Is this heart related or is it due to something else?

[JPacio]

Hi all! I hope you all are in great health. I have something to ask which has been worrying me lately.

Besides the tendonitis that my mom suffers from, there’s something else which I just recently found out as well. As recently as yesterday, she was feeling dizzy and out of breath. She said that she was bothered and irritated by loud noises and was feeling really weak in general. I asked her if she had slept well when she told me that her upper back/shoulder blade areas were in slight pain (like the pain due to exhaustion and no rest). So she said that she slept alright but I know that she got no more than about four hours of sleep because we had guests over the night before and they all went to bed at around 1:00 AM and then they left at six in the morning and my mom was awake to say goodbye to them. So I felt that her shoulder pain was probably due to that….but as far as the rest, I’m just not sure and am worried about her. She has been feeling like this a lot lately – well, more than she or anyone else should anyway! And she told me that a while ago, she felt like this, but it was much more severe, it was “as if the whole world had collapsed on me and I felt that much suffocated by it,” exact quote. I asked a friend and she said that if it’s not cholesterol or anything like that, it might be signs of a panic attack. But I know that women and men usually experience heart attacks differently from one another. If I’m not mistaken, men feel pain in concentrated areas, whereas women feel it spread out…so I’m just wondering! Thanks in advance for your advice!

[ShawnP]

Sounds like she needs to see her doctor for a physical.  It could be numerous things, but it's not normal for her to be dizzy and short of breath.  I suggest an appointment immediately.