Symptoms and am i too young?

[BlackEyedFetus]

I have a near perfect history of men in my family who have died from Coronary Heart Disease. If fact, every man on my fathers side has died from it, the last being my cousin. My father is the only survivor, he had 3 open heart surgeries so far. The last, we were told, was that he had a 5% success rate. He had 5 clogged arteries. The doctors told my brother and i to be careful and to live a healthy life devoid of coffee, cigs...

Recently though, i have had a scare. I have these sharp chest pains, some feel like heart burns but hurt. Also, my right leg swelled up, my ankle was purple-ish. It hurt when i walked, it felt like burn, like my skin was about to rip. Ive been fatigued for weeks, dizzy at times, and out of breath. In less than 2 months i gained 20kg.

Before these symptoms i had stress test and an echo, i was told all is well. They also told me that they accidentally found that there is a part that is missing, i dont remember the name, butthey said that there should be 3 that help push the blood, and i only have 2. They said it was nothing to worry about. But i do not trust the doctors where i live since they almost killed my father and killed my cousin by giving them the wrong treatment and the wrong amout of blood thinners. Realizing they made a mistake, they gave them a clean bill of health. I would just like your opinion as to whether i should fly to another country... for tests.

Thank you for your time

[billduvall]

I'd say that you are at risk, and that whole "there's only two, but there should be three" thing could be very serious if they are talking about the number of flaps on your aortic valve. Having only two is a genetic birth defect that can cause an aortic anyeurism, so I'd most definitely get a second opinion on that. A friend of mine just had surgery to get that repaired.

[BlackEyedFetus]

My cousin was 45 when he had his heart attack (Deceased) My father was 40 when he had his first, 48 his second, and 55 his third. My uncle was 35 (deceased). Both grandfathers around 60.

i failed to mention, both legs were swollen, but my right leg didn't heal as fast.

Thank you so much for your time and help. I greatly appreciate it

[erijon]

Yes, at 29 you are a low risk. Chest pains that are sharp in nature are  not normally heart related. Plus, swelling in one limb and not bilaterally is not normally a symptom of a systematic disease. It is probably due to an injury in that leg.

With your history, accept the good test results as accurate and be very diligent about checking your cholesterol every year and keep an eye on your BP. Also, consider a stress test every three years, this should give you an indication if there is a problem looming.  How old were you male relatives that died? If they developed disease before 55 it is hereditary, after 55 is lifestyle and  not hereditary.

Jon