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Sharp pains in my heart [SOLVED, OK TO LOCK]
joshofalltrades
Class TraitorSmoke-filled roomRegistered User regular
Class TraitorSmoke-filled roomRegistered User regular
So for about 7 or 8 years now I have had these really sharp pains in my heart, like somebody is reaching into my chest and squeezing it very tightly. Obviously this was really concerning to me at first, so I went to the doctor. He put a monitor on it for an hour and told me everything looked normal. I asked him if there was another test he could run and he said they could send me home with a monitor for a week, but since the pains aren't necessarily happening within a week of each other he said there was probably no point and I'd end up wasting money.
They are really painful. I'll typically drop to my knees clutching my chest and am unable to move or speak for what seems like forever but is probably less than 30 seconds. I've never had a heart attack but this is what I imagine one is like. I have low cholesterol, normal blood pressure and no history of heart disease. I've heard lots of diagnoses from average joes, the most common of which is angina but my doctor ruled that out. Another person said the problem is in my esophagus (???).
Stress seems to be a trigger. I haven't really noticed anything else setting it off. They're not as frequent now as they once were, but probably at least once a month or so I'll have an episode. It has gotten to the point where when they happen I don't bother to explain them to people I'm around; they can sometimes give the impression that they think it's attention-whoring or that they need to call an ambulance.
Oh, one other thing: breathing in while I'm having an episode makes the pain much worse, but also causes it to pass much sooner.
Opinions?
They are really painful. I'll typically drop to my knees clutching my chest and am unable to move or speak for what seems like forever but is probably less than 30 seconds. I've never had a heart attack but this is what I imagine one is like. I have low cholesterol, normal blood pressure and no history of heart disease. I've heard lots of diagnoses from average joes, the most common of which is angina but my doctor ruled that out. Another person said the problem is in my esophagus (???).
Stress seems to be a trigger. I haven't really noticed anything else setting it off. They're not as frequent now as they once were, but probably at least once a month or so I'll have an episode. It has gotten to the point where when they happen I don't bother to explain them to people I'm around; they can sometimes give the impression that they think it's attention-whoring or that they need to call an ambulance.
Oh, one other thing: breathing in while I'm having an episode makes the pain much worse, but also causes it to pass much sooner.
Opinions?
joshofalltrades on
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See a specialist.
That's a pretty good way of explaining these, I guess. If a heart attack is a quarter pounder with cheese, these are like White Castle burgers.
I'm not sure what a doctor could tell you without being able to replicate or trigger what happens.
That said I think you should at least see a GP about it if they are as debilitating as you say they are...
But you should see someone, being un-insured though is an issue. You may look into programs your state has, some states offer health insurance that is based on income, its not medicaid exactly, Washington has a program like that
Start a detailed logbook. Anytime you get one of these attacks write down everything you can think of, stress, food, water, temperature, what you were doing and if possible check your pulse while it's happening, anything odd about the pulse? beats/minute?
THen bring yourself and your logbook to a heart specialist.
You could be experiencing what are called Trans-Ischemic Attacks (TIAs or 'mini strokes') with referral chest pain, you could have an irregular heart beat with some level of ventricular irregularity (which could kill you).
The only thing I don't think it is a major heart attack because if they were happening so frequently you'd probably already be in serious damage (and the monitor the original doctor attached didn't show any marked elevation).
This is a huge deal, you need to get checked out. If it happens again I really recommend going to your local ER and describe what happened - you'll at least get cardiac biomarkers and an eKG out of the deal which would really rule out any cardiac catastrophes.
Just saying - you really oughta get this looked at.
No, I've never really tried pounding on my chest because it hurts so bad clutching at my chest is about all I can do.
Thanks for the responses everybody, I think I will start that journal. I need something to take to a specialist so they won't just give me the same, "Well, you can stay here for a month until it happens again" that my GP gave me a long time ago.
He is having crushing heart pain, and didn't mention any loss of vision or motor function.
Does it feel like your heart is going really fast? Or slow and pounding hard? Is it palpable is basically what I'm asking. Can you feel your heart beating? Or is it just intense pain?
Regardless you really do need to see a specialist. You need to find a way. It could be very likely that you have an irregular heartbeat, and that requires medication to correct.
You could live a full life and encounter these issues sporadically, but you need to know for sure. Find a way to get checked out by another doctor. You just gotta.
yeah, i was going to say, i think it's quite common and mostly harmless. i've had this kind of pain (though less and less frequently) for about fifteen years and i'm as healthy as a goat
I thought about PCS but the intensity of the pain the OP is feeling and the effect it's having on him (increased heart rate) makes me think it is not PCS.
OP, your job doesn't offer health insurance? How old are you?
Thanks so much, now I finally have something to bring to a doctor and use as an example of my symptoms.
tsmvengy -- I'm 27 and I work at a very small business, I'm lucky I get paid as much as I do considering where I live.
$80 a month or $5000 for a specialist visit and some tests? You're young, you're healthy, and it'll be exceptionally easy for you to get health insurance even if you work at a small business. Getting on your group plan will be considerably cheaper than going solo, though.
An $80/month solo plan would have a $5K+ deductible so that specialist visit would still be out of pocket. Figure at least twice that premium to get $1K deductible and 80/20 coverage.
Not that he shouldn't get coverage if he can afford it; it's just not going to be that cheap without retaining a lot of the up-front expense of getting diagnosed/treated.
Mods, I'm considering the problem solved.
Edit: And are there not laws in your particular state that mandate small businesses have a reasonable health plan? Even a $5000 deductible one wouldn't be horrendous.
In the meantime, everybody is covered for general stuff because I get free clinic visits at my university, but they don't have specialists. So I'll be using the aforementioned favor to get tested cheaply and continue to see the clinic for all other problems.
Does that clear things up?
I'm wagering you have Texidor's twinge.
I had my appointment this morning and had an EKG and some blood testing. My friend ran all the tests through ASAP and I just got the call that it's almost definitely PCE, every other possibility has been ruled out.
Thanks guys, I finally have a diagnosis after years of this shit.
Thank you for getting checked out.
I don't really care what people try to do in this part of the forum, but crippling chest pain is not something you simply google and then call it a day.