22 yr old male, left side chest pain

[cookienkikin]

Hello, I want to start off by thanking you for taking the time to answer some questions that I have about my health. I'm a 22 yr old male, no family history of heart problems, don't smoke, don't do drugs, and I do drink beer pretty often. I started having chest pains on the left side of my chest like in between my left pectoral and center of my chest and sometimes right underneath my left pectoral. Sometime's they are a sharp stabbing pain that comes and goes quickly and sometimes it’s a dull-aching squeezing pain that lasts for sometimes up to 5 or 6 hours. I have them every day. Sometimes it will hurt into my left arm. I've been to NUMEREOUS Doctor's and a lot of visits to the ER. I have had 2 echocardiograms done one about 2 yrs ago and one about 1 year ago the first one was perfect they said, and the most recent one under technician comments it said "moderate tricuspid regurgitation. I've seen a cardiologist about 2 months ago at a charity hospital in Lafayette and he just looked over what I had done in the past " ecg's, holter monitor, stress test, and echo, and told me that my heart was completely fine that I would see him in 50 years. Ha-ha. But I'm also experiencing skipped beats that are felt in my chest, neck, and head. Palpitations are what I'm guessing. Last Friday I was hurting really bad so I went to the ER and they did blood test and ECG, and chest x-ray. I can send you some copies of the test that I had and I was wondering if you could tell me if you see anything wrong with any of them. The main one that I'm concerned about is the EKG’s. So please if you would please let me know what you think and if I should pursue this more. I woke up last night at 3 am and underneath my left pectoral was hurting me so bad I got up took an aspirin and 2 tums, I'll try anything now. and tried to go back to sleep. Thank you so much for your time and God Bless.!! My ecg's looked like this. The pain I get is always on the left side of my chest, and sometimes I can feel my heartbeat do something weird when i get the pain, it like beats and stays like "stretched out" i guess you would say for awhile and then goes back down like a long paused beat. Im getting tired of living with this pain everyday.  and sometimes i get nauseus, and when the pain is there my heartbeat is really forceful, but at a normal rate. it just feels like its about to give up on me and hurts really bad.

First one:   Rate 88 PR 119 QRSD 100 QT 385 QTc 466   AXIS P 82 QRS 94 T 18    Sinus rhythm, rate 88 Accelerated AV conduction Rightward Axis High QRS voltage, ? normal for age Q's in II, III, aVF- possibly normal for age  Borderline ECG   Second one, 2 hours later:   Rate varies from 80 to 103: ? arrythmia   Rate 88 PR 143 QRSD 98 QT 354 QTc 428   AXIS P 78 QRS 86 T 54"

[lrimmer33]

yeah ive had this sporatic chest pains ever since i was little. what happens is just randomly it will get extremely tight and short on breath only on left side, seem like in front of heart. i figured out if i just breath in even though it makes it hurt worse, it fills and sounds like it pops and then it gone untill the next time it happens...and so on  

[sakers70]

My daughter who is just 15 has started experiencing severe chest pains in the morning.  She's had a ECG which showed a slight murmur but the doctor said it was nothing to be concerned about.  She was also diagnosed with Syncopy.  She's had a history of just passing out and also palpitations.  I've got her another doctors appointment.  Not sure if she's having panic attacks?  If so, why is it happening first thing in the morning?  I'm really concerned because I have a history of all sorts of heart problems on both sides of my family along with one set of grandparents dying from heart attacks and her dad has family on both sides of his that have died from heart attacks.  My mom has arrhythmia but hers was caused by damage from Rheumatic fever when she was young and my dad has a mitral valve prolapse.  Any ideas what could be causing this?  Combination of the murmur, syncopy and stress, panic attacks, vitamin defiency?  She is bad to not eat right in spite of my efforts.  She also recently had an MRI because of a sudden onset of migraine like headaches.  They never found anything.

[ARI68]

my husband-40 and my son -18 have those exact symptoms, and have been thru the same tests and have been given the same amswers as you.Niether are smokers ,drinkers or take drugs. Both are healthy and weigh average wts for age ht. We are at our wits end trying to figure out whats wrong with them also.

[cookienkikin]

i went to my doc yesterday and i told him about my pain and symptoms still and i told him that when i went to the er a few weeks ago with the real bad pain that they told me to talk to my doc about repeating the echo,stress test, and holter, and possibly doing a heart cath. I told him that and he said that they would be useless b/c we already had them done and they didnt show anything. (except heart cath. never had that done), he said that there was nothing wrong with my heart. i've still been having the intermittent chest pain right over my heart, left side of chest, and pain radiating down my left arm and into my left wrist. what are the possibilites that the test i had done would have missed any blockages or anything else that could be causing my symptoms with my heart? what could be causing my pain and symptoms? unstable angina?  are there any substitute tests, less invasive than a heart cath. that are just as good?  nuclear scan? again im a 22 yr old male, 6 ft. 180lbs. bp is 137/80. i do have one tender spot on the left side of my chest but i think its b/c thats where i always grab when i have the pain and i just bruised it, and now i grab it all the time and press on it when i have the pain. are coronary artery spasms dangerous? if you dont mind could you find out if the ekg would show changes in the event one happened with an event monitor, thanks so much. is coronary artery spasms something that can be corrected, and what are the complications of them.

[cookienkikin]

i was wondering what conditions could cause the left side chest pain that i'm experencing with pounding/forceful/hard heartbeats in my chest. the pain is intermittent along with the hard heartbeats, when the pain is there it is accompanied by the hard/forceful/pounding heartbeats. what could cause this? thanks

[stevie_wonder]

I noticed on the doctor forum that he mentioned that Long QT Syndrome does not cause chest pain. It is not one of the usual symptoms but several people I have met with Long QT have had chest pain. My son had chest pain right before he had his cardiac arrest. He had his while running, but he has also had chest pain while doing nothing at all. If you do some research on the arrhythmia Torsades de Pointes you will see that it can sometimes only last a few seconds and does not cause fainting or seizures but will cause dizziness, shortness of breath and sometimes chest pain. The chest pain you are feeling could very well be from anxiety about your heart. But anxiety and Long QT Syndrome do not mix, so I suggest that you do find an Electrophysiologist to assess your ECGs and maybe do some additional stress exercise testing and holter monitoring. Check out the www.sads.org website for doctors in your area that are experienced in Long QT Syndrome. Remember what I said about regular doctors and cardiologists brushing off a prolonged QT interval. Long QT can be successfully treated with a simple beta blocker everyday. Some people like my son who have had cardiac arrest are recommended to have an ICD implanted for further protection. The one thing that I have discovered about Long QT Syndrome is that a prolonged QT on even one ECG is something that needs to be assessed immediately and treated until it is determined if it is acquired or genetic. In the mean time try to eat properly and keep yourself hydrated.

[cookienkikin]

im wondering now if it could be arrythmias causing my problems.  with all the info i have given does that sound like it could be a possibility? could they cause intermittent chest pain on the left side where i described, and occasional left arm pain? how could i find out if that is what it is? if is is arrythmias are they dangerous, can they be treated?

[stevie_wonder]

Sorry, I can't help you out with your questions about your ECGs other than the prolonged QT interval on the one you mentioned earlier. I do hope you ask about your QT interval at your next appointment.

[cookienkikin]

thanks for your quick reply, i really appreciate it. today i went and got some of my medical records from recent visits.  i got 4 different ekg reports.  I had two done on 10/19/2007, one on 12/22/2007, and one on 12/28/2007.  The one I had done on 12/22/2007 shows on the computer printoit and the top sinus tachycardia, right atrial enlargement, borderline ecg when compared with ecg of 09/13/2006.  That is the only one that I'm really concerned about, I was really anxious and i think i was having a panic attack when that ekg was recorded.  The main thing that concerns me is the right atrial enlargement, its only on that one ekg.  How accurate is the ekg in detecting that, and is it a really bad thing to be concerned about?  I'm really anxious about this now, please shed some light on this for me. Thank you so much

[cookienkikin]

i never have had any fainting or seizures

[stevie_wonder]

Hi,
Long QT Syndrome doesn't always have palpitations as a symptom but alot of people have them around the time of the arrhythmia (Torsades de Pointe)  involved with fainting etc in Long QT Syndrome. The symptoms are basically fainting, dizziness, seizure-like activity and some people have palpitations and chest pain. It seems to happen more often during times of emotion or exertion and even sometimes during sleep or rest. Your QTc of 466 is prolonged for a man. 430-450 is borderline for a man and over 450 is prolonged. I would think that it is definitely worth checking out. Like I said before, cardiologists are famous for overlooking prolonged QTs, there are even some doctors who have never heard of it before. Our family doctor completely overlooked it for almost a year after my son's cardiac arrest. It even showed up on his younger brothers ECG and was overlooked. Our family has an average QTc around 450-460 but they tend to get longer if we are sick or not eating and drinking enough.  There is a list of medications to avoid if you have a prolonged QT. (www.qtdrugs.org) My son had taken Ventolin for his asthma the night of his cardiac arrest and doctors believe this is what caused it. Look back in your family history for things like fainting, seizures (Long QT is often misdiagnosed as Epilepsy because of the seizures some people have after fainting), Sudden Infant Death, young sudden deaths, unexplained car accidents or drownings. I was surprised how many people in our family showed symptoms but 2 and 2 were never put together. Long QT can be fatal but it is easily treated with Beta Blockers and lifestyle changes in most cases.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[cookienkikin]

i dont really have chest pain after exertion.  and its not a constant pain, it comes and goes sometimes for hours at a time.  i was trying to do some research on prolonged qt syndrome and i found that my highest one that i had, which was 466 was considered borderline.  and the other was just below the normal range.  do you think that is something to raise an eyebrow at and be concerned, can it cause chest pain?  after all the ekg's i had wouldn't at least one doctor bring that up?  would the ekg machine print that out at the top of the page if it was a concern?  i'm just trying to find some info out.  what are you and your family's qt interval's?  thanks so much. i really appreciate the help and advice. thanks again. also does is cause palpitations?

[stevie_wonder]

Hi,
I would have your ECGs read by an Electrophysiologist. Your QTc in your first ECG was 466 and that is considered a prolonged QT interval for a man. Even though your next ECG was in the normal range (under 430) I would have this checked out. Regular cardiologists are famous for overlooking prolonged QTs in healthy young patients. QT intervals need to be read manually not just by the machine. My son has a resting ECG QTc similar to yours and he also has chest pain sometimes especially after exertion. He had a cardiac arrest just before he turned 19, luckily paramedics were able to revive him. It took almost a year for doctors to realize that it was a prolonged QT that caused this. Now several members of our family have been diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome. QT intervals can change quite rapidly from normal to prolonged and back again. So please have this checked out. Hopefully this is not the case for you and the machine just overread your QT interval. Ask your cardiologist for a referal to an Electrophysiololgist.
Good luck to you

[cookienkikin]

possible brugada syndrome or no??

[cookienkikin]

my ekg from 2 months ago reads rightward axix....QRS axis 91 to 110. i just had another ekg done today and it said rightward axis also, dont know the numbers though, the one i had done today also so unremarakable. can you please tell me what all this means?"

[cookienkikin]

the main thing that concerns me is the pain down the left arm

[cookienkikin]

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[cookienkikin]

thanks for your quick reply, i went to the er again last night because i was hurting so bad, and when i got there my bp was 160/90 and pulse rate 120, i was really nervous, they ran an ekg and it was normal and then took blood work to check for cardiac enzymes, that was normal also, the doc said that he was really concerned b/c the pain/and symptoms i was describing sounded cardiac, and that i should be to young for that but he has seen 17 yr olds have heart attacks, he said that since this pain has been going on so long that i should probably get a heart cath. to look for blockages, he then said that he would repeat the blood work for cardiac enzymes after 4 hours and then if it was normal he would release me and it was normal and i came home, and im still hurting a lil.  i have had normal echo,stress test,blood work,ekgs, and holter monitor. my question is wouldnt one of them be abnormal if i did have blockages, is a heart cath. really a good suggestion for me to get? what are the chances it could be that or heart related?

[cdubz2]

i dont belive its heart pain, ive had same symptoms for along time, i was prescribed tranqulizers and all, until one day i had bad bad chest pain, and i just sucked in as much air possible, and let out a HUGE burp, no whenever i get pain i just keep burping, it goes away on its own, try it out, oh, and its not uncommon for your chest wall to hurt, just try not to get the two confused and you will be find, because if you think its your heart, you over analyze the situation and begin to panic - causing stress and anxiety, that may ever be a trigger to most palpatations

[cookienkikin]

also i have been having these like spasm/twitching sensation right over my heart, as if my heart is having a spasm/or twitch.  dont know if its actually from the heart or a muscle right over where the heart is, but it feels like its coming from my heart.  mainly on the left side right over my heart, it between the left pectoral and the center of the chest. i've been having this and a constant dull like, squeezing,tightning, aching pain there all day.