Possible Gastro Issue?

[Marc727]

I am currently in Iraq working with the Dept of Defense. I have been here for 5 months now and in the last 3 weeks I have developed chest pain, pressure, and discomfort under my Left ribcage under my chest muscle. I can make myself belch and it clears the pain/pressure for a couple of seconds but it returns. Some days are better, other days are worst. If I twist my body and try to look behind me the pressure is stronger. I have had one day in the last 3 weeks that I went numb from my left cheek bone to my left fingers. I went to the base hospital and they did blood work, EKG, and chest xray and have found nothing. One week earlier they did the same blood work, EKG, and chest xray and found nothing. The numbness lasted for only 24 hours but the chest pain has lasted for 3 weeks now. I am currently taking 150 MG of Ranitidine/Zantac twice daily. My question is does this appear to be a heart condition or gastric? Unfortunatley, the doctors here specialize in battle injuries and I am wondering if I should fly out immediately to see a cardiologist/gastrologist or wait until July when I am on RR. My father died of a heart attack at 48 and  I am currently 38. When I do any cardio I do NOT feel any shortness of breath and any unusual heart beats. The machine shows me at 140-160 BPM. Please let me know what I should do.

[Marc727]

The tightness and pressure has seemed to have cleared up for the most part. I still have a little bit of the symptoms. I still not sure what is the cause. Gastric, muscle, or cardiac..?? Over the last 10 days I stopped going to the gym and have been taking 150 MG of Ranitidine/Zantac twice daily. So today I did light cardio at the gym for the first time. I am going to continue to slowly move back to my normal workout and continue to monitor if working out has any connection to my issue. Also when I stated "The machine shows me at 140-160 BPM" I meant the eliptical machine shows that when I am excercising. My vitals are good when I am at rest and when I was tested at base hospital. Thanks to everyone for all your comments!

[mammo]

I missed the heart rate, it is definitely high for a man of your age and activity level.  I would expect a resting heart rate in the 60' s - 70's range.  For these doctors to not address your high heart rate tells me they would be of no help to you....period.  Get out of there and get help, you need to find out what the problem actually is before going on any type of random heart medication.  

I also want to thank you for your service, and please know that we DO support all of you serving our country.  

[ggreg]

I would like to add to these posts that your heart rate is a little high.. Don't know if it's really hot where you are, but it goes without saying you need to drink more than the usual amount of water, cuz if you get too dehydrated, it'll put a strain on your heart.  Also, don't drink gallons of coffee, because it'll make your heart race, too.  

You said when you twist and turn to look behind you, it hurts, so you may have a pulled chest muscle.  Stretch your arms slowly over head, across the front, and then toward the back of you, and if it hurts in your arm and/or chest, that's probably what it is.  A rotator cuff injury like that can hurt for weeks.  Similarly, if you've wrenched your upper back and spine, it can numb up your neck down into your hands, but it won't show up on X-ray as a broken bone or anything.  One way to decide if that's it, lay down flat on the floor with your legs up in a chair, and that takes all the weight off the spine, you might hear the bones pop a little, and within a few minutes, any pain you feel should go away.  Neither of those conditions are life-threatening, by the way.

While the hospital team takes care of war injuries, they also know basic medicine, and if they thought you were on the verge of a heart attack, they'd know right away.  Nevertheless, if this pain keeps up, why, keep on going back to the docs, you'd be in exactly the right place if you were to actually have a heart condition that needing treating.  You can always ask them to get a cardiology guy in there to have a look at you, there are always one or two in every hospital or one at another base.  Also, next time you go in there, ask them about your fast heart rate and tell them about your Dad giving out from heart attack, if you haven't done so already, and ask them if you should be on a heart medicine to prevent an outright heart attack.

But if you are not satisfied that you'll make it, and if it's not going to get you in a lot of trouble to take an "early vacation" stateside, then by all means, come on, so you can get a complete workup done by a cardiologist, but they'd probably just send you over to Germany or someplace else a lot closer than the U.S.  By the way, thank you for your service, this has been some decade for our country, lots of maniacs out there trying to do us in.

[CalGal]

Mark, before you decide to go anywhere, you may want to ask the docs to check you for H. pylori. If you have that bacterium and you're clear on all the indicators for heart issues, it's a good possibility that you could be suffering from acid reflux. The meds you're currently on are not the most effective in some people. They fall into the category of histamine blockers which typically can block about 30% of the acid output. You may want to talk to the docs about using proton pump inhibitors and also try following a GERD diet (check gicare.com) which will give you an idea of what foods produce more acid.

But if you do have H. pylori you need to be treated. And don't expect to feel fine after the treatment. It can take a long time even after the H. pylori is gone to get your digestive system back into line.

[mammo]

Hi Mark,

I would not wait!  You need to see both a Cardiologist and a Gastrointerologist, especially with your family history.  But it sounds like it could a few other things also.  Regardless, all your pain is a "symptom" of something and you need to get to the proper doctors for diagnosis.  Don't wait, it's not worth your health or peace of mind.  I think if it were your heart, you would experience problems while exercising, and you don't.  I know a lot about how big a role genetics play where our health is concerned, and I think you need to address what caused your father's heart attack and if it's genetic, even if it's not your heart.  No reason for you to suffer needlessly, or have to deal with not knowing what is wrong.  Iraq will still be there. Good luck to you!