Heart Spasms, (during rest) Pain In chest,Left Arm...etc. Unstable Angina?

[blaquevelvet]

Hello! My name is Sharmeka. something is definitely going wrong with my health and it is frightening. It has been going on since January. I'm not one to become paranoid but it is undeniable now.   In searches I keep coming up with "Unstable Angina"  Heart attacks and heart disease as well as breast cancer run in my family. My mother was just diagnosed with heart disease 2 months ago.



in January 2006, I notice me getting out of breath even more, barely able to finish sentence when speaking and when I lay down to rest, suddenly I feel spasms in my heart, and some seems for a brief few seconds, my heart stops and then I gaspe. Once my husband says I was laying their not breathing and it scared him. I remember gasping suddenly, as if suddenly I'm able to breath again. sometime times while sitting at my father in-laws house a strong pain comes in my heart and goes into my shoulder, jaw, bck, lft arm. He got me asprin. it also happened once at my mothers in Jan.  I found out that my stepfather had the same symptoms and he died of a heart attack.



now, I'm VERY concerned. the night before last, I was laying in bed, relaxed and suddenly a big spasm (bigger than the others) came in my heart, (it felt like something was blown up fast in my heart, possibly ready to pop), then pain chest, in shoulder and in left arm  Now it has been moving from left arm to right. It took 7 asprin to get it to be tolerable. It is still moving in my left arm, chest and breathing not all that great at times. I need advice, step by step. I don't know if my heart can take another heart spasm like that

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Hello Sharmeka,



I am sorry to hear about your recent health problems and I am concerned as well.  You need to go to a hospital for evaluation.  I am sure they will check the appropriate tests including heart enzymes, cholesterol, stress test, echocardiogram, EKG and others depending on what is indicated.  Unfortunately this forum is not the right place to answer questions like this -- if you called me on the phone with these concerns, I would advice you not to panic, but I would admit you to the hospital for tests.



If it turns out to be nothing, that is great news and you did the right thing by gettting evaluated. If there is something wrong, a good medical evaluation is in your best interest.



I hope this answers your questions. Please get evaluated soon (consider going now) and post if you have other questions.  Good luck.

[blaquevelvet]

I forgot to mention that I'm 30 years old and was misdiagnosed for axiety, so I know it is not that, in which the new doc I see says me being being fatigue at times, is not from axiety. I haven't mention this to her, just been assigned to her. I'm going to to tell her about this because now it is something to be concerned about.  Could the fatigue be coming from a heart condition as well? I'm usually a high energy person and was athletic growing up. The new doctor notice changes in my blood pressure, having trouble getting a blood pressure reading, sometimes really low and pulse rates. At my last visit.



I read somewhere it is important to get an ekg after or during the spasm. It happened yesterday, but I still feel awful. still some pain in my heart and, left side of back, moves across and then into my shoulder and moving down left arm into fingers and finger tingle and then go numb. I even felt it go all the way down into my leg. It only does this after I have a heart spasm. I don't have to be moving. Just sitting or laying still and it happens.  Should I go right in today to get an ekg. This happens at least once a a week, sometime three times. and it is always when I'm when I lay down at rest. I was told I had asthma last year and been taking in halers. I did have a seriouse blood infection and gullblatter disease seven years ago, I'm thinking maybe some damage was done to my heart. v



I know that the pain and spasm, is definitey coming from my heart, I can feel that.



All my symptoms match unstable angina and I read that it can go on for weeks and years and lead to an heart attack if the person is not on medication. The spasm are much bigger (stronger) and often now than they were January. I haven't told my mother about how I feel, for she has hear disease and I don't wnat to heart to worry. I'm not going any longer with this, something got to be done about this. Any help is appreciated. I'm praying before I lay down to rest now. I ignored this long because I didn't want to jump to conclusion. The sharp pain moving into my left arm is getting so bad, that I don't want to even move my left arm. My last attack was the night before last and it has been hurting since and short breath.



I'm considering going straight to the emergency room and I'd like to know what I should ask expect and consider mentioning to the doctor, such as certain test that can be done. Though it was a day ago that I had the heart spasm, do you think the ekg will pick up the echo or that I had one? I'm staying optimistic but it happens at least once a week, and the spasms are getting stronger and bigger, sometime it makes my entire chest jump to.



Thank you so much for your understanding and any advice.





Shar

[blaquevelvet]

sorry, I wanted to mention one other thing. It is moving down the right arm most of the time, sometimes the left arm. After that big heart spasm, the other day it is mostly in the right arm. I made a typo in stating what arm it is mostly in. It most move to the right arm but sometime, down the left arm to.



Shar

[blaquevelvet]

thank you very much. I must admit, I'm getting scared. I never thought I would have anything like this as athletic as I'am. It started suddenly in Jan. What is CAD and the risk factors? I'm totally new at all of this. I only knew about heart attacks but never knew the causes nor any of this stuff, I'm reading in here.  I hope you are feeling well. I keep getting the feeling that I can not put this off, so I'm taking your advice. I'm going to the ER.  I'm still shocked. I just never knew that looking up my symtoms would lead me to heart related problems. Every time I search on them, putting each in the google search engines, it keeps coming up on that.  



I will keep you posted. I feel so alone with this problem besides on here and I'm glad that I found this website.  By heart disease being in my family and my stepfather dieing of a heart attack, I don't want to tell anyone in my family what I'm feeling with my heart and scare them. People are already worried about my mother havnig heart disease, (the main artery) to her heart not working right, unstable.





I also notice that I tend to get cold as well right before or then hot afterwards. My husband keeps saying it feels like I'm running a low grade fever, since yesterday after the heart spasm.



Thank you again. I hope you are feeling. Many blessings!



Shar

[dmil241]

A strong family history is where your father, brothers, uncles get heart