please help i need to know what this is

[amber114]

im 17 and about 5'2 and are nowhere near overweight. for about a month ive had a series of syptoms
that i havent seemed to die from, but i seem to think i am whenever they happen.
recently ive been having shortness of breath and yesterday while walking to the pool i expirienced everything going
in slow motion and pain between my shoulder blades and left arm pain and tightness around my chest/heart
i had 911 dialed and i dialed them. the dizziness seemed to go away. i sat down and waited for them to get there. i went to the e.r and they did a ekg and a chest xray and it showed nothing. they sent me home with xanax to make me go to sleep and relax a bit. if its anxiety related i dont get why sometimes my left side of my chest hurts along with my arm either aching or sometimes i feel inner and outter lower arm pain only in my left side. i go through series of feeling shortness of breath and its so hard to get  breath that i start yawning. im worried about my health and need to know what it could possibly be... or what test to have my doctor do. im almost have given up

[EchoTech]

The possiblity that amber114 actually has coronary artery disease is pretty much nil.  All of sypmtoms she is describing are also the same of a panic attack.  Get clearnace from a pediatric cardioogist and go from there.  If it is not heart related, then a visit to a mental health professional to get the panic attacks under control.

[slhlovescats]

Please let me clarify, most angina is caused by mild to severe coronary artery disease but arrhythmias can also cut off oxygen to the heart thus causing pain. So "pain" should not be ignored!

[slhlovescats]

To everyone,

Yes maybe 17 is too young to have plaque built up on your arteries but there are still other factors that can play in causing a heart attack. While I was in the hospital being prepped for my pacemaker surgery and I am only 27, there was a 21 year old guy having surgery at the same time due to having a massive heart attack (which he suffered major damage from) and caused by using drugs (methamphetamines). I only found out about him because his mom knew my family and they were all out in the waiting room talking about their children having heart complications before them. Sad but true! There are so many things that can be wrong with a young persons heart without them even knowing. I had something I could have died from and didn't even know it. Smoking, eating habits, drug and alcohol use all play strong roles in our heart health no matter your age, sex, weight etc. I'm not saying that all of the young people on here are lying but most are not going to write "oh and by the way I use drugs daily" so lets just tell everyone young or old that they should see a doctor, preferably a cardiologist when they are having any symptoms that could be in any way related to their heart! Plus there are other heart problems that can cause chest pain without it having to be a heart attack, for example angina and heart attack pain is on the mid to left side of your chest. Ask a doctor or look it up. Good luck to everyone young, old, fat, skinny, male, female. Lets please just quit dicriminating on each other. If people say they are in pain, then thats what they are feeling. Its mind boggling to me that people think that they can tell others what they are feeling!

[rockcityaudiouk]

Hello  amber.
                  The best advice is often the shortest and sometimes the most.annoying.
Annoying because you came to this website seeking advice and help.
so the best way is to be cautious.Age,sex,body weight,actually anything means nothing with heart disease or heart problems.in my time recently walking around cardiology clinics I have seen every type of person on the planet, I'm also a very  cautious person.
Please do the following as this is the only help  can offer.
1.make an appointment with your doctor, explain your symptoms and ask to see a cardiologist for some basic tests.(the basic ones are the best actually)(hs-CRP, blood work),stress test and possibly an echo cardiogram.
2.in the meantime cut down on any soft drinks,tea,coffee or caffeine based stuff.
also try to reduce your over all fat and carbohydrates.(but not veggies or fish oils).
If your stressed out then try to talk to someone about it,even someone you don't know.
thats one thing that this site is good for support and"sharing"experiences"but it is not a replacement for real world medical examinations,tests and advice from cardiologists.
take care.
John.

[grendslori]

The reason I am writing about the EKG (and this is my field of medicine) is because there is a huge difference between arrhythmia problems and structure problems such as I described that would cause a heart attack in a young person. There would have to be SEVERE structural problems to cause a lack of bloodflow to the heart; that would show up on the EKG in the size and with of the complex. Her EKG was normal. Coronary Arteries that are blocked won't generally show up either unless the patient is in the middle of a heart attack, at that point the S becomes part of the R-T wave and basically disappears. Left sided chest pain is not a symptom of a heart problem; people tend to think it is because they think that the heart is on the left side of the chest. Again, not true, but that's what people think. There are a lot of things that can cause dizziness and SOB. If a person has a dizzy spell and are prone to anxiety or panic attacks, especially if they are consumed with their health issues, the anxiety alone will cause them to become SOB and they will then hyperventilate to compensate for the SOB, making them more dizzy. That can become a vicious cycle. Try and remember that there is a huge difference between congenital forms of heart disease and adult forms of heart disease. It is very possible for a young person to have an arrhythmia problem and for it to show up once in awhile and for that arrhythmia to not show up at times; I have no issue with that. My issue with this young person is her having chest pains. If she were having TRUE heart related chest pain, she would have to have a severe enough problem to cause a lack of bloodflow to the heart muscle wall; that WOULD have shown up on the EKG because it would have been one of the cardiomyopathies. She would have been having a lot more symptoms of heart disease by this point in her life and believe me, her parents would have been aware that something was wrong, just in her ability to keep up.......she wouldn't be able to go swimming, even if she wasnted to, the chest pain would have stopped her. Most children and teens who have a cardiac issue, will stop their own activity, they know they need to; they do this several times a day without their parent's prompting.    

[Kodi1]

The person who told  you NOT to worry at your age is wrong.  People of all ages have heart attacks.  Even though it is rare it is true.
Go see your doctor and ask him to recommend a cardiologist.  My EKG's and stress test all came out fine.
I ended up having a double bypass.  I kept telling the doctor my symtoms and he was going by my test.
Go get it checked out and give yourself some piece of mind

[GOMER2]

Myabe you should schedule an apt with your doc.

He/she can order whatever tests deemed needed and/or give you a referal to a cardiologist.

Then you doc can put your mind at ease, ie you have No problem, or give you something for anziety or whatever that might help.

An EKG can be normal, even tho there is a problem. I had a perfectly normal EKG in 07 before surgery, yet severe problems with A-fibs right after. I was sent to a cradiologist and the only thing that showed the problem was a color doppler, which showed problems with both my mitral and tricuspid (not as bad). My cardio increased my med a couple times so far with great results. MY last EKG with my PCP said my EKG was perfect, I ahd NO problem...he forgot my heart meds ahd been recently changed again, hence the EKG should be good.

See you doc, tell you doc what you ahve told us..........

(*&*( GOMER  

[grendslori]

You asked why the left side of your chest and arm hurt and why you are short of breath (SOB). The reason is really twofold: your age and because you are visiting this site. Let me explain. You are old enough to know people who are having a heart attack have chest pain along with left arm pain and SOB  The problem is that you are not old enough to have a heart attack, nor are you the correct sex to have a heart attack at your age. Young people who visit this site, and you can certainly do that if you wish, have a tendency to develop the symptoms of other writers on here. That's not good for you, especially at your age; you need to be having fun with your friends at this point in your life because you are very close to becoming an adult and once that happens the resposibilities become your focus, not how much fun you can have. Enjoy this time in your life, don't waste it worrying about your heart. There are a few young people who are going through what you describe, however they tend to have VERY serious forms of congenital heart disaease, severe enough to require transplantation; if you had those kinds of heart disease, believe me, you would know it and the ER would have picked up on that very quickly by the EKG alone. You are having anxiety attacks due to your fears. Don't waste all of your time and energy worrying about your health, at your age, it's not what's important.