My husband is complaining that for the last few weeks his left arm has been aching. now he said it has been getting worse... he said it hurts and from the elbow down to hand is going numb.. like it is constantly asleep and waking but never stoping.. is that a sign of a heart attack?
Hello! Welcome and thank you for asking on Chat Doctor! I passed carefully through your question and would explain that his symptoms do not seem to be related to any cardiac disorder (including any heart attack). A pinched nerve could be the reason of the pain and numbness. A blood clot can not be excluded too. Can you feel the pulse in his hand? Is the hand warm and normal color? If there is pulse in the hand, and it is normal color and warm there is nothing to worry about, as we can exclude any possible blood clot. In such case, I would recommend consulting with his attending physician and performing a nerve conduction study to investigate for any pinched nerve. If the pulse is weak and his arm is cold, I would recommend going to the ER for a physical exam, a Doppler ultrasound of the arm vessels and some blood lab tests (complete blood count, D-Dimmer levels, PCR, ESR). Hope you will find this answer helpful! Kind regards,