Chest pain and numbness/weakness in my right arm: what could it be?

Hey everyone. Not sure if there’s a specific place for this, so apologies if I’m barking up the wrong tree. It’s Saturday, and for a few days now, I’ve been dealing with some chest pain. I figured it was my lungs, but turns out it isn't. It’s mostly on the right side, with this sharp stinging sensation right at the bottom of my breastbone. I went to see my doctor, had bloodwork done, checked my oxygen levels, blood pressure—the whole nine yards. Everything came back fine. My BP was a little low, but she just told me to drink more fluids... and leave it at that. But today, things changed. My right arm is tingling, and now, as evening hits, my motor skills in that arm are getting noticeably worse. My fingers feel heavy and slow. On top of that, the pain is lingering from under my right shoulder down through my chest and back, basically wrapping around my right armpit
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I’m worried. I haven't dealt with anything like this before and I have no clue what to make of it. Has anyone here actually experienced something similar?

I'm 20. I smoke, yeah, but otherwise, I'm in pretty good shape.

(Please, skip the lectures about quitting smoking or whatever unsolicited advice you want to give. I need actual insight. Has anyone else gone through this?)

Get yourself to the ER right now!

Why? I don't get it. I was just at the doctor's a couple of days ago for a full checkup—bloodwork, the whole nine yards—and everything came back perfect. Now, suddenly, this is all unclear and confusing.

Look, plain and simple. Chest pain that lingers this long, especially when you start feeling numbness or weakness in your arm, isn't something you can just shrug off. You can't just ignore these kinds of red flags; you need to dig deeper with more testing. Since we have to rule out the heavy hitters first, my honest advice is to head straight to the ER.

briskhawk4 said:Why? I don't get it. I was just at my doctor's two days ago for a full checkup—bloodwork, everything—and all five markers were fine. Now, suddenly, this is happening and nothing makes sense.

If you’re dealing with painful episodes in your fingers along with blue discoloration and tingling, it could be Raynaud's. Basically, your blood vessels constrict in your extremities and near the heart, causing intense pain. It’s not something to mess around with either; it can lead to things like gangrene in your fingers or even a heart attack.

If you aren't experiencing those specific symptoms, it could easily be heart-related. Either way, you should definitely head back to the clinic. Make sure to tell them that this chest pain has been lingering for days and ask for a referral to a specialist.

I wouldn't say we're looking at Raynaud's here. The pain and that grating sensation stop the second the affected areas warm up and blood flow returns to normal. Besides, I don't think it hits the major arteries first without the small vessels—like in your hands, feet, nose, or ears—getting hit first. It’s usually triggered by cold or stress, not some constant state that drags on for days on end.
I've dealt with Raynaud's for years, so I know how the cycle works. For example, if I'm out in the cold for an hour, the pain gets so intense it's unbearable. That pain vanishes the moment I warm up and my circulation stabilizes, though that tingling sensation lingers for a bit, along with some numbness, until things finally settle back to normal.

As a layperson, my first thought would be a stroke given the numbness in the right arm, then maybe heart issues... some kind of failure...
Bottom line: if you haven't already, get to a doctor immediately.