Strange clicking/popping under left rib.

[Jericho99]

About a week ago I noticed that when I lay on my left side in my bed I can feel a clicking that seems to maintain the rhythm of my heart beat and I will have a dull pain for a few seconds after I let this happen, I do not feel this clicking when doing anything else other than laying on my left side. I have a mild pectus excavatum which my doctor assured me was not causing any issues a little over 6 months ago, which makes me extremely anxious about this clicking/popping feeling. Any clue what this might be?

[RLR]

This is absolutely nothing to be worried about and it is not directly associated with your heart. When you lie on your left side versus the right, it's important to realize that gravity imparts a specific impact on the organs within the thoracic cavity because of how the architecture situates the heart left of midline. In other words, lying on your left side means that the heart is functioning beneath a greater portion of weight by the organ structures above it but when lying on the right side, this weight and pressure is far less contributory.

The popping sound is merely being produced by a specific point where cartilage structures are impinged by lying on the side and the strong impact of your heartbeat is causing the motion which produces the popping sound. Realize that the friction and popping sensation is producing inflammation that results in temporary pain or discomfort. Costochondritis is an inflammation of the cartilage associated with the sternum and rib structure and it very often doesn't take much to cause the condition to arise.

While the pectic excavatum may not be presenting you with the characteristic complications, it could be somewhat responsible for the phenomenon being described to be more likely in your case than persons without the malformation. Regardless, there is nothing of your description that would suggest any type of serious problem to be present and you are at no risk.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[ProjectRay12]

I had this same problem almost exactly and had ben trying to find of it was serious or not, so this sets met at ease immensely, thank you.