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Avatar universal

Possible angina?

I am 26 yrs old and have had pain in left arm for past 5 yrs.
It begins as pain in my bicep and a squeezing sensation and then my hand and wrist go numb and the pain seems to come
from a vein in my wrist which feelis like it is pulsating.
At first i ignored this but in last 2 yrs i have also developed an abnormal heart beat..sinus arrythmia.
I so not suffer from anxiety and i have had a stress test, echo, cardiolite, calcium scan showing score of 1 and holter
all with normal results.
I now have dizziness and a sensation that i am far away and not in the room.
I am also very confused and find it vey hard to take care of my 6 month old daughter
When i was pregnant i had pain travelling up into my neck from my arm and felt ill the whole time.
This pain is bought on by normal physical activity but especially lifting when i get an electrical sensation in my
chest, although any excersise which involves a strong grip or shaking motion brings it on and also a fast heart rate...sometimes 180bpm.
I have no remarkable family history excepy my grandfather had heart attack at 57 but was long time diabetic.
When my mother was 30 she suffered what she believed was a heart attack but refused to go to the hospital.
It was after alot of heavy lifting and she had extremely severe chest pain..she is now 58 and has recently been diagnosed
stable angina but surely if she had had a heart attack they would have known on her stress test.
I am also an ex smoker (30 per day) but quit 2 yrs ago and have recently lost 5 stone going from 15 to 10.
A cardiologist i had to see privately
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Avatar universal
AL - SORRY ABOUT YOUR CAD...QUESTIONS FOR YOU...
COULD I HAVE ANGINA OR A PENDING HEART ATTACK? I AM A 25 YEAR OLD FEMALE ADN HAVE BEEN HAVING MOSTLY LEFT SIDED CHEST PAINS FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW. I AM VERY CONCERNED NOW THEY ARE MOVING TO THE RIGHT SIDE AND THE MIDDLE OF THE STERNUM. I ALSO SOMETIMES FEEL PAINS IN MY LEFT SHOULDER, ARM, AND FINGERS. I WENT TO THE ER 3 WEEKS AGO WITH CHEST PAINS AND AN IMPENDING SENSE OF DOOM. THEY DID BLOOD WORK, EKG MONITORING, CHEST X RAY, CT SCAN AND ALL CAME BACK NORMAL. MY CHOLESTEROL WAS 135 AND MY BP WAS GOOD. I HAVE NO HISTORY OF FAMILY HEART DISEASE. I HAVE HAD ANXIETY IN THE PAST BUT THIS FEELS DIFFERENT. I'M SCARED EVERYDAY OF DYING AND I JUST FEEL A DOOM CLOUD OVER MY HEAD. I READ AN ARTICLE WHERE WOMEN HAVE DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS THAN MEN INCLUDING THIS SENSE OF DOOM, INDIGESTION, ETC. I HAVE ALL THESE AND IT SAYS YOU CAN HAVE THEM FOR A MONTH BEFORE THE HEART ATTACK. I JUST KEEP WAITING FOR IT. MY DOCTOR DID AN EKG WHICH CAME BACK WITH INVERTED T WAVES SO HE ORDERED MYOVIEW NUCLEAR STRESS TEST WHICH CAME BACK NORMAL. HE ALONG WITH THE CARDIOLOGIST ENSURES ME MY HEART IS FINE. I'VE HEARD STRESS TESTS AREN'T VERY ACCURATE AND I'M JUST WONDERING, COULD I BE HAVING ANGINA LEADING TO A HEART ATTACK? I'VE BEEN TOLD EVERYTHING FROM GERD TO POSTPARDUM TO ANXIETY (I HAD A BABY 5 MONTHS AGO). I'M ON PROZAC, TRANXENE, AND PRILOSEC WHICH DON'T SEEM TO BE HELPING THE INDIGESTION OR WORRY. WHAT SHOULD I DO? SHOULD I PRESS FOR MORE TESTS? I'M SO SCARED I'LL DIE AND NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF MY BABY. PLEASE HELP!!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOU HELP IN ADVANCE!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi al,
I see you are also young and have spasm problems, could you answer me a few questions please? I know you have CAD, can you tell me what you r risk factors are?
I see you are male, and i see you have hyperlipidema.is this a family thing?
Are you a smoker?? ex smoker? overweight? what are/were your maximum blockages?
reason i ask is that i knw a thallium can fail if blockages are equal in all vessels and i am worried that this is the case with me, i cant help but ask myself why angina would worsen over a period of 5 yrs if there were no organic blockage. i said to myself 3 yrs ago when dcs did not believe me that i would know a few yrs down the line when everything got worse..so i continued to smoke and drink and eat fatty foods and look where i am..arrythmia and unabel to climb the stairs..yet still the dcrs wont listen..i dont understand.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Al,  Do you think its possible that some foods or food additives can cause chest pain / pvc's / arterial spasm ?
Helpful - 0
129317 tn?1189755821
Hey - have been out of town for awhile, but wanted to check in and see how you are doing.  Did you have your appointment yet?  Take care, and hope all is well!
Mike
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry.. also forgot to point out, that dizziness, and feeling disociated from things, (like you arent really in the room, outside looking in kind of thing) are textbook symptoms of anxiety. You can have anxiety and not be stressed.. the two are not nessecarily intwined. If you check out and your doctor says you're problems arent cardiac this might be another direction to look in.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Just so you know, sinus arrhythmia is just the normal way ur heart rate varies, like how it speeds up when u breathe in and slows down when u breathe out.. and ive also heard that it can actually be an indication of a healthy heart..
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
moose...I get a feeling in my back and chest that sometimes radiates to my arm. really scared me that it was a heart symptom...but I have had all the tests (twice) and normal blood workup etc. My doctors feel very strongly that it is not heart...but rather reflux or radiating pain from a pulled muscle I have in my back. My pain does not seem to worsen when I exercise...

Al Dente's idea might be a way to go...but I think these symptoms can happen without having an underlying heart issue...but it is scary sometimes...
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
sorry all...
forgot to add....i have vasospasm issues in my hands ..tounge ...feet and arms and legs..raynauds../
these are proven...my heart issues came before this and have worsened since all this..that is what reinforces my thoughts on spasms also.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Are you sure it is not something coming from your spine like a disk that is compressed in your neck? Have you been in any car accidents or the like?

I was rear ended almost 15 years ago. It caused a disk to bulge in my neck and gives me ALOT of the same sensations you are describing.

I didn't have any real symptoms until after my daughter was born and I had to lift her alot and carry HEAVY diaper bags with a purse, etc.

It is just a thought. -May not relate to your experience at all
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry..please can you advise me.
What is possibility that tis is angina or spasms?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Continued post.
Thinks i have spasms but does not want to do an angiogram as he thinks the risks outweigh the benefits.
I have had stress test...thallium test....echo...holter and calcium scan and all were normal..calcium at 1.
Helpful - 0
239757 tn?1213809582
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
moose,

thanks for the post.

Your pain really doesn't sound cardiac related especially with the normal workup.

I'm not sure what to tell you without a full history and physical.

good luck
Helpful - 0

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