What causes chest and shoulder pain with breathing difficulty?
Patient: I am 42, overweight, smoker. I 'held in' a hiccup because they were painful- just as you would a sneeze you didn't want to occur. Then last night I had stabbing pain in my left shoulder blade.  This morning I awoke with pain radiating to my left shoulder and to my left chest (parallel to my armpit). It hurts to breathe, pain is sharp and I can locate it. Went to dr, but dr said it is a muscle strain or a pinched nerve. She gave me 10 mg Flexeril. I still have severe sharp pain (8 on scale 1-10) in all 3 places and hurts to lift my arm. BP steady at 135/80. She said not heart issue. I am in house with my 7 year old and afraid to go to sleep fearing it could really be a heart attack. What could this be?? Doctor: Hi, The symptom along with shoulder pain and sharp pain when you breathe could be due to a lund or pleural problem . It can cause hiccups if the problem is lower down in the lung . I would suggest a chest x ray and blood counts.Can you tell me if you also have cough with sputum ? Will be happy to review ..