pain in the left side of the chest

[mikemagdy]

i'm 23 year old male , i started getting short breath and chest tightness on several occasions without any specific triggers it came also with high pulse rate low pressure and disorientation  , then it became worse and  i almost fainted several times and the worst episode of these symptoms lasted about an hour after that the case improved and i could breath normally , i suspected a cardiology condition and i went to a cardiologist he did ECG and echo tests and told me my heart is fine and there is no problem and it may be stress or the symptoms induced by some sort of panic attack , today i got the same symptoms but more severe i tried to control the panic attack symptoms and i succeeded my heart rate didn't rise but still the chest tightness was very severe i couldn't catch my breath and it felt like my chest on fire , i went to the hospital immediately but the symptoms was gone in 20 mins , so the doctor said it may be an allergy , just a couple of minutes i got pain in my left side of my chest that lasted about 5 mins ,  i stopped smoking for almost a month now hopping that my condition  gets better but it didn't , i travel a lot what do you recommend for an emergency procedure to do when i get those symptoms and what should i do about that case ? , whats wrong with me ?
thanks

[MichelleP_3811]

As a side note, if this is only happening after eating then it could be your are irritating the vagus nerve and it is sending signals to the heart causing it to speed up a bit.  I get this when I eat too much, eat foods high in gas and carbohydrates.  If this is you then you might want to try and eliminate some of those things that bloat your stomach and see if it helps.

[MichelleP_3811]

Has a cardiologist fitted you with a heart monitor, a 24 hour one or one you wear for a month to try and catch one of these episodes?  You really need the episode to be recorded for a definitive diagnosis.  If your heart rate is rising above 200 it is likely some sort of svt but if it rises only slightly after eating or something like that then it is likely some sort of sinus tachycardia.  Either way I would go back to the cardiologist (not ER) and get a monitor to catch the episode.  If your current cardiologist is not willing then try a different one.  You shouldn't be left wondering what is going on if no one has seen what your heart is doing during one of your episodes.  Once they see how it starts and stops and what it looks like then they can give a better sense of what your issue is.  But if you haven't had this captured on an ekg while having the symptoms then push until you do.   Until then I suggest trying to bear down and hold your breath when an episode comes on.  This may stop the episode or it should help slow it down if you are having sinus tachycardia.  You should also sit down and wait until it passes as opposed to moving around but the main thing is you simply want to slow and calm your breathing down any way you can so your chest doesn't tense up when the heart is beating too fast.  I have had an svt my whole life until I had it ablated last year but I never got stressed during an episode likely because I was born with it so I was not worried about it stopping but I believe since I didn't stress the episodes though causing shortness of breath and dizziness never did cause chest pain.  Well good luck.  Be your own best advocate and you will eventually get to the bottom of this though I send wishes your way that it is sooner rather than later.  Take care.

[mikemagdy]

thanks for your comment
i went to a chest doctor (i suspected its a respiratory problem )  .. she put the stethoscope on my chest and back several times listening to my lung sounds and she told me that there is no problem with my lungs and its a stress or anxiety and prescribed Motival 1 tablet at night .... but i'm not convinced with the diagnosis of either the cardiologist or the chest doctor , now i'm getting chest tightness without my heart rate going up, without hot flashes ,without feeling panic !! , every body keeps telling me it's stress , but i'm not stressed at all !! , i got it several times after or during eating lunch it lasted about 20 mins and i couldn't take my breath and my heart rate was fine ..
can it still a panic attack without the hot flashes and the heart rate rise ?
will Motival work for this condition and how long will it take for the results?
if its a panic attack could you recommend breathing exercise ?
i appreciate you taking time to answer my questions
thanks again

[MichelleP_3811]

Do you know how fast your heart rate is when you are having an episode?  Do you sense you are stressing about something right before you have one?  Do the episodes start and stop suddenly or do they ramp up and down?  You could be having panic attacks but you could also have some sort of congenital svt.  I had what is called avnrt.  Every so often my heart beat would get caught in a loop around my avnode and cause my heart rate to race at around 230bpm.  This caused many of the symptoms you describe.  To stop the episode some have found bearing down and holding your breath works.  I might even suggest trying to give yourself a good coughing fit to see if that breaks it free.  These would likely work for a congenital condition but may not for a panic attack though they also don't always work for a congenital situation.  

If you know you will get an episode in a months time I would go back to the cardiologist and ask for an event monitor to try and catch one of the episodes.  This way they will be able to tell whether or not what you have is congenital and fixable or stress related and treatable.  But you do have to have the episodes at least once a month for you to be able to get it diagnosed.  If not then keep a diary to see if there is a pattern of this being triggered by stressful events and days in your life or for no good reason at all.  But just for your peace of mind.  In a healthy heart tachycardia is not considered dangerous.  I would stop what you are doing when you get an episode and head to the ER if you can't get it to stop but in general you will likely live on just fine if you continue to get the episodes every so often though at some point I am sure you will get a diagnoses and a path to treating it.  Until then just try to not stress too much about them and relax and breath through any episodes as best you can until they pass.   Ok,  take care.  I do hope you can get to the bottom of this.  Keep us posted on how you are doing.