Pain in heart area way after exercising

[Priory_Guy]

Hi there,

im 30 year old male, quite unfit, although was quite fit about 5 months ago - puzzled as to how i can have lost as much fitness as i have other than with some sort of heart defect..

Anyway, in the last 5 months ive done literally no exercise. 8 weeks ago i had what i thought was a panic attack - pain in chest, pain in arm and jaw. I assumed it was a panic attack. 2 weeks after this I had another scare  with suspected PE. Had ecg = fine, bloods - hi d dimer 1500, not great oxygen in blood county, but in the CT showed no Pulminary Embolysm. Anyway, after this scare there are a handful of things that are not clear to me;
1) Why am i not able to exercise aerobically like i could 5 months ago, the only difference being that ive gained 14 lbs..
2) When i do exercise, ie walking i can climb real steep climbs fine, no heart pain, i can walk for hours - no heart pain. Yet when i do a few weights, press ups or a thing where i run between rooms and when i get to the new room i crouch and run back I feel faint, and not quite with it..I cycled 10 miles in 30 mins and when i got back i could barely walk to my room without fainting..  About 20 / 30 mins after doing this sort of intense exercise i get these sensations / twinges in my heart area and a feeling of not being with it..
To add to this, ive noticed that when i eat certain foods or a lot of food i become light headed and my pulse goes up to about 80/bpm.

Im seeing the Dr this thurs for a follow up, ive got a whole host of questions for him but would like it if anyone could shed some light on this strangeness?! I just hope the DR doesnt fob me off like he usually does..

Do i need a stress ecg doing? or a echocardiogram?

[kenkeith]

You should get a stress test.  A treadmill stress test and EKG can evaluate your tolerance for exercise, and vital signs during the test.

For some insight, the test will include the duration of the exercise period and the workload in METS (metabolic equivalents, or resting oxygen consumption of about 3.5 mL per kg per minute). The results about exercise capacity report may state "poor exercise tolerance (3 to 4 METS)" or "good exercise tolerance (10 to 11 METS)." The cardiorespiratory fitness levels established by the American Collage of Sports Medicine (ACSM) can serve as general guidelines.  

The test will determine what level of tolerance of exertion is helpful for your physical condition.  Almost all upper scale treadmills have METs designation, ie 3.8 miles an hour is equivalent 6 METs (my tolerance level).  Very fit individuals can sustain 15 METs.