very conserned

[Sandy__0__0]

Posted by Sandy on June 22, 1999 at 09:19:19
Hello, I hope that you can help me , I am going out of my mind with worry.For quite some time now i have been having chest pains some times in the center of my chest, some times on the left side of my chest, and once in a while , on the right side. I was sent for an EchoCardiogram wich came back almost normal... All it showed was a  Mild case of Mitral valve regurgitation , wich i was assured was nothing to worry about.Still I made my doctor send me to a cardioligist just in case. He checked my pulse all over my body and gave me an EKG. And he told me that he seriously doubted that my problem was Cardio related.Well here latley I have been having pain in my left arm some times with the chest pain and sometimes with out it. Some times my hand will go numb. I mostly feel the pain between my elbow and my shoulder. I am a 30 year old female who is kind of over weight and i smoke. Do you have any idea what could be wrong with me? This has me so worried that i dont know what to do. I am alo in the middle of an insurane change and am going to be with out medical insurance until around Aug.
Thank you for listening.

Posted by CCF CARDIO MD - CRC on June 22, 1999 at 09:58:20
Dear  Sandy,
There are many causes of chest pain.  The one that doctors worry about the most is cardiac because it has the potential to be life-threatening.  Once this is ruled out the work-up can proceed at a more leisurely pace.
Amongst the cardiac causes of chest pain are: ischemia (due to blockages - including both stable and unstable angina and acute heart attack and coronary artery spasm), pericarditis (inflammation of the sack around the heart), myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), cardiomyopathy (heart failure) and rarer causes such as coronary artery dissection, acute rupture of the heart and valves and infections of the pericardium.
Gastrointestinal causes of chest pain include reflux (acid from the stomach washing back into the esophagus), gallstones, esophageal spasm, esophageal rupture, varicose veins of the esophagus, strictures of the esophagus, tumors of the esophagus and other less common GI problems.
Pulmonary (lung) causes include pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, pneumothorax, pleuritis and bleb rupture.
Other potential causes are aortic dissection, back and spine problems and musculoskeletal (muscle strain, rib fracture, etc.).
Psychological causes of chest pain are common and include panic attacks, anxiety, stress and mental duress.
As you can see the list of potential causes in long and may take a little bit of time to determine the precise cause.  A good Internal Medicine doctor should be able to work through the potential causes of your symptoms.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.