Intense chest pressure for over a week now...HELP!

[jvc000]

I'm going to try my best to keep this as thorough and brief as possible:

I'm a 25 year old female, ex-smoker, and overweight. Not exactly the picture of perfect health, but no history of heart disease on either side of the family.

A little over a weak ago, I began to experience something  incredibly uncomfortable and frightening: a dull, intense heaviness/tightness in the dead center of my chest, that is more or less constant (it hasn't been as intense the last couple of days, but still there). It almost feels like really bad chest congestion, minus the cold symptoms. Sometimes (usually at night or if I'm lying down) it's accompanied by a sort of crawling sensation or lump in my throat, which lingers there for a few minutes and then disappears.

I visited a walk-in clinic on Saturday: the doctor took a chest X-ray and an EKG, and both were normal. He said it was likely stress/anxiety (I know my body enough to know this is not the case - if anything, it's causing my stress and anxiety). I followed up a couple of days later with my primary care physician. She took my blood to test for anemia and a bunch of other stuff, and the results were normal. She referred me to a cardiologist. I went to the cardiologist on Thursday. He did an echocardiogram and an EKG - both normal. He gave me a Holter monitor thing to wear for 24 hours, and I have a stress test scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, the symptoms are continuing and I am trying not to have a full-on breakdown over this.

The last couple of nights, I've experienced some sharp, brief pains in my left wrist, right calf, and left side of my chest - I don't know if this is a result of the intense anxiety I've been feeling, or what. The cardiologist told me that if I start to get intense, sharp pains in my chest to go to the ER - that hasn't happened. The "crawling" sensation/lump in my throat and dull chest pressure are still present. My nerves are getting all screwed up over this.

I'm just reaching out in hopes that someone may have experienced this, or perhaps have some idea as to what it is. I'm trying to be patient here, but it's super hard to be when I'm concerned that there might be a blood clot lodged in my lung, or some other horrific thing. The random pains in my wrist/calf are freaking me out.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Hizzoze]

Sounds like GERD. (reflux). Take some Pepcid, Tums, etc...try to relax. Good luck. Let us know how you make out!

[NeverAgain127]

I've had these exact symptoms, and after a zillion tests, it was determined to be:

1. Low thyroid...in fact, I have a multi-nodule goiter.   When your thyroid doesn't work, you get weird pains all over.   My T3, T4, and TSH levels were always normal...then I requested thyroid antibodies, and AHA!  They were sky-high.

2. GERD.  The throat thing...omg, that is just what I feel every time I lay down.  Try taking some Prilosec in the morning, at least 30 mins before you eat or drink ANYTHING.  I'll bet after 2 weeks, this symptom goes away.

Good luck!

[skydnsr]

The fact that, when you are lying down, the unpleasantness seems to creep upward into your throat is consistent with gastroesophageal reflux.  

[jvc000]

Thank you both very much. I'll keep you posted on the stress test results. And Ebonygirl, I have not had my thyroid checked, although I know that I am B12 deficient. Thank you for the advice and information.

[EbonyGirl]

Have you had your thyroid checked? I don't mean a simple little TSH....I mean a full thyroid panel to look at fTSH, fT3, fT4, TPO. Thyroglobulin, urinary iodine creatinine, essential elements such as selenium etc.....Do thyroid problems run in your family??....You would be surprised what strange symptoms a malfunctioning thyroid can produce...including heart related symptoms! Just a thought....Also, has anyone done a vitamin/mineral panel on you to check things like your B12, D3, folate, calcium and magnesium etc.. levels? Again,  you would be surprised at the symptoms being low in just magnesium, for example, can cause!! Hang in there! Hope you get answers and solutions very soon!!

[erijon]

This is very unlikely to be related to your heart. The longer these type of symptoms last the less likely it is related to your heart. Symptoms from a pending cardiac event do not occur intermittently or last for a period of time  over days or weeks. This is the same for blood clots in the arteries of the lung.

You have been checked out pretty well and the stress test is a good idea. I really don't think the doctors would have missed an underlying cardiac problem. What you describe could very well be GERD, you should ask your doctor about that as well.

Let us know how the stress test goes.