So this good news is bad news??

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

When I had DD1 I had some very serious health problems. Including at one point when my heart stopped. After all was said and done they said that my heart had recovered beautifully.

But, it has never seemed right to me. So, last month I had an episode when I was cooking dinner. I felt like some one punched through my back and grabbed my heart. It felt like it was being squeezed like a tomato. The pain was very bad. Spots started closing in on my vision and I felt myself losing consciousness. I bent my knees so I would sit down rather than fall, but I fell hard to my backside. The jolt hit me like a bang and my heart went bang really hard and started to slam around inside my chest like an animal trying to escape.

I laid on the floor trying to calm my breathing. My left arm hurt, my left jaw hurt, I had a splitting headache. I crawled over to the sink and got an aspirin and took it.

I laid there for a while and all of the symptoms went away. For some reason I decided it could not have been a heart attack. I took some tylenol for the headache and got back to work.

About a week later it happened again, not quite as severe or painful but still scary and I believe I passed out. When you really pass out it can be hard to tell when you're alone.

I started getting pain in my chest frequently. Sudden periods of extreme fatigue, bad headaches, pain in my chest and left arm. So I gave in and I went to the doctor and told him all of this. I had told him in the past about my chest pain and he was sort of dismissive. This time he was not. He gave me an EKG and a referral for blood work and a stress test. I had both done and ...

Nothing.

The test results show no sign of heart attack or damage, no heart disease or blockages.

So this is good news, right?

I am still not feeling well. I still have chest pain. He did everything he is supposed to do and the science says there is nothing wrong with my heart. Now what do I do??

 

[cravenchx]

A specialist I would recommend...
and fast. Don't stop til you get a
satisfactory answer. Something is
not right, and your body is trying to
tell you so!

 

[debilorrah]

See a cardiologist that is going to recommend the RIGHT tests. You need one of those dye tests that can see blockages on a PET scan. Second option is you are having panic attacks. They can mimick a heart attack - trust me on that one.

 

[heatherindeskies]

Get to a specialist. They can do another test where your heart rate is slowed and radioactive stuff shot in your veins to get a real clear picture of what is going on. This is different than the stress test. Good luck. Do it VERY Soon...your heart is telling you something is wrong.

 

[mamabigbird]

It sounds a lot like what my mom had/has lately. Same symptoms(maybe not as severe) and was diagnosed with Angina (heart pain)
She is now on Nitroglycerine patches (because she's too blind to be able to put a tiny nitro pill under her tongue).
The nitro pills dissolve almost instantly and work within seconds to stop the pain and open the blood vessels.
Hope this helps and good luck getting it diagnosed.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

The test they did was a cardiolyte stress test with radioactive and scans....

The doc gave me nitro pills, but I don't know if my test results show no heart damage would they work??

And I was thinking panic attack too, but I had NO panic at all. I was calm when it started and while scared, I was pretty calm. I have had anxiety before, but I haven't had anything that felt like an anxiety or panic attack in years.

What tests should I be asking for??

 

[breezy]

You need to see a cardiologist not a GP and especially not one who blew you off earlier.. You should have been given an echo cardiogram and nuclear imaging as well as a stress test. You should probably be on a 24 hour moniter as well to see what your heart is doing around the clock. Be persistant with the doctors and dont take" theres nothing wrong" for an answer. I let doctors tell me that about a peculiar heart beat I have had since I was 15. They kept blowing me off. It finally landed me in the hospital in July. Just because they didnt catch anything on the first round of tests doesnt mean it isnt there. Turns out what they kept telling me was an "anxiety attack" or "it was in my head" turned out to be something called Atrial fibrillation with RVR ( rapid ventricular response). In the mean time till you get your answers take one adult strength aspirin a day to ward off strokes and clots. Keep a daily log of what your eating,what your doing for activity and what your heart feels like . Note your pulse and blood pressure at least twice a day and record any episodes of pain that are acute noting their duration and level.
The more info you have when you see the cardiologist the better and remember that while there are really good cardiologists there are also those who think they are God and think they know your body better than you. Find one who will listen to you and take you seriously. Find one who understands that the doctor /patient relationship is a partnership and not a dictatorship.I know that heart issues can be scary

and I wish you well.

 

[sheaviance1]

This sounds exactly like what has just happened with my best friends Dad. He had one of his smaller arteries blocked. They put a stint in just this past week. It was a very minor blockage, but the descriptions that you gave sound just like it. Just enough a blockage to cause pressure to build up in the heart and cause pain. I agree with everyone else. Go to a cardiologist and ask him for the tests that he would want if he were in your shoes.

 

[ChickiKat]

Let me suggest that you also be tested for a pulmonary embolism as well..... They can cause extreme thoracic pain.

 

[Capvin]

My wife is now 53. About three years ago she had very similar symtoms. Perhaps her pain was not as severe, but she is a critical car RN and it really scared her enough where we took her to the hospital. She stayed overnight and was given numerous tests and nothing could be determined. Some months later the same thing and we agsin went to the hopital and she was given a new series of tests, one of which should have shown something if her episode was heart related, and nothing. She continues to have chest pains on a fairly regular basis and there is nothing that we can do about it because noone has been able to diagnose the problem. We have had many guesses from menopause to osteoperosis. It has been very frustrating as I am sure it is for you. Like everyone else here I encourage you to get all applicable tests in the hopes they can find the cause and if you do, please let me know as we would be interested to see if it could be applicable to my wife.