I have just gotten off a flight and for the first time exper...

I have just gotten off a flight and for the first time experience really bad chest pain while taking off and rising in altitude. When the plane leveled it the pain and pressure went away. Can anyone tell me what this could be? Should I be worried?

If you're just off a flight, get to a hospital to be checked out ... do not drive yourself there. Have someone else drive you there. I wouldn't wait to see a doctor tomorrow.

There are several possibilities, some possibly serious.

It could be as simple as trapped gas in your stomach pushing up on your diaphragm as the cabin pressure changed, or something related to the stress of flying, or it could be as serious as an angina or heart attack.

As the plane rises, the cabin pressure changes and the oxygen level changes. Things may stabilize after a while as the cabin pressure and your body adapts.

There's only one way to know for sure.

I just keep being blown away that people come to the internet when they experience scenarios like this. When I had a heart attacks, advice from the internet was my last thought, since you never know when you'll get an answer or how accurate it might be.

So ... bottom line ... see a doctor ... preferably in an ER sooner rather than later!

Let us know how you make out!

Thanks for your answer Stuart. You are of course right that the internet is not a good place for advice like that, but I did feel perfectly fine after the plan leveled out, and have never had any heart problems before so I wasn't really worried, more curious.
I did visit an er on your advise, and after running a few tests, they found everything to be fine. Probably as you suggested, some trapped gas.

Sorry if I sounded a little harsh there, but it's really hard when people come here and say "I've had / got a pain in my chest, what should I do". For starter's we aren't doctors, so can't make a diagnosis, although we can make some educated guesses as to what it MIGHT be. The trouble is, if I'd told you that it's probably gas, and it really was a heart problem, I'd really feel bad to say the least. So, the right thing to do from our perspective is to get you to a place you can be accurately diagnosed ... and not the subject of "educated guesses!" If you hadn't described the intensity of the pain as severe, I might have suggested an urgent trip to your doctor rather than an ER. It's a tough call ... but it is people's lives we're looking at here.

Anyway ... glad to hear the good news that it's probably nothing to worry about. Be careful on what you eat before flying and keep your stress under control