Nerve problems within the heart

[Lavio]

Hello.

I am a 21 year old male living in Sweden. For the last couple of years (as far as I can remember, really) Ive had some sort of chest pains occasionally.. When I was in my mid teens it wasn't very frequent, I had this stinging pain in the heart once or twice every year and Ive heard that it is very common (when it stings so much that you can barely inhale or exhale for a minute or two), so I didn't put much thought into it..

However, as time passed, I noticed that the chest related pains increased in intensity and frequency. It went from once or twice a year, to maybe once or twice a month some years ago.. Still, at that time I didn't really put much thought into it because I was young and I really just scoffed it off.. But recently these chest related pains have appeared much more frequently. At least once a week I feel some sort of chest pain and it's always around the heart area on the left side of my chest.

When these pains occured years ago, they were basically mild pains that stayed for some minute.. Nowadays however, it has taken a new shape. I don't have those noticable pains as often, but what I have are these mild but very noticable pains (sort of like weird contractions of the heart) which sort of make me stop whatever Im doing.. I always check if my heartrate is fine when this happens, and it always seems to be..

My uncles have heart conditions so I went to a doctor and had a ECG done today. According to the doctor a nerve in my heart that regulates heart rate isn't functioning as it should.


My question is: Does anyone here know what the condition could be, and/or if there are some measures that I should take to lessen the effects of the condition?

Ive been appointed to visit a cardiologist a week from now, but as you may understand Im pretty damn worried.. I don't know what's wrong with my heart, and what I would want is just for someone to help me understand what it MIGHT be..

All help is greatly appreciated.

[Lavio]

Hello.

So today I was at the hospital for the checkup at the cardiologist.. Apparently judging by the ECG she thought I have something called Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome, or WPW-syndrome..

Reading a bit about it on the net (and the info I got from the cardiologist), it has something to do with a signal to the heart indicating that it should beat. The signal in my heart apparently is too close to the actual heartbeat which might cause very rapid heartbeats (and even sudden death)...

They were not certain if I in fact have WPW, what they'll do is Ill get a tape recorder on my chest and they will record my heartbeats for a day.. They'll analyze the data and we'll go from there..


Needless to say, I was devastated to know that I may in fact be sick. Having so much happen in such short notice is a lot to take in, but what I need is just some additional info.

* Is WPW dangerous? What should I avoid, what can I do to better my chances of not being affected by it?

* The cardiologist mentioned that the symptoms can be surgically removed by burning off a piece within the heart.. Is this surgery concidered dangerous? What are the potential dangers/side effects?

* Is there anything else I need to know about the condition or the process that I have to go through from here on out?

Thanks in advance.

[CCFCardio MD1]

It is difficult to tell exactly what is going on based on the information you have provided.  For a patient your age, the chance that your symptoms are due to blockages in your arteries is extremely rare.  However, young patients can have problems with their heart rhythm that can manifest as chest discomfort.  i would certainly follow the advice of your physician and see the cardiologist when you can to follow-up on this.