Is this Angina?

Im 26 yr old male who is having a lot of angina associated symptoms. .  Most of time i get sharp chest pain which can located to one spot, but what is interesting is that sometimes it feels like sore and when press on it deep it hurts more. I read some online saying that if your press it and its hurts then it is not angina, is that correct? And that angina pain should is mostly dull and in the middel of the chest, whilst i get the pain on the left side or right side of the chest.

The pain comes sometimes when im resting in the bed or sitting but not so often when running or due heavy activity. I have to add i used work out in the gym like maniac before all of this, So im left wondering maybe too heavy weights on the benches injured my chest.


Shortness of breath :
Lately i started having shortness of breath just from small activity like searching for things in my room. Without any chest pain. And this what worrying me most now, because i cant explain that. Is it perhaps due to anxiety , bad shape ?


Luckily i have never had shortness and chest pain at same time. Or pain at multiply places at once. My point here is how would guys distinguish angina from other chest pain?   And shortness of breath at other times ? I do worry a lot and i have become very emotional about this whole thing.
Is it stress, is it anxiety, or is it angina ? That what i ask myself each day and i think it makes just worse.  

In may 2010 i had heart block second 2nd degree probably due over exercsing but this hasnt happen again i stopped working out completely. After that may i also had holter monitor and stress which came out fine, but that doesnt help any  since i still have these problems.

I would to love to hear  your inputs and views on angina symptoms and when it not angina. Also people that perhaps had heart attack know exactly what symptoms to look out for. Im very confused my these symptoms.  

[jason92]

I forgot too add that I also feel this sharp pain  on my legs sometimes, which is very weird. It feels like someone is pinching. But its goes way quicker on the legs than on chest.

[ed34]

sounds like a touch of Costochondritis which is most common in your age group and with lots of chest activity. Basically, each rib except the 11th and 12th is connected to the central bone running down the middle of your chest (sternum) by a cartilage. Through overwork this can become inflamed and sore. Rowers in particular suffer a lot with this. Usually it resolves itself within 6-8 weeks. You are correct, you can't cause angina by pressing your chest. Angina involves the coronary arteries and you can't press into them. A doctor will be able to quickly diagnose if it's Costochondritis and give you the correct medication, such as anti-inflammatorys. It used to be believed this condition was caused by infection, picked up during surgery, but this is now known to be incorrect but the true causes are unknown, although overworking the chest is the believed likely cause.

[ed34]

Just to add and reassure you, the most common type of angina is quite distinguishable. The more you physically exert yourself, the worse the symptoms get because you are working the heart harder and it's unable to get enough oxygen to the heart muscle.

[jason92]

Thanks, that sounds logical to me, unfortunately the diagnosing for these symptoms seems complicated for some doctors. I asked my doctor for holter monitoring and im in a queue  for it, but i dont think it will reveal anything. Then i just have to find something to attribute these shortness of breath.

Also the fact that two symptoms ( chest pain and shortness breath)  occur separately should be of significant when diagnosing angina right? I dont experience them at the same time but i also think that i have become pretty much out of shape and lived sedentary for the past 5 months due to fear of heart disease. I didnt want risk anything by over-exercising.

Sometimes i also feel like that i might have artery blockages generally through my whole body. Since i do feel these pinches like pain everywhere from my leg to arms and chest. Or maybe im just over exaggerating normal muscle pain.

[cindy707]

Actually the most common time of all for angina to occur is at rest and not so much during activity.  You have so much on your side such as age, past physical activity leves, etc.  Howver i tend to agree w. Ed on his first post back to you with the issue of costoc.  The heart sits basically dead center of the chest right between the nipple lines and very very slightly to the left however  in thinking i think that the best plan of action would be to make an appt. with a doc to rule out angina, etc. because it would be pretty unusual for a 26 year old that is fairly active to have this pop up on them.  You need mostly to remember that angina is not a disease and only a symtom of something else that is going on in your body and thats why you need to see a doc.