I am a 41 year old female. I recently had a sudden stressful personal event the other day and just after that I experienced pain on the left side of my neck, shoulder and down the arm to the elbow. I could breath fine. The pain was like being "'hit'' and lasted for several hours. I took 2 asprin and took it easy. It has'nt happened since but it got my attention. I had a test a year ago on my heart and was told it was fit as can be. I did'nt go to the ER. After this event I think I just can't handle emotional stress anymore. Does anyone think it was heart related? :)

The best thing is to assume it is heart related until proven that its not. It may or may not be but you don't want to take that chance. The symptoms are very much 'heart related' symptoms, even if they are NOT heart related.

Please, go and get a thorough check up from a cardiologist, just to be on the safe side.
Abby

I urge you not to ignore it. I was 41 when my blockage was discovered I had pain on the left side of my chest and shoulder going down to the elbow and then eventually down to the wrist. I would wonder what tests you had before that made them determine that your heart was fine because some tests miss actual blockages. Stress test and EKG were not helpful in diagnosing my blockage. Get yourself checked out.

Yikes, thanks for the imput.

I think it would be wise to get checked out.

I had the pain in upper,left side of back, neck, and arm April last year, but it wasn't from emotions/stress. I went to the ER and my ekg was abnormal. They said they would ignore the abnormality in someone else, but along with the pain and having my normal ekg on file they admitted me. It was the typical 3 day stay, telemetry monitoring, blood tests (cardiac enzymes? my brain is failing me right now :p), ekg's, echo, walk on the treadmill. They ruled out heart problems.

Just this past week, though, I had the pain in my neck at the time of being stressed on 2 occasions. It does make me worry, but I figure I had it ck'd out and I am already under a cardio's care and have an implanted monitor, so...

(My history: I am diag with mild MVP with mild MR and mild TR, IST (inappropriate sinus tachycardia), NCS (neurocardiogenic syncope), and mildly elevated pulmonary pressure. I currently have a Reveal ILR to try and figure out why I am getting dizzy spells with everything going black. I am on atenolol and verapamil. So, I don't think I should be too alarmed, should I?)

One week before my 44th birthday I suffered a heart attack, My only symptoms were it felt like someone's fist was pressing hard right in the center of my chest. I tried to walk it off but it wouldn't go away. A heart attack NEVER entered my mind as I did NOT have high blood pressure, diabetes, family history , high cholesterol, don't smoke, rarely drink OR any other of the risk factors OTHER then being a bit overweight and STRESS!! I had been under a huge amount of stress due to my father having Alzheimers. I had 3 EKGs that night and all of them came back NORMAL. While in the ER, they took THREE blood tests to confirm it as THEY didn't even belive it. I had balloon angioplasty the following morning and a medicated stent put it.
(A few hours after the surgery, my femoral artery popped open without my knowing it till i reached down and felt this HUGE bump on the insicion site. I was "bleeding out" and couldn';t feel a thing) thats scary

So, when you say that you were stressed? I say, GET CHECKED OUT. It took me three hours to finally get to the ER, the delay caused more damage to my heart.

(the pain during the heart attack for me was minimal, I took a shower, shaved my legs AND cut my hair all while this was going on.)

Best of luck to you