Chest Pains

Causes, Shortness of Breath, Direct and Indirect Implications

 "One of the worst aspects of chest pain misdiagnosis is that thousands of people believe they have heart problems and end up taking unnecessary medication and restricting their lifestyle." Dr. David G Williams, Alternatives for the Health Conscious Individual

"Aloha Mike! I am ordering your tapes because my Dad has had great improvement in his health with them. He was having chest pains (after two bypass surgeries) and high blood pressure, both of which subsided/went down, after working with the Optimal Breathing Kit. He is 73 yrs. and sounded very pleased and enthusiastic - the best I've heard him in years!  PB, Hawaii." 

From Mike: I've lost several friends to heart attacks. I could see that their breathing was bad. They did nothing about that and now they are gone. 

Breath is life. Because it influences every body function you can pretty well bet that poor breathing is contributing to or causing chest pain. If you are experiencing chest pains coupled with breathlessness call 911 or go to an emergency room immediately. First rule out an immediate life threatening danger. Then take a VERY close look at the way you breathe. 

WARNING
Doctors are finally discovering that shortness of  breath can be a sign of or cause or worsen a pending heart attack.  The sobering thought  is that  "A Third of Heart Attack Patients Do Not Experience Chest Pains."  A new study says heart attack patients who do not experience chest pains are more than twice as likely to die than those who experience chest pains. (FPG International)".  They call the shortness of breath aspect atypical,  I don't. All the people that under-breathe or over-breathe are making the heart work harder and setting up an environment that accelerates heart stress and damage. Balanced breathing is the key.

The big question is when will an attack occur or can it be forestalled by learning how to breathe better? A colleague shared with me that a recent study showed that when post heart attack victims do breathing exercises they do not get heart attacks. When they DO NOT do the breathing exercises they DO get heart attacks again. 

OXYGEN AND THE HEART 
You breathe 10-30 thousand times daily. Your heart requires oxygen and can spasm if there is too short a supply. Shallow respiration is a major cause of  heart conditions due to the heart's constant need for oxygen.

Germs, bacteria, viruses and cancer (other causes of heart challenges) are anaerobic and can't survive if there is a high concentration of oxygen.

If the breathing is out of balance it causes major stress, thickening and alkalizing the blood.  When the blood is too alkaline, every healthy biochemical reaction is compromised. Heart function may also be hindered by plaque causing the arteries to lose blood oxygen and nutrient carrying capabilities.

Chest breathing often causes or worsens chest pain.

Chest breathing can make you want to try things that are unrealistic to impossible.   To reduce or eliminate chest breathing.

WHICH BREATHING EXERCISE?
Choosing the wrong breathing exercise can actually increase the possibility of shortness of breath. Your blood oxygen may increase by doing aerobic or breathing exercises, but the blood oxygen can rapidly be lost when breathing ease, balance and volume are not maintained; during sleep for instance. Sleep is a leading time of death.

If the rib cage can not expand, it is like trying to blow up a 4-7 liter balloon inside of a 1 liter jug.

Because most people under or shallow breathe, I have found that opening the chest and retraining the mechanical breathing integration or coordination lessens or eliminates chest pain and makes a given breathing exercise more appropriate or effective. You can most often relieve considerable cause of this kind of chest pain in a few minutes a day with our video training program.

Breathing problems may well be a pending heart issue instead of an immanent one. If the breathing becomes restricted it makes the heart work harder to get the body it's needed oxygen supply.  This connects an interdependence of the heart to how well you breathe. No wonder medical science calls it the "heart lung system".

Other breathing oriented factors that may be an indicator, cause of or worsening of chest pains.

1.Physical - Posture. (Necessary for optimal breathing)
Do you slouch at all?  In other words would you consider your posture to be less than correct? Improve posture

2. Physical - Unbalanced breathing
Stand and look into a mirror or just close your eyes or ask someone to observe you. Take a very deep breath, as deep as you can. Do you raise your rib cage, shoulders or do your neck muscles bulge out when taking a deep or very deep breath? Rebalance breathing sequencing  

3. Physical indicators and sensations often related to restricted breathing
UDB or Unbalanced Deep Breathing is a major marker for what might be a precursor, sign of or cause of a health condition such as with the heart or any part of the body that needs oxygen or that stress can weaken. more about UDB

Hyperventilation is more a symptom than a cause. It is often caused  by UDB.  
How often is chest pain caused by what is commonly called hyperventilation? One study suggests that up to 90% of non-cardiac chest pain is thought to be induced by hyperventilation (De Guire et al 1992)   Develop Breathing to Naturally Reduce or Eliminate Hyperventilation.

Can hyperventilation cause a heart attack?
In very rare cases, people who hyperventilate can have lower carbon dioxide blood levels that can cause a spasm of the blood vessels that supply the heart. If you already have heart disease, this spasm may be enough to cause a heart attack.
In the majority of patients with hyperventilation, chest pain is due to over-breathing, and over-inflation of the lungs. Without thinking about it, you use your chest muscles to try to expand your rib cage. This extra muscle work will feel like shortness of breath, and you'll have difficulty in taking a deep breath. Your chest muscles will become tired, just like your legs tire after a long run. That is why so many get so much relief with our Fundamentals video 176.

How can hyperventilation be differentiated from a heart attack?
The diagnosis of causes of chest pain should ALWAYS be made by a doctor. But many doctors know little of hidden breathing pattern disorders.

Clues that will be helpful include:
• Hyperventilation symptoms usually last longer (hours as opposed to minutes)
• Hyperventilation symptoms usually happen in younger people or stressed out adults
• Hyperventilation symptoms can get better with exercise but often worsen such as in sports induced asthma
• Hyperventilation pain will not be improved by heart medication
Reduce or eliminate hyperventilation

How does hyperventilation affect the functioning of the brain?
Chemical changes happen in the blood due to over-breathing. Hyperventilation causes the carbon dioxide level in the blood to decrease. This lower level of carbon dioxide reduces blood flow to the brain, which may result in weakness, fainting, dizziness, and confusion. To protect the brain from damage one will faint and resume normal breathing to restore blood flow to the brain. Reduce or eliminate fainting due to poor breathing 

In the study, published in the journal Chest, researchers looked at data collected in 14 countries on 20,881 patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes. Of those, 1,763, or 8 percent, did not report chest pain. Older patients, women and diabetics were more likely to fall into this group.

People who have heart attacks or other heart conditions who do not experience chest pain are commonly overlooked and under-treated at the hospital, often resulting in greater fatality rates in this group of patients. "Heart attacks that are not accompanied by chest pain are more deadly, more apt to be missed and receive worse treatment even after they are recognized, according to a study released yesterday. If you feel particularly unwell, with shortness of breath, dizziness or faintness or persisting nausea or vomiting, seek medical attention," said the study's lead author, Dr. David Brieger of Concord Hospital in Sydney, Australia. "It is possible these symptoms may be related to your heart, even if they are not accompanied by chest pain."  This translates to me that if you go into a hospital with undetected dysfunctional breathing (UDB) you have a lessened chance of coming out of it alive. mw

NON-CARDIAC CHEST PAIN
A person may experience chest pain even if heart illnesses have been ruled out. Non-cardiac chest pain can be the result of muscle spasms, onset of shingles (painful condition of the sensory nerves), or different types of neuralgia or nerve irritation (causes a band of pain radiating from the spine to the front of the chest or other areas). Those with osteoporosis may develop compression fractures of the spine which can cause chest pain as well. Patients can develop prolonged chest pain after surgery on the lungs or having bronchitis or pneumonia accompanied by a temperature of one hundred degrees Fahrenheit or above.Chest pain and reflux are often related with poor digestion being the culprit.

Cold pressor test (immersing your hand in a bucket of ice water and then .......) Have your health professional administer this test as many experts feel that the cold pressor test evaluates the nervous and circulatory system.  Reduce or eliminate non-cardiac chest pain