I am a 39 year old male. I am a smoker (trying to quit) and are a little overweight. Recently I have had sharp pains in my chest and between my shoulder blades in my back. The pain is worse in my back and when it happens I get short of breath. It doesn’t matter what I am doing. Any idea on what this may be?

Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

You need to see the doctor to exclude (especially) heart and lung related causes.

Typically, sharp pains are muscle and bone related, but sometimes a heart problem such as pericarditis may cause sharp type pains, and shortness of breath is always a significant symptom.

The list of possible causes is too long for this page. Some possibilities include muscle tension/cramp in the back and chest (very common), Tietze’s syndrome which is an inflammation of the rib cartilage where it meets the breastbone, sometimes a cervical or thoracic spine problem, pneumonia, other infection, diseases of the lung, also in rare cases, a tumor such as a neurinoma or sarcoma could cause such pains.

It’s not possible to attempt a diagnosis over the Internet, and suffice it to say that most often, the cause for such pains in a 39-year old is something that is not too serious, but of course there are any number of very serious illnesses that may in some cases cause these symptoms, too.

Summa summarum: Visit the doc.

Keep us posted on how this turns out.