As I work with patients, I explore the ever-widening disease application of the Gillespie Approach. This one took me a little by surprise.
A 31-year-old healthy man presented with a compressive pain in his upper chest and pain down his left arm. He felt like a weight was on his chest.
I had treated him when he was four years old, and his smart mother thought the root cause might be fascial strain. The backstory: He was under a lot of stress at his job and recently quit. When these symptoms flared up one day, he became scared and immediately went to an emergency room.
The medical team completely checked him out and said his heart was fine. He was dismissed, but there was no discussion on why he had the symptoms.
Let’s discuss the two major anatomical aspects at play.
The pericardium consists of fascial layers that surround the heart. Google says, “The pericardium acts as mechanical protection for the heart and big vessels, and its lubrication reduces friction between the heart and the surrounding structures.” If there is a fascial strain pattern traversing through the pericardium, that tightness may possibly cause pain and mimic a heart attack.
In the second aspect, the heart muscle consists of cardiac cells all encased in the fascial web. I have seen patients with heart murmurs and premature ventricular contractions respond well to therapy. Any strain running through the heart may possibly cause similar pain and mimic a heart attack.
I am strongly saying that, if you feel these symptoms, you must go to an ER immediately for evaluation. But if medical doctors cannot find a problem, think about past trauma creating tightness in the fascial web.
When I worked with him, he had a tremendous fascial release around his heart up into his neck. The stress at work may have triggered an old injury in his web, resulting in his “heart attack” symptoms.
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