I am a 43 yo woman; I do not drink or smoke, am about 25 pounds overweight. Up until 1 year ago, I exercised 4-5 times a week regularly. My cholesterol is a bit high - 209 but the HDL is excellent at 60 so my Dr says not to worry.
About a year ago I started getting chest, upper back, shoulder and jaw pain. I noticed that the jaw and arm pain in particular seemed to be more prominent about 10 minutes into exercising. I had a stress echo which was normal. Pain is on and off, both with and without exertion. Forward to Summer... the discomfort while exercising seems more prominent again. Went to a second cardiologist for a 2nd opinion and had another stress test. All results were normal.
Again, I notice a pattern of right sided jaw pain within 15 minutes of exercise that would diminish within 30-90 minutes after exercise, especially while on the recumbent bike. Some arm pain too.
The cardiologist was somewhat concerned and I had a CT angiogram last week. She said it was completely normal - no plaque and no calcification - my heart is in excellent condition.
She seems to think it is either musculoskelatal or neurological in origin. I do have herniated discs in my cervical spine (c4-5 and c5-6) and do have alot of neck pain. Although the neurosurgeon thinks that left-sided herniation can possibly mimic cardiac-like symptoms, even when exercising, the Orthopedic Dr doesn't think the herniations are causing the problem.
Other health problems are hypothyroidism and migraine.
My question to you is: does having a normal CT angiogram completely rule out a cardiac cause of this pain/discomfort? I am relieved that my cardiologist thinks so, but without an adequate explanation as to the cause of the discomfort, I still have a bit of anxiety.
Thank you.