Agonizing 'silent' condition suffered by millions of women that mimics a heart attack

It starts with a stabbing thorax symptom truthful terrible you deliberation you're having a bosom onslaught and unreserved to the hospital.

The crisp symptom could past minutes to hours aft a strenuous workout, a play of dense lifting oregon musculus straining. Sometimes it occurs with nary wide origin oregon injury.

But contempt its resemblance to a bosom attack, if you aren't experiencing different communal symptoms of the cardiovascular lawsuit - similar radiating symptom to the neck, jaw oregon arms - you whitethorn really person costochondritis.

This information occurs erstwhile the cartilage connecting the ribs to the sternum (breastbone) becomes inflamed, and portion it is benign, the symptom tin beryllium debilitating.

Erin from New York City told DailyMail.com she erstwhile experienced costochondritis with specified terrible symptom for 14 hours she wondered if she should spell to the infirmary to regularisation retired a bosom onslaught oregon humor clot.

She said: 'The symptom was truthful atrocious I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t bash anything. I had to crouch guardant conscionable to get air.'

There isn't a known definitive fig of radical who experience costochondritis due to the fact that it often goes unreported, misdiagnosed oregon undiagnosed altogether. 

However, successful his 2019 publication Costochondritis: A Forgotten Condition, Peter Askes, a carnal therapist and laminitis of the American Rib Pain Institute, wrote that 1million to 2million radical who sojourn the exigency country for thorax symptom each twelvemonth whitethorn person costochondritis. 

And of the 62million who sojourn their doc each twelvemonth with thorax pain, up to 18.5million whitethorn have costochondritis.

Additionally, astir 80 percent of these patients are pistillate and astir bash not person the due diagnosis oregon treatment.  

Costochondritis is caused by inflammation of the body's protective insubstantial called cartilage that connects the ribs to the bosom bone.

When that cartilage becomes inflamed owed to overly strenuous activity, the movements of the rib cage tin pb to unit and pain, which tin radiate to the spine.

It whitethorn summation erstwhile taking heavy breaths arsenic the thorax partition expands and contracts, and radical whitethorn besides acquisition symptom erstwhile pressing connected the country wherever the ribs conscionable the sternum.

Costochondritis tin beryllium hard to diagnose due to the fact that it is simply a diagnosis of exclusion. No labs oregon imaging tin observe inflamed cartilage.

When radical question aesculapian care, doctors archetypal effort to regularisation retired arsenic galore perchance terrible conditions arsenic possible, including bosom attack, humor clots, breached ribs, pneumonia, and a collapsed lung earlier landing connected costochondritis.

Some radical acquisition symptom for lone a abbreviated time, but others whitethorn acquisition it for months. The information mostly resolves connected its ain wrong 4 weeks, but tin reoccur.

A TikToker named Melissa described her costochondritis arsenic a radiating symptom and 'a horrible cycle.'

She said: 'So you person the thorax symptom and it's besides successful the backmost due to the fact that your rib is ever connected around.

Her video has been commented connected by dozens detailing their akin experience.

Kelsey Sullivan said she has the information and it feels similar 'I'm having a bosom attack.'

Another said she experienced costochondritis and 'thought it was a bosom attack.'

A idiosyncratic named Haley added: 'This conscionable made maine consciousness truthful validated!!! I person had each the aforesaid symptoms and yet went to the doc contiguous aft a agelong outcry [session] reasoning I was having a bosom onslaught astatine 27.'

There are galore reasons idiosyncratic whitethorn experience costochondritis, including excessive and almighty coughing, a viral infection, dense lifting and an wounded to the chest.

Sarah, besides from New York, experienced costochondritis aft lifting her 20-pound cat, Thurston. She wasn't anticipating the 14-year-old feline to beryllium that heavy, but erstwhile she began having thorax symptom soon after, she went to the doctor.

Concerned astir the severity of her symptoms, her doc told her to instantly spell to the hospital, she told DailyMail.com. 

Doctors past performed a artillery of tests connected her retired of interest she was experiencing a perchance deadly humor clot, including humor tests, a CT scan and an EKG. 

With nary concerning results from her tests, doctors said she had 'a ton of inflammation' successful her thorax that could person travel from strenuous carnal enactment - similar dense lifting. 

The lone happening strenuous she could deliberation of - carrying astir her 20-pound pet.  

Sarah was told to remainder for respective days and instrumentality precocious doses of over-the-counter symptom killers. 

Another communal origin of costochondritis is exercise, which is what Erin told DailyMail.com she believes her symptom stemmed from.  

Erin attributed her bout of costochondritis to her yoga signifier and the precocious poses she was doing, specifically the chaturanga dandasana pose.

This requires yogis to hover successful a debased plank, keeping their elbows astatine a 90-degree space alongside the body.

It is simply a much precocious airs that requires radical to support their assemblage parallel to the crushed portion they little down to their tummy and past propulsion their thorax up and forward.

When successful a debased plank, the value of the assemblage presses down done the chest, putting strain connected the ribcage and the costal cartilage - the insubstantial that connects the ribs to the sternum.

The lowering question tin besides exacerbate the information due to the fact that it compresses the ribcage, putting further unit connected inflamed areas.

New Jersey yoga teacher Cathy Narchese warned that portion yoga is bully for flexibility and strength, if you aren't flowing from 1 posture to the adjacent correctly oregon aren't engaging supportive muscles, you tin origin oregon inflame an injury, including costochondritis: 'It tin decidedly 100 percent' beryllium due to the fact that of that.

Ms Narchese, proprietor of Thrive Yoga, told DailyMail.com: 'What I spot a batch of the times is erstwhile radical little down, their elbows propulsion out, and that puts excessively overmuch unit into the shoulders, truthful each the attraction goes into stabilizing the shoulders and not the remainder of the body.'

She said often radical deliberation they request to conscionable spell done the motions oregon mimic their neighbors truthful they propulsion themselves done a posture they aren't acceptable for, and that is erstwhile injuries happen.

Treatment options for costochondritis are constricted and it is recommended radical instrumentality over-the-counter symptom medicine specified arsenic ibuprofen, oregon use a heating pad to the thorax and remainder for respective days.

Physical therapy oregon chiropractics are besides sometimes prescribed.