Chest Pain - Anxiety or Underlying Heart Issue?

Hello,

I am a 27 year old, 5'7 at normal weight (135). I have been suffering from chest pains for over a year now. They usually exist on the left hand side, above and below the breast and are sometime sharp and short but mostly can be more of an ache that can last on and off for several hours. The pain can also move to the left arm, back and jaw. Other symtoms (symptoms) include dry constant cough, stomach discomfort and pain from chest to back. Searching the symptoms online all lead to a heart related condition which started my concern. I have been to two separate doctors, have an EKG, a stress test that included a chest xray and ultrasound of the heart (about 6 mths ago) and recently another EKG. Everything so far has checked out ok along with clear blood work with only a slight high good cholesterol. The cardiologist who did the ultrasound made a quick mention that there was a slight thickening of the heart wall but that this can be common in women and not worth marking in my chart. At this point both internal medicine physicians think that it could be heart burn but most likely anxiety and one doctor even said that after the second EKG test that he is 90% sure it is nothing heart related.. Both have given me Nexum which I have had no real results from and I am still suffering from the on and off chest pains, back pains along with stomach upset although it is now more on and off.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but I have been an athlete all my life except for the last 5-7 years where I now visit the gym every few weeks without a consistent exercise plan. My job is fairly laid back but for the last year I have had an hour and a half commute each way.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. At this point the anxiousness of continuing to have these symptoms makes me worry if there is something that might be being missed. Would you recommend me seeing a specialist? I just want to make sure that there is no underlying issue and that I am indeed healthy with nothing to worry about.

[LarrytheAstronaute]

This doesn't sound heart related to me. Angina which is when the heart doesnt get enough blood, doesnt last for hours. It starts with exertion and ends when you rest, You dont have heart failure, which would have been seen on your echo. Its probably Gerd, costochondritis and or stress. Ive had your symptoms for 2 years now. What makes mine worse is i get pains with exertion, my age and all the tests ive had leads the doctors to say i have less then 1 percent of having heart related problems. Still i get scared when i have fast heart rate and develope chest pains and PVC's, One thing ive noticed is whenever we think "heart" and get focused on it, our problems get worse and worse.

[grendslori]

Snowflake you need to see someone at an University Hospital who knows how to diagnose Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. If there is a question that your heart muscle wall is too thick, that has to be looked into! Angina in a person with HCM CAN last for hours, even days and in severe cases does not go away ever, due to the fact the wall has outstripped the blood supply. In over 25 years of dealing with HCM and after being seen in some of the top medical facilities in the world, here and abroad, I have NEVER heard ANY doctor even come close to mentioning this is can be more common in women; it appears this guy is patronizing you in a big way! Get seen by someone who knows what they are actually talking about!

[grendslori]

With all due respect, angina can not only last for hours it can last for days and even stay permanently. It depends on the type of heart disease the person has. CAD, the angina won't be permanent, but in ceratain types of cardiomyopathies it can be, due to a lack of bloodflow to the heart walls. You really need to understand the different forms of heart disease and what happens as a result of those forms. This OP may be in heart failure, just not  the type you are writing about. The form you are writing about is called Systolic Heart Failure; the type this person has, IF she had HCM or,RCM, would be a Diastolic Heart Failure; the treatments for each is different