chest burning/pressure

You're young so I wouldn't think heart problems would be a concern, but you didn't mention whether you have allergies or respiratory problems.  From my own experience (and I'm twice your age) I can tell you that even though I've never been diagnosed with asthma there are many, many irritant that trigger a response as far as breathing and chest pain in me.  I started to notice that every time I would go into an IKEA store I would start to get really bad headaches and nasal congestion and had to leave the store.  As far as painting goes, I have to leave the house if my husband is painting and when we need to buy pool chemicals I cannot go into the pool store without feeling faint and on the verge of a breathing attack.  So with me there are many triggers (even being around someone wearing perfume or strong deodorant) that cause me to have chest pain, congestion and difficulty breathing.  I'm just saying, make sure your job (the paint, the formaldehyde in compressed wood furniture and other chemicals in the furniture) is not a trigger for what you're experiencing.  You are very young and if I were you I'd definitely see a specialist for allergy testing before considering it may be something more serious.Any problems with anxiety or stress?  Make sure and eat healthy and hydrate properly also.Hope I could help, my best to you.

Make sure you have not been exposed to paint or solvent fumes/vapors.  It sounds like you may have had a resperatory reaction.

thanks so much for both the replies. i do agree about the fumes, the majority of paint I deal with is water based and voc free but yes there are others that are extremely toxic. returned to a different docter today who did a much thorough examination and said that I've torn cartilage in my ribcage due to heavy lifting...unfortunately there's no instant fix only rest and stronger pain relief. lesson learned and that's my first time ever going for a second opinion. glad I done so. thanks so much for the replying too guys.