Do I have a heart problem?

Question

I had a little chest pain on 12th June. There was a numbing feeling in my left hand and head.so I went to the emergency. They took my blood pressure it was 163/109. They had an ECG done and it came negative.T waves were negative in V3 & V4. They did an ECG again after 2 min it was slightly better so they said we will have to do an ECHO.but ECHO results were perfectly fine. Then they gave me some medication . After an hour they did my ecg again it was perfectly normal.Inbetween they said to be on the safe side we will do a TROP I test. They did that and it was negative but they said that we will have to do this test once again after 5 hours. So I went there after 5 hours and they took my blood sample. Next day when I went there they said it is negative and I don't have to worry bcos there is no sign of heat attack or heart damage. I am a regular smoker and 4 to 5 pegs are normal for me everyday. I got my cholesterol done and it is 234. They gave me Amtas AT & ecosprin.due to the alcohol I always have gas & acidity problems and my digestion is not good. I got my SGOT done it was 50 & SGPT was 98. Now they r telling me to get a TMT done. I just want to know that if except the first ECG all my heart tests are fine then why should I go for TMT & can gas & acidity and indigestion  and high blood pressure can be the reason for the negativity in my ECG.

ed34 · Answer

Just to add, 139 bpm is not a dangerous rate. My heart will jump to this with a sudden movement, such as you did when getting up and sitting against the wall. It should drop down to a lower rate quite quickly, within a couple of minutes.

ed34 · Answer

There are quite a number of possibilities for such an event. It could be alcohol, caffeine, smoking, infection, heart disease, reaction to a medication or drug, Thyroid gland problem, unhealthy diet where your electrolytes are out of balance, blood pressure too high, birth defect of the heart, etc etc.
As you can see, with so many possibilities and so little information to go on, it would be impossible to speculate what the problem could be.

king352 · Answer

I was laying down flat on my back watching a movie I hace numbness in my bicep but I was lying there my heart was fine then out of the blue just randomly out of nowhere I couldn't breathe I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me I raised up and am sitting up against my wall on my bed and my heart beats now normal it was 139 for about 2 minutes now it...

ed34 · Answer

I think the problem here is the term 'heart attack'. Personally I think it has become too loosely used. A heart attack is when an area of heart muscle has the blood supply totally cut off, and without very quick treatment, that part of the heart will die, forever. Heart attack pain is something which will not go away, only possibly once the heart muscle concerned dies. 
Now there's angina, which in a bad case is often called heart attack, even by cardiologists. If you have a blockage which is 90% or greater, then you will likely feel severe angina on the slightest exertion. This would also likely raise troponin levels, but in real terms it is not a heart attack because the vessel is not completely blocked. 
An ECG will not always reveal a heart attack, and some people feel no pain at all when it's happening. However, troponin is a very good marker in the blood to look for. It is released when cardiac muscle is being damaged. With a true heart attack, an Echo is very likely to show something. This is because without Oxygen, muscle cannot work properly.

tushar0023 · Answer

Thank you for your advice. But then what about EKCO & troponin tests. Dont they hold any value?

airpup · Answer

Sorry for all of your pain. It is always best to follow the doctors instructions and get the test done to at least lift a little of your worries. I do know that acid reflux and indigestion can causes many symptoms. I've had many different not traditional symptoms with mine, similar to what you're talking about. I've also heard that gerd can affect the vagus nerve and cause pvcs. I don't think gerd can mask heart attack symptoms on a ECG, rather the ECG may not catch the issue since I've read it's success rate for catching a heart attack on a good day is around 60%+

ed34 · Answer

Perhaps you should ask for a blood test to see if your pancreas has any problems. The pancreas can obviously cause all kinds of symptoms and will affect digestion because it produces enzymes to break down your food.

DrAnitha · Answer

Hi, understand what you are going through. Angina many a times can be missed by a routine ECG. In which case, a treadmill or an exercise ECG may help. Since you are having repeated chest discomfort, and as you having raised cholesterol, you fall in the high-risk group. In addition, as you are a smoker, the risk increases many fold. So it would be advisable to have a treadmill ECG done.The pain can also be due to orthopedic related causes like cervical rib, cervical spondylosis or disc prolapse. A simple x-ray will help and an orthopaedician can guide you. Good Luck.