Chest pain while/after exercising for short amounts of time
I am a 19 year old female, 5' 7", non smoker, healthy-low blood pressure, healthy eater, 7 year vegetarian. I take the stairs and walk everywhere - i dont own a car - other than that I don't exercise regularly other than moderate weight lifting at home. After going on Alesse I gained 30lbs(now im up to 145), which i am trying to lose. In addition to restricting my calorie intake, I began running daily (or trying to). After a short amount of time my chest begins to tighten, and is very painful, however I have never experienced coughing, tingling, or wheezing. Sometimes the gums at the front of my jaw hurt. I can run for no longer than a minute or two without having to walk and recover .
Four years ago I went to my family doctor for the same thing only more acute (walking would trigger this). She did a blood test and sent me for xrays which came back clear - other than low iron.
7 years ago I had to quit swimming lessons because shortness of breath, trouble breathing.
My family has a history of heart disease - both grandfathers had a heart bypass, one grandfather had diabetes. My grandmother had a hardening of the arteries, a stroke, and congestive heart failure.
I would like to be able to exercise without this chest pain. Note - pain occurs with any type of aerobic exercise - biking, swimming, rollerblading etc. 4 years ago when my doctor tested me she shrugged it off, but it is really interfering with my life and my health. Any suggestions on what condition i may have (to discuss with my doctor?) or anything i can do to improve my health is greately appreciated.
Thanks kindly,
That sounds familiar. I'm 29 years old female, smoked about 9 years and have had the same problem from when I was 17 as a non-smoker. I have as well visited many doctors who monitored everything from my blood pressure to a brain MRI. I am as well 5'7 and I weigh 105 lbs. I eat normally, however don't eat sugars due to allergy constraints. One thing I did find out 7 years ago is I have a severe case of TMJ. This condition has greatly affected my life, from external factors to a broken marriage. This condition has: at one point taken my eyesight, which has returned, my energy, my ability to work, and left me with massive migranes to complete physical exhaustion. All I can say is, yoga and pilates helped me immensely, I limit cardio to 3 times a week for short bursts, often bicycling or power walking wearing an earband and wearing a biteguard at night. If you have lower blood pressure, I think that doing lower impact cardio for longer periods of time probably will alleviate the chest problems you have. I don't recommend fighting through the pain, I tried for years, and nothing has changed.
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