My name is Melissa and I am 28 years old. I have 2 kids (3 and 1yrs old). I had rhuematic fever when i was young and had a mitral valve stenosis at 19years. My heart is constantly in pain but in a specific area. I feel a consistent pain under the rib cage and am not sure why. What could it be?
Hello Melissa! I would like to have some more information on your concern: - Is the pain triggered by deep breathing or body movements? This would indicate musculoskeletal pain. - Is the pain triggered by straining physical activity? This type of pain could be related to a cardiac disorder. Anyway, considering your past medical history, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests to investigate for the possible causes underlying your symptoms: - a cardiac ultrasound to evaluate the mitral valve opening size and other possible valvular problems. - an exercise cardiac stress test - a resting ECG- a chest X-ray study-complete blood count- PCR and ESR for possible inflammation. Meanwhile, I would recommend taking ibuprofen. If it helps relieve the pain, it would indicate a musculoskeletal pain. Hope to have been helpful! Wishing good health, 