Most severe symptoms It can be severe enough to keep you home from work and other activities. In a National Health Interview Survey, 87 percent of participants reported having pain on most days or every day of their lives. Fibromyalgia can also cause intense emotional symptoms.

There are periods of flare-ups followed by periods where symptoms are minimal. However, it is unlikely that they will ever permanently disappear altogether. However, fibromyalgia is not life-threatening and does not reduce life expectancy.

On its own, fibromyalgia is usually a nonfatal disease. It accounted for about 23 deaths a year between 1979 and 1998, according to the CDC. In fact, the CDC has found that the mortality rate of fibromyalgia patients is comparable to that of the general population.

Causes of Fibromyalgia Chest Pain Of course, people with fibromyalgia can and do have heart attacks, so when in doubt it’s best to seek prompt medical assistance. But there are several other reasons why fibromyalgia patients might experience chest pain.

Fibromyalgia itself may also impact negatively on cardiac outcomes in CCF patients, as pain stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and increases cardiac workload (43). In summary, FM is a common comorbidity in chronic disease patients, including those with CCF.

This restrictive sensation can affect the respiratory system, making it difficult to breathe and causing shortness of breath.

Fibromyalgia isn’t passed directly from parents to children, but the disorder does appear to cluster within families. The odds of developing fibromyalgia are several times higher in the immediate families of people with fibromyalgia than in families in which no one has fibromyalgia.

Chronic severe episodic dyspnea may result from fibromyalgia. In the two patients described in this report, chest wall discomfort appeared to be the etiologic factor causing dyspnea.

Fibromyalgia Pain Muscles may feel like they do after a heavy workout, or may feel pulled, even if the person has not exercised. Muscle twitching, along with burning, aching or stabbing muscle pain can also occur.

Signs that a person is experiencing dyspnea include:

• shortness of breath after exertion or due to a medical condition.
• feeling smothered or suffocated as a result of breathing difficulties.
• labored breathing.
• tightness in the chest.
• rapid, shallow breathing.
• heart palpitations.
• wheezing.
• coughing.