary artery bypass graft after a heart attack, I continue to get pain in my left arm and chest wall. Why is this so? I have arthritis in my neck. Could this be responsible? |
| Answer: | Arthritis in the neck may cause narrowing of the small gaps between the vertebrae through which the nerves that supply the arm and upper chest escape from the spinal cord. If a nerve is pinched in the neck, pain will be felt in the area that is supplied by that nerve, and possibly also in the neck. It may well be the cause of your arm and chest pain, but it is also possible that you are still getting angina from an inadequate blood supply to the heart (angina) or damage to the heart from the heart attack, despite the surgery you have had to bypass blocked arteries.
It is important that you have investigations to determine the cause of your pain so that it can be properly treated. A stress test, during which you walk on a treadmill while attached to machines that measure your heart function, will be able to diagnose angina as the cause of your pain. A CT scan (special type of x-ray) may be able to detect a pinched nerve in the neck.
Once the cause is known, appropriate treatment can be given.
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