32 - In hospital after heart problems - questions

[BlackSS]

I'm a 32 year old male in Canada.   I'm 185lb,5'9".   I've had a dull chest pain on my left side right under my armpit area and around to the center of the chesty for the past 4 months.   I've been ignoring it as it was such a dull pain I'd almost call it a sensation instead of pain.  

So I had the flu last week as did my whole family.  I was hit hard,  very weak, major headache, neck and back ache, fever.   Never developed much coughing but felt a bit phlegm.  So I was pretty much over the flu except still feeling a bit weak and still bad headache and neck ache.   My chest pain was radiating to the front more and feeling a bit tighter so I went to the er last Tuesday afternoon.   The did a ecg and it was perfectly normal.   They said they should do blood work but they were so busy I said screw it I'm going home.

That evening I was helping my wife with dinner when  I felt weak, light headed and my head started sweating like crazy.   I told my wife I'm going to the bathroom because I don't feel so good.   Once in there I got so hot and dizzy I almost passed out.   I could barely breath and was on the floor feeling like I was slipping away but had to keep moving.   My color was so pale I had the dead person grey color.  My wife called 911 but within 10 minutes I was back to normal.   When the ambulance came they did a ecg but it was good as was my temperature and blood pressure.  So iI told them I'm OK now and they left.

So that night I woke up around 4am with a heavy weight on my chest but no problem breathing.   I was dizzy and worried I was having a heart attack or something so this time my wife rushed me to the hospital.

Once there I wasn't taken seriously because the ecg was good and they kept saying I'm too young for a heart attack at 32.  So once the got the blood work back they came running with a nitroglycerin needle put in my belly and 3 sprays of something under my tongue, gave me something to help clear blood clots.   They said my troponin I levels was 4.87 and that I either just had a heart attack, was having one now or about to.   During all this my ecg never changed.  

They sent me for a CT scan with dye injected into blood, then a heart CT scan, then a eccocardiogram and all showed no heart damage or problems.  It did show pneumonia in the left lung.   I've been in the hospital ever since being treated for the pneumonia only.   The doctor's are confused and say maybe it's the pneumonia.  

I still have the chest pain that comes and goes.   My troponin I levels were dropping then peaked again and are dropping again.

Does this sound like Myocarditis or something like that caused by pneumonia?  Wouldn't an infection show up on those tests?   They told me mild pneumonia, not even bad enough for me to know I had it.   Although I did just get over a flu 2-3 days before this.

[BlackSS]

Also I think I had panic attacks thinking about having a heart attack at my age.   I was scared..  Could a couple major panic attacks cause troponin to be released?

[BlackSS]

They put me on aspirin the first day and a iv medication for pneumonia and pills as well.   My doctor came in today and was short and fast like normal.   He said my troponin levels are down  and I can probably leave tomorrow.    I asked him what happened to me, I want more info and he said very confusing and then just walked out.... Originally they thought maybe I had a blood clot in my left lung and that was the pain  I was feeling and caused some troponin to be released.   I still have a dull sensation  on my left side of chest but feel good.  

[ed34]

The nitro could open arteries in the lungs more, but that doesn't explain the high troponin levels. As health professionals they should know not all ischemic events show on an ECG and the first time you went, they should have put you as priority for the blood test. Pneumonia is a term used by medical professionals for a whole host of lung issues. Why would pneumonia give bouts of problems like that and suddenly resolve itself? doesn't make any sense to me at all. Have they put you on Aspirin or anything?

[BlackSS]

Forgot to mention I also has x-rays which is how they found pneumonia even though my breathing is normal.