Chest pain toward left side while exercising and a few hours later pain more in the center of the chest?

chest pain toward left side while exercising and a few hours later pain more in the center of the chest. what can this be? It started yesterday while I was doing the elliptical machine and did not reoccur again yesterday. This morning I got the same pains after a few minutes on the elliptical and now a few hours latter it comes an goes and it seemed to have moved over toward the center but mainly in the middle of the chest.

The pain is like a sore muscle or a knot in a muscle. What can this be?

If its between your ribs its just a muslce spasm, but see a doctor just in case.

See a doctor.

There are many causes of chest pain. The one that doctors worry about the most is cardiac because it has the potential to be life-threatening. Once this is ruled out the work-up can proceed at a more leisurely pace. Congratulations on quitting smoking as this is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your health.

Amongst the cardiac causes of chest pain are:ischemia (due to blockages - including both stable and unstable angina and acute heart attack and coronary artery spasm), pericarditis (inflammation of the sack around the heart), myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), cardiomyopathy (heart failure) and rarer causes such as coronary artery dissection, acute rupture of the heart and valves and infections of the pericardium.

Gastrointestinal causes of chest pain include reflux (acid from the stomach washing back into the esophagus), gallstones, esophageal spasm, esophageal rupture, varicose veins of the esophagus, strictures of the esophagus, tumors of the esophagus and other less common GI problems.

Pulmonary (lung) causes include pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, pneumothorax, pleuritis and bleb rupture.

Other potential causes are aortic dissection, back and spine problems and musculoskeletal (muscle strain, rib fracture, etc.).

Psychological causes of chest pain are common and include panic attacks, anxiety, stress and mental duress.

As you can see the list of potential causes in long and may take a little bit of time to determine the precise cause. A good Internal Medicine doctor should be able to work through the potential causes of your symptoms. If necessary he/she can refer you to a cardiologist.

That is your heart, you are at risk for a heart attack, go to see a doctor, NOW!

Now damn it! Emergency Room Time!

Could be heart-related. I would go see a Dr. before exercising again.

it could be many many things. it could relate to your heart, lungs, or the muscles of the chest (like those between the ribs). depending on how old you are and what your risk factors are (smoking, poor diet, new exercise regime-- too hard too soon, etc) you may want to go see your doc.