jaamoo
12-19-2003, 01:13 AM
i am a 25 yo female in good physical shape (5'6" 130lbs") but have a list of mental problems. last month i started having chest pain. at first it was strong, right in the vicinity of my heart. it was so instense that i had to stop what i was doing, whether it be walking or sitting down reading. the pain would last 20-30 seconds then stop and come back 1-2 minutes later for about 2 hours straight. it would let up for a few hours, but started all over again. this went on for a few days when i told my husband, and he made me go into the drs. my doc did some blood work, an ekg, bp, the whole nine yards.( i was not on any meds at all at the time- so no chance of side effects) my bp was 90 /60, my pulse was 58. the ekg looked "okay", my heart and lungs sounded good. so they said if anything got worse over the weekend to go to the ER and in the meantime they'd call if anything came up in the bloodwork- and sent me home. By tuesday my left arm was going numb, the pain had worsened big time, and i was dizzy. i told my husband that it was irritating that my arm was numb and i was having a hard time typing online. he asked me about my chest pain and i told him the truth. minutes later, my mom pulled up in front of my house and said "omigod you are so pale!" a few minutes after that my husband arrived home and took me to the ER ( i am stubborn when it comes to going to the hospital or admitting i am in pain). when i got there, the ekg was "abnormal" but the xray looked "okay". they admitted me to cardiac ICU anyway. once in the ICU another ekg came back "abnormal". by this time, the chest pain had faded into a constant annoying dull pain instead of the jabbing strong pain. the next day i had a series of tests including a stress test, an echo, and more bloodwork. my blood enzymes looked fine with no trace of a heart attack.
everything looked okay. so they sent me home with a script for anxiety- they said it was an anxiety attack. i have a hard time accepting that all this chest pain- not to be mistaken for discomfort- it was full blown pain that was worse than labor pain- is just a result of anxiety.
i do have a strong family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholestoral- my maternal grandfather died in october of a sudden heart attack. my paternal grandfather had a quadruple bypass in jan 03. they sent a heart disease support person to talk to me about diet and excercise while i was in the hospital b/c my risk seems high.
don't get my wrong, i certainly do not want heart problems. but can stress/ anxiety really cause all that? i am still having an occasional pain here and there. i was in to see my dr on monday and he said that it was an anxiety attack and that i will be ok. i trust my dr completely, but i wonder if this is all just stress induced pain. has anyone ever had anything like this? its very possible i am obsessing over it too much, but if anyone has ever gone thru this i won't feel so worried.
thanks!!
Ja
everything looked okay. so they sent me home with a script for anxiety- they said it was an anxiety attack. i have a hard time accepting that all this chest pain- not to be mistaken for discomfort- it was full blown pain that was worse than labor pain- is just a result of anxiety.
i do have a strong family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholestoral- my maternal grandfather died in october of a sudden heart attack. my paternal grandfather had a quadruple bypass in jan 03. they sent a heart disease support person to talk to me about diet and excercise while i was in the hospital b/c my risk seems high.
don't get my wrong, i certainly do not want heart problems. but can stress/ anxiety really cause all that? i am still having an occasional pain here and there. i was in to see my dr on monday and he said that it was an anxiety attack and that i will be ok. i trust my dr completely, but i wonder if this is all just stress induced pain. has anyone ever had anything like this? its very possible i am obsessing over it too much, but if anyone has ever gone thru this i won't feel so worried.
thanks!!
Ja
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CobaltBlue
12-19-2003, 10:22 AM
Ja,
I know that anxiety can produce some symptoms, but there are a few things that you mentioned that have me a little more concerned. Before I get to that, intense pain such as you describe has been reported sometimes due to the gallbladder.
Now back to the points of concern. The first is the left arm numbness. The second was how pale you were. Did you notice any other discomfort in your arm other than numbness? Did the numbness subside when you quit typing? You said that it went away and came back for a few hours...did it get worse when you got up? Does the arm numbness come on when you are doing any other activities and does it appear when you are simply at rest? You said that they did an ECG, but were any other tests done?
Just out of curiosity, do you know what was checked and how often you had your blood drawn? Was CPK and troponin checked? Sometimes, it can take 24 hrs or more for elevated troponin to show up. You said you were at high risk; is this based on family history, elevated lipids, or any other factors that were pointed out to you? Your age (25) would make CHD rare, although not impossible.
You asked about someone going through the anxiety portion I think? Thats not me. I went through some similar symptoms that you described (plus a few others) when I had my heart attack at age 35. I was at high risk because of my family history, obesity, diabetes, elevated LDL, TG and low HDL, diet and sedentary lifestyle.
I know that anxiety can produce some symptoms, but there are a few things that you mentioned that have me a little more concerned. Before I get to that, intense pain such as you describe has been reported sometimes due to the gallbladder.
Now back to the points of concern. The first is the left arm numbness. The second was how pale you were. Did you notice any other discomfort in your arm other than numbness? Did the numbness subside when you quit typing? You said that it went away and came back for a few hours...did it get worse when you got up? Does the arm numbness come on when you are doing any other activities and does it appear when you are simply at rest? You said that they did an ECG, but were any other tests done?
Just out of curiosity, do you know what was checked and how often you had your blood drawn? Was CPK and troponin checked? Sometimes, it can take 24 hrs or more for elevated troponin to show up. You said you were at high risk; is this based on family history, elevated lipids, or any other factors that were pointed out to you? Your age (25) would make CHD rare, although not impossible.
You asked about someone going through the anxiety portion I think? Thats not me. I went through some similar symptoms that you described (plus a few others) when I had my heart attack at age 35. I was at high risk because of my family history, obesity, diabetes, elevated LDL, TG and low HDL, diet and sedentary lifestyle.
jaamoo
12-19-2003, 10:55 AM
hi ubernier, thanks for replying. to answer your questions:
they did an u/s of my gallbladder b/c that was one thing the dr thought it may have been also, but that turned up ok (even though everyone in my family has had gallbladder problems- that worsed when removed) so that wasn't it.
I don't remember any pain in my arm, the numbness was constant. it continued on into the night, but went away sometime after i was in the hospital. it was just stricly that day, i haven't had any numbness since. the chest pain was there whether i was active or resting. i don't recall it being worse when i was more active, but it did cause me to stop what i was doing. when i was walking i had to stop and sit down or lean over b/c i was afraid to get weak and fall. when i was reading, i just stopped reading. it basically broke my concentration then.
when i was in the drs office that friday, then did a pulse ox, which was 99, blood pressure, ekg and blood work. when i was in the hospital, they did several ekg's, xrays, a stress test, and echocariogram, and the gallbladder u/s, blood work and i think thats it. my bp stayed consistent at /around 90/60, and my pulse stayed around the 58-65 range except on the stress test.
I had my blood drawn about 7 times in the hospital and once at the drs office. i do know that they did look for a hyperactive thyroid. one time it came back borderline, but all the rest it was fine and they didn't see the need to treat it. the also checked my cholesteral, which was fine. i don't know what else they were looking for, and since i am really not knowledgeable about this topic i did not ask. they kept telling me everything looked normal and ok. i believed them then, but i am having a hard time accepting this which is why i am here.
yes, based on my strong family history for heart disease, diabetes, high BP, & high cholesteral i am at high risk for heart related problems. the docs i saw there said that it is a possibily for me to end up with a heart attack at a young age or other cardiac problems that will last my whole life, but that my age/ and physcial shape are my defense right now. but of course that could mean nothing at the same time. i am otherwise fairly healthy. i have asthma that is under control, and some mental health problems, but thats it.
i do not know about lipids and the other terms: elevated LDL, TG and low HDL. what are they?
i appreciate you taking the time to reply. I hope you are doing ok ater your heart attack.
Thanks again!
they did an u/s of my gallbladder b/c that was one thing the dr thought it may have been also, but that turned up ok (even though everyone in my family has had gallbladder problems- that worsed when removed) so that wasn't it.
I don't remember any pain in my arm, the numbness was constant. it continued on into the night, but went away sometime after i was in the hospital. it was just stricly that day, i haven't had any numbness since. the chest pain was there whether i was active or resting. i don't recall it being worse when i was more active, but it did cause me to stop what i was doing. when i was walking i had to stop and sit down or lean over b/c i was afraid to get weak and fall. when i was reading, i just stopped reading. it basically broke my concentration then.
when i was in the drs office that friday, then did a pulse ox, which was 99, blood pressure, ekg and blood work. when i was in the hospital, they did several ekg's, xrays, a stress test, and echocariogram, and the gallbladder u/s, blood work and i think thats it. my bp stayed consistent at /around 90/60, and my pulse stayed around the 58-65 range except on the stress test.
I had my blood drawn about 7 times in the hospital and once at the drs office. i do know that they did look for a hyperactive thyroid. one time it came back borderline, but all the rest it was fine and they didn't see the need to treat it. the also checked my cholesteral, which was fine. i don't know what else they were looking for, and since i am really not knowledgeable about this topic i did not ask. they kept telling me everything looked normal and ok. i believed them then, but i am having a hard time accepting this which is why i am here.
yes, based on my strong family history for heart disease, diabetes, high BP, & high cholesteral i am at high risk for heart related problems. the docs i saw there said that it is a possibily for me to end up with a heart attack at a young age or other cardiac problems that will last my whole life, but that my age/ and physcial shape are my defense right now. but of course that could mean nothing at the same time. i am otherwise fairly healthy. i have asthma that is under control, and some mental health problems, but thats it.
i do not know about lipids and the other terms: elevated LDL, TG and low HDL. what are they?
i appreciate you taking the time to reply. I hope you are doing ok ater your heart attack.
Thanks again!
CobaltBlue
12-19-2003, 12:11 PM
Ja,
It sounds like they did quite an extensive workup on you. I guess the only other question I have left is did your stress test involve two imagings (one before and one after being on the treadmill)?
One other possibility is that the arm numbness could be nerve-related and the anxiety leading to the pale color that you had? Maybe that is what the physicians are thinking.
About all I can suggest, if I were in your place, is to immediately return to the ER if the arm numbness returns. Best wishes, and I hope it is nothing.
Thanks for the kind words regarding my own demise; yes, I am doing fantastic now.
It sounds like they did quite an extensive workup on you. I guess the only other question I have left is did your stress test involve two imagings (one before and one after being on the treadmill)?
One other possibility is that the arm numbness could be nerve-related and the anxiety leading to the pale color that you had? Maybe that is what the physicians are thinking.
About all I can suggest, if I were in your place, is to immediately return to the ER if the arm numbness returns. Best wishes, and I hope it is nothing.
Thanks for the kind words regarding my own demise; yes, I am doing fantastic now.
hectaffy
12-19-2003, 08:23 PM
Hi,
Just reading through the posts and noticed your thread. My daughter, who is 40 yrs. old, had the exact same thing happen to her a couple of months ago. Scared her to death. Her arm and hand went numb, she got dizzy, chest pains, etc. We took her to the ER and they ran every kind of test possible on her. Turned out to be anxiety attacks. She was under a lot of stress, and once she realized it wasn't her heart, when she started to feel that way, she would just talk herself out of it, and hasn't had any problems since. I am not saying it is not your heart, but certainly sounds like what she was experiencing. Hope you get to feeling much better soon.
Lynda
Just reading through the posts and noticed your thread. My daughter, who is 40 yrs. old, had the exact same thing happen to her a couple of months ago. Scared her to death. Her arm and hand went numb, she got dizzy, chest pains, etc. We took her to the ER and they ran every kind of test possible on her. Turned out to be anxiety attacks. She was under a lot of stress, and once she realized it wasn't her heart, when she started to feel that way, she would just talk herself out of it, and hasn't had any problems since. I am not saying it is not your heart, but certainly sounds like what she was experiencing. Hope you get to feeling much better soon.
Lynda