Throat discomfort is a classic Angina symptom and is very often misdiagnosed as heartburn. Doctors wouldn't listen to me, I tried telling them I was 46 years old and I know what heartburn feels like, but this burning was different. After a year that early warning sign turned into a heart attack, so I would have a good chat with your Doctor. ECG, Echo scans picked up nothing on me for a year. I even passed a stress test. When I had my heart attack, the angiogram shocked them at the mess they found. It may very well not be your heart, but due to misdiagnosis being so common with throat symptoms, I would definitely get it checked. Far better to be safe than sorry. You could ask for a non invasive CT angiogram to give a good indication if you have disease or not.
Still not been the doctors yet i have'nt had a pain since until today,it's strange sometimes i get a dull feeling no pressure but like my sternum is bruised and when i touch it it especialy centraly in middle of my sternum and a apply slow building pressure the pain increases,i have severe indegestion at the same time at the moment but i feel it's because i forgot my omeprazole yet the 2 symptome feel completely unassociated as i get this bruising sensation regardless of taking omeprazole sometimes the heart pain procedes this pain or sometimes the other way around.I do suffer it feels litteraly like a whole is burning through the back of my upper throat continualy and on occassion the omeprazole cannot help me,i could drimk an entire bottle of gaviscon and my acid will laugh at it,this increases dramaticaly if i smoke as well at the same time it occurs,it's like pure acid in my throat and my siliva is crystal clear like it's full of acid stopping bubbles forming in it.
Hi flycaster, I'm not arguing with what you are saying, but types of pain are not always a good diagnosis, they differ very much between individuals. My Angina when it started was like a knife had been thrust in my chest and someone was twisting it. I had read that heart problems feel like the chest is being compressed, which is another reason both the Doctors and myself ignored it. The pain was as sharp as it could get, I remember thinking that if it got any worse I would pass out. There was one time when I went into a type of shock with the pain. Very embarrassing, but my bowels opened uncontrollably, I urinated and vomited all at the same time. I was kind of halfway between the real world and a dream one with my pulse ringing in my ears. Not a nice experience. It lasted about 10 minutes and I had to rush home to have a shower.
My angina discomfort is/was never a piercing pain, always a feeling like a weight was on my chest or it was being squeezed. As a young man I had several bouts with Pleurisy, and it felt like you are describing your symptoms. I'd get checked to see if you have any infections going on with your heart/lungs.
I had to have a surgery to correct a hiatus hernia, but my symptoms were not a sharp pain.
I'm sure you know that smoking causes the arteries to constrict and given your history, will almost certainly lead to either a cancer or heart issue. I started smoking at your age but was able to quit, but not before heart problems nailed at a pretty young age. Being a construction worker I know you are a tough guy, and construction workers tend to be able to quit smoking faster than most. Give it thought.
I just hope it isn't what I went through. I too smoked, and every time I had a cigarette out in the cold, boy was I sorry. Smoking obviously reduces oxygen levels among other things which will increase Angina. When I went to see the gastro consultant, what made his final decision was my reply to his question "when you get the pains, how long do they last for". I replied that they can last from a few seconds to about 15 mins and then he immediately said "the heart". I didn't laugh at your spelling, the silly names they come out with for medical terms is beyond me, always using the dead language of latin. Hiatus hernia will give discomforts depending on the type you have. The most common is the sliding variety, where gravity pulls the stomach back through the diaphram when you have been upright for a little while. When you lay down, it tends to slide back up into the chest area.
What I guess I'm saying is that I would eliminate your heart first because you just don't want to ignore it, and wait for the big one. The biggest misdiagnosis out there is heart disease and often mistaken for gastric issues. If I was in your shoes I would push the GP for a CT angio scan or something, just to be sure.
Cheers, it does feel like a heart attack i am having but mild i see there are hundreds of different issues that can cause chest problems my guess is pleural or heart and i bet you top dollar it's via smoking,as this tends to occur if i binge on cigarettes a lot more often there is the possibility of heart or lung disease to,i have also been told i could have a hieatacernia as my dad had amajor issue with it and it can be hireditary i hear from a gp hence my omeprazole, if that is wrong spelling for hieatacernia please feel free to laugh,lol.As i feel it is wrongly spelt and i currently am laughing at how i have spelt it.
Hi,
IN Jan 2006 I was having a similar issue and everytime I went to A&E they said it was do to with acid. I was on vast amounts of Gaviscon for a year. Strange thing tho, the symptoms disappeared for the summer months, but returned with a vengeance in the winter. I was in the building trade too, working outdoors. I finally had enough and complained heavily to my GP who sent me to a gastro Consultant to swallow a camera. He asked me a few questions and said "It's your heart, not your gut". I was given a cardiologist appt for the middle of Feb 2007, but on Feb 12th I had a heart attack and needed stenting. It shocked all the Doctors involved. I was just 46 too. Now, the ONE thing which I do know is that exertion was definitely involved. If I stood still for a while, then started to do any work, the symptoms came on. If I stopped, they stopped. Sometimes if I stopped and waited 2 mins, then started work again, the symptoms didn't return. What caused the heart attack in the end was eating. Everytime I ate something, blood was diverted to the gut, making my heart work harder, and it brought on MI. Amazing how I could lift heavy stuff at work with less problems, even iron lintels. Cold weather really affected me, it caused breathing problems and a discomfort in my throat. I can only describe it as being like eating 20 extra strong mints, then swallowing very cold water. My ECG always looked fine because they are done at rest anyway. My Echo looked normal, yet again done with heart at rest. Only the angioplasty for my stent revealed the real state of affairs. If you have symptoms that come on with cold air, or exertion, then I would have a strong word with your GP. You will just need a stress test.