Hello Dr. Grief. I am having very severe chest pains while breathing and I have been belching for over an hour now. I have taken tea and hot water and have gotten some nice belches, but I can barely breathe because my chest hurts so badly. Should I rush to the hospital?
Hi, Sir/Madam. Welcome to Chat Doctor. I understand your concern. Many of your symptoms could possibly relate to an underlying acid reflux disease. Acid reflux disease is occasionally known to cause difficulty in breathing, chest tightening and belching. At this moment, I advise you to get an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to detect the presence of any mucosal ulceration or erosion in the upper stomach which is causing you the symptoms. Simultaneously It's important to rule out other serious cardiac ailments which can present similarly. For this I recommend that have a 2 D echo and ECG. Once these cardiac issues are ruled out, the focus can be shifted on Gastric issues. For the endoscopy, I advise you to see an expert, Gastroenterologist.Meanwhile, for symptomatic relief I generally treat my patients with oral tablets of Pantoprazole and Risperidone. I suggest you to please see a doctor if his/she views are same and if he/she can prescribe these Chat Doctor. Further management is largely based on the results of the endoscopy. Post your further queries if any. Thank you.