See, I told you the ticker was good! Now lets get down to determining what is wrong. No, I'm not a doctor, but I slept at the Holiday Inn near Johns Hopkins Hospital Not a nice neighborhood. One of the possibilities is intercostal neuralgia, which in most instances, mimics a heart attack to the point where the pain can cause the patient to black out. It's not readily diagnosed by anyone other than a good nuerosurgeon who is up on nueromuscular diseases.

The treatment, fortunately is does not usually involve surgery, but it does require a significant commitment from the patient. More often than not, weight loss and upper body exercise eliminates the pain after just a few months. Essentually, the physical therapy involves stretching the intercostal muscles by repititious bench pressing relatively light weights, 25 to 50 pounds max. This is usually done 3 to 4 days a week, with an average of 20 to 30 reps. Other exercises such as weight bench rowing devices help too.

The only medications that seem to help relieve the symptons of intercostal neuralgia are anti-inflamitory drugs, but other than ordinary Aspirin, most have some nasty side effects.

Good Luck,

Gary