chest pain with stomach bloating

My husband is 50 years old.  Since Jan 1st this year he has been having extreme pain in the chest, shortness of breath, pain radiating to both arms and headaches.  He seems to have more problems after eating or physical exertion.  He can simply drink water and bloats like he is 8 months pregnant.  His belly is hard when this happens. It seems to be getting worse as time goes.  He has went to his regular physician and has a chest x ray which showed nothing for his heart.  He has an appointment to have a nuclear stress test done next week and an appointment with the gastro dr to try and have a scope done.  His gallbladder has been removed about 10 years age and he has high blood pressure that he takes medication for.  Can you give me any information that will help me figure out what could be causing this?  dont know if it is heart, stomach or brain problem.  

[Darcy Green Conaway, MD]

The chest x ray alone is not enough to evaluate his heart. This sounds cardiac and I think he should see a cardiologist as soon as possible. It may be that he should proceed to cardiac catheterization rather than a stress test, but he needs to be evaluated by a cardiologist to determine this. If his abdomen swells it could represent right heart failure from high pressures in the lungs (patients with emphyema can get this). It may also be GI related. Good luck