symptons

[motheroftoot]

i have been experienceing, pain in chest , neck,back,left arm an shortness of breath. early day it's not so bad, but by the time the day ends, it's terrible. i went to see my doctor an he did an EKG, an it was normal. he did blood work an told me to call him in 2 days for the results of test. he seemed very unconcerned an told me to come back in a month or so. my question is, should i be concernrd about it or just do as the doc says. the pain really gets unbearable.......

[sjan]

I only feel chest pain regularly but no breathing problem. Some times I also feel pain in the left arm. I am a sportsman and play very regularly squash five times a week. Infact after the sports I feel very good. I have no blood pressure and I don't drink nor do I smoke. My cholestrol level was 178 about five weeks ago. I am 42 years old and have a family. Can you help me to know about the chest pains.

Thanks

[Briz]

Hi. Been Diabetic for 29 years. Type I diabetic. Lately I have had pain in my left arm,jaw,shoulder,upper back,left chest area and my neck and around my ear. Head feels funny at times. The pain is annoying and always there. Went to the doctor and took a EKG and it came out normal said it was muscular pain and take some ibuphrofen. Still having pain and now my feet and ankles are swollan. He the Dr. said I could go on vacation I hope I make it back!

[canammom]

I called the MD and they told me that it sounded as if I was in an anxiety attack. Although the nurse told me to go and check, I did not. I figured I could work through it. Watch out in that wisdom because the fact is 3 days later I was in the ER, with a heart rate of 177 and pneumonia virus that probably hit the heart and I am in A-fib. I had a cardioversion May 1st, which worked for 2 weeks and I have been in A-fib since. The only good thing about this is I am alive to tell it. My MD does not talk about exercise and my question is should I exercise? I can do most anything while I am doing it but the recovery time is crazy, maybe 15-30 minutes and I don't even know it is going to be a problem.
I have a heart murmur that I have had since I was a baby and I just thought that some of this was that. Self diagnosis is so bad.  I am 52yo female with 4 children including twins that are 12 yo.girls. thanks!

[motheroftoot]

YES I TAKE MED. FOR ANXIETY, BUT I'VE NEVER HAD PAIN LIKE THIS AN MY MED. HELPS ME ALOT W/ THE ANXIETY.THANKS FOR THE INFO THO CAUSE IT EASED MY MIND ALOT ABOUT IT BEING MY HEART. I GUESS I'LL QUIT WORRYING TIL WE GET TEST RESULTS

[DannyFHJr]

My brother experienced the same thing (chest pains, sweating, pain in arm, shortness of breath) and every time we took him to the emergency room, they told us that his EKG was normal and there didn't appear to be anything wrong with him.  In fact, every time he's gone for just a regular check-up, all his tests have been normal.  He was then diagnosed as suffering from anxiety and just knowing that has helped him (and us) greatly, although he still gets attacks from time to time.

I would ask the doctor if there are any very specific ways to distinguish actual distress symptoms from psychosomatic ones.  My brother's doctor more or less told him that had he actually been suffering a heart attack, the pain would have been much greater than anything he had ever experienced before and he's usually able to work his way out of an anxiety attack now without having to run to the ER.  I've noticed a lot of posts in this forum reference anxiety or stress.  Perhaps that's something to consider?

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Chest Pain

It would be a good idea to discuss your cardiac risk factors along with the exact nature of your symptoms with your physician.  I would recommend that you undergo a stress test and recieve a chest X-ray. A stress test can help determine whether or not chest pain is from the heart or not. You should schedule the stress test sooner than a month from now, maybe when you call your doctor in 2 days.

Thanks for your question,

CCF-MD-KE