My mother has left arm and shoulder pain where she could not even lift it. Please interpret her ECG.

Question

Hello doctor,

This is about my 69 years old mother, non-obese, nonhypertensive, nondrinker/smoker. She is not on any medication. She is unable to move her left arm for the past three days and also has shoulder pain, especially when not sitting. There was no injury to the arm. And the trouble moving her arms is such that she cannot even braid her hair. Does this indicate heart disease? Can a finger pulse oximeter reading of the affected arm be of any relevance in ruling out a cardiac issue? What about ECG reading? Please reply.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to ilciniq.com.

Please attach the ECG report, it is not attached. Please clarify, whether the pain is prominent feature or inability to move the arm, or is it like that she is not able to move arm because of pain or fear of pain. Now, this is not indicative of heart disease. Left arm pain without chest pain is unlikely to be related to the heart. Also, there would not be any difficulty in moving the arm with a heart attack. So it is unlikely to be related to the heart. The possibilities are, one is cervical and second is shoulder problems like frozen shoulder, or arm dislocation, even if there is no history of obvious trauma (frozen shoulder is more lifely). So she will need, ECG (electrocardiography) to be sure and X-ray of shoulder AP (anteroposterior) or lateral view and maybe cervical spine if having symptoms. Next, the pulse oximeter will not helpful in ruling out heart disease. However, if she has severe shortness of breath and low oxygen reading then this may indicate heart failure, so indirectly we may infer. However, if the pain is mild and weakness is prominent then it is probably either cervical issue or neurological issue. So get her examined by local doctor and x-ray done. You may use Volini spray or Diclofenac spray. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

It appears, she has severe symptoms so I do not think online would be enough as we can certainly miss things online. So she will need a doctor visit. She may need belt and support for the arm, which cannot be decided online. Initial is x-ray for even cervical spine. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may be considered later if necessary. So you will have to take her to nearby doctor.