I have all kinds of heart attack symptoms and hope it's not one

11/09/08

katgoul9

I'm a 29 year old female, not overweight, about a month ago I woke up with a severely sore throat and other cold symptoms. A day or so later my chest started hurting. I went to the doctor and she though I had a cold in my chest. I had numbness and tingling in my left arm, but I do have a previously injured left shoulder that spazzes a bit. The chest pain lasted a week or so, constantly, and then went away. A week ago it started again. I have good blood pressure and my pulse is always normal. Sometimes the pain feels like a squeezing around my midsection, almost like it's squeezing enough to burp me, but it's always dull and there, just gets a little worse once in a while. Exercise or stress doesn't seem to bring it on that I've noticed. I went back to the doc and am on celebrex and prevacid (she thinks carrying my 3 yr old is pinching a nerve and I have some ulcer symptoms). She also gave me skelaxin for bedtime. I'm planning to go back again, but would love to hear some other opinions. I know it mimics heart disease/heart attack so I'm going crazy with worry.

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Answers (1)

Monday, November 10, 2008

Neil MD

Hello katgoul9,

Thank you for describing your symptoms with detail; it certainly helps with our discussion.

While it is impossible for me to say for certain the cause of your symptoms, I think your physician who can examine you, knows your history, can order lab tests can best comment on the cause of your symptoms.

That being said, given your symptoms, their lack of relationship to exercise, and your age do seem to indicate that your chest pain is not likely cardiac in nature.

Concerning symptoms for cardiac causes of chest pain included left-sided pain that is described as pressure or tightness. Also, pain radiating to the jaw or arm, nausea or vomiting, shortness of breath and sweating are signs that your heart might be causing your symptoms.

Symptoms that are less concerning for cardiac causes of chest pain include pain reproduced by palpation, pain caused by recent trauma to your chest wall, or pain that becomes worse or better depending on the position of your body.

You are correct to continue to follow up with your physician!

Hope this helps.

To your health,

Neil MD