Tietze’s Syndrome

Tietze’s syndrome refers to a benign swelling (or inflammation) of one or more costal cartilages, described by Alexander Tietze, a German surgeon in 1921. The syndrome is often misunderstood as costochondritis, but the former is characterized by inflammation of the costal cartilages, unlike in costochondritis. Symptoms of Tietze’s syndrome primarily include acute pain in the chest, tenderness and swelling of the affected cartilages, clearly visible on physical examination. The condition gets resolved within 12 weeks, though can become chronic over time such that it resembles a heart attack and also causes anxiety attacks, hyper ventilating, panic attacks, passing out and temporary paralysis.