No one seems to know.. please help.

  I am 24 years old, 116lbs, 5'6'' and pretty active.
My Mother and Grandmother passed away peacefully in their sleep due to heart failure and I'm terrified that it will happen to me too. My Mother was only 39.. My Grandma was in her 60's.

I have seen a Heart Specialist in the past and he has told me on every occasion that I am fine.. I only have a trivial murmur with minimal leakage..

My question is this.. How do I know when the chest pains I get are heart related or something else?
I have chest pains all the time.. I've been so freaked out and in pain from them that I've gone to the ER at least four times for it in the past. Here are my symptoms:
Pain under my left breast, sharp pain when I breathe in, burping, stomach ache.. and the pain has become a regular part of my life. Every time I've gone to the ER they've performed tests (EKG etc) and the results show nothing wrong with my heart. I had a colonoscopy to rule out anything cancerous.. and again my results were great.  I'm going crazy now.. I'm assuming it's my stomach that is causing me to be in discomfort.. but I don't understand why it's only on my left side that I feel that extreme pain.. it's too hard for me to ignore it.. and everything I've done to help only temporarily solves it. I don't want to rely on antacids.. I take Papaya Enzymes and my diet is amazing. I take pretty darn good care of myself.. so what else can I do?

[ed34]

I can only go by experience, I had three attacks in Feb 07. I will never forget them, but from what I can gather some people experience something different, but my symptoms were the most common. The pain is something quite different from a muscle pain or stomach pain. It really is gripping and doesn't let go for a long time, in my case 20 mins a time. The only reason my pain did subside is because I had caused my heart to work harder, so when it rested, it was able to recover. However, if the attack is caused by a total blockage, then the pain will not go away until treated. The pains caused me to heavily sweat and vommit. Your body starts to breath faster but I found if you take slow deep breaths, the attack is shorter, probably as I was forcing relaxation. It felt like a sharp object was inside my chest and being twisted. Laying down, standing, curling up on the floor, leaning backwards, nothing helped apart from slow breathing.
A minimal leakage is nothing to be concerned about, you would be surprised how common these are. If Heart problems are a family traite, maybe the best thing to do is look at their lifestyles and see what you do that is the same, but a risk. Things such as smoking, drinking heavily, bad diet, no exercise, lots of stress and worrying. Is your blood pressure normal? is your cholesterol normal? These are things you need to monitor if you have a family history of problems.

[kenkeith]

Q: My question is this.. How do I know when the chest pains I get are heart related or something else?
>>>>>>Chest pain (angina) will usually develop with some physical exertion and/or mental stress.  When the cause has subsided the chest pains should go away.  If you have sharp pains when taking a deep breath, that could indicate pain relates to the lungs, muscles or nerves along the outside of the lung.  If it is persistent and is a problem, it may be a good idea to see your doctor.  A chest x-ray might be needed, as well.

Because you have a family history and cannot change the genetic code, it may be wise to reduce the risk factors that you can control.  That would be to have a heart healthy diet, a regimen of exercise 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes. moderate life style, etc.
and stay in touch with doctor for regular checkups. I have heard of chest pains from continuous interaction with slot machines (pulling the handle type)...something like carpal tunnel pain from to much typing.  

Thanks for sharing and if you have any further questions you are welcome to respond.  Take care.