for about a year i have had a most strange sensation . in the middle of my chest on my breastbone area, i feel weird from inside. it's very hard to describe. it's not pain as such, but a feeling of heaviness from within, and i feel i haveto rub the area. i also get pins and needles in my arms and legs too. lately it's been worse, and doctor has taken me off the pill, but seems unconcerned. my family has a history of heart disease, but because an ecg ws ok, they say i am too. when it happens my face feels hot and i get panicky, but this could be as i'm frightened of the chest sensation. it feels heavy, but not too much, and i have to take deep breaths. my blod pressure is ok, well it was about a month ago. i am 40, female, and an ex heavy smoker. i use the gym a lot, and it doesn't seem to bring it on then, it happens at odd times, usually when i am relaxed. i was taken off the pill, as alongside this, i had an episode of tunnel vision and pressure on my head, which i haven't had since. any ideas please?

I think you need more than just an EKG. A stress test with nuclear scan doesn't always catch everything but it's more reliable in women. That heaviness you describe is the symptom that would most concern me. Plus the fact that you have a family history and have been a heavy smoker. I would go back and ask for the stress test.

thankyou willdo, we are thinking alike. i think i will have to persist. sadly the doc thinks i'm depressed, which makes it tricky to be taken seriously. my father was only taken seriously once he had his heart attack, because he always passed treadmill tests etc due to being an athlete. he has now undergone bypass surgery. two years later his pains are returning and he is still being fobbed off!

am calling gp now heartcreature, fingers crossed.

fingers are crossed here too! It's amazing to me that someone who has had a history of cardiac event canhave trouble getting a doctor to believe that the same thing may be happening again. Same thing happened to me.

The heaviness and the weird sensation is your chest sounds like a panic attack to me. I get the same symtoms all the time. It's kind of like a tingling feeling and very heavy on your chest. You could very well be having panic or anxiety attacks. I have GAD (general anxiety disorder) and they will come at some weird times like when you're relaxed. Talk to your doctor about taking some Paxil or something like that.

thanks princesscol, i have an appointment tomorrow, and this has crossed my mind, as i now notice i need to keep sighing, as if i can't get enough air, which i think is a classic anxiety symptom. i want to get my heart checked for sure due to the family history, but i think it's a good point you make.

That sighing is a warning sign. I had that same feeling like I just couldn't quite get enough air. Most of the time that feeling that I had came on at rest. I specifically remember many times having that feeling while seated in a movie theatre watching a movie and I just kept feeling like I need to take deeper breaths and sigh. It would also sometimes feel almost like my chest had too much air in it and it was pushing out. You really need to sufficiently rule out a heart blockage because of the seriousness of letting something like that go.

I hate to do this..but I am going to repost my prior statement to someone else..just in case you havent read it...this is scarey but happens more often than people realize..and it happened to me....Let me tell you..you can take all the stress tests and nuclear tests in the world..and that wont give you an accurate picture!! I have had every cardiad test available and they all came up perfect..until now..To make a xtra long story as short as possible..for 2-3 years I had started having pvcs and various pains. I had visited many emergency rooms and bothered my PCP often. I was given all the cardiac tests available other than a catheter. I was told that my heart was fine because I passed all the test and to stop worrying..it was all in my head. Last week I was admitted to a hospital for chest and arm pains and after a stress test that showed I had a heart of a 20 yr old. (ha!) and two days..they sent me home. The following tuesday I went to a cardiologist I had never seen before and was having the same pains..he would not let me leave the office. He called 911 and sent me to a different hospital and did a catheter on me that afternoon. I had a 90% blockage and had to put 3 stints in. That was 2 days ago. I am 39 years old..somewhat oveweight..and quit smoking more than a week ago. This whole thing has scared the bejeezus outta me. Now I am home and very much afraid of each pain that I get..such as jaw..back..arm..I dont know what to do. I had posted earlier on this site about "Could all those tests be wrong"? the answer...YES!!! The only foolproof test is a cardio cath..and then I still wonder..even when the stints are put in..what are my risks now? Next step...pyschiatrist? My biggest dissappointment..is how all the prior doctors made me feel it was in my head..but I knew...and thank God I persisted or I may not be writing this now. God Bless you.

My story is very similiar to God Is With You. EKG's and nuclear scans missed my blockage too! I am female and was also young.

Hi Heartcreature,

Did you end up having a heart cath too? And what did they do for your blockage?

Thanks :)

The heart cath was the only test able to give true results that there was a blockage. I had 3 medicated stents put in. One week later..(today) I am fine with a few muscle aches and pains here and there. Headaches from the meds...but still thanking God for this second chance in life.

I had a 90% blockage and had to put 3 stints in. That was 2 days ago. I am 39 years old..somewhat oveweight..and quit smoking more than a week ago. This whole thing has scared the bejeezus outta me. Now I am home and very much afraid of each pain that I get..such as jaw..back..arm..I dont know what to do.

I remember that fear all too well, every little pain. I had two stents placed, 3 months apart, after a heart attack I had 3 years ago at age 35. I was overweight, sedentary, used tobacco. Good choice on losing the cigarettes :) I did drop the tobacco, started to eat right, began walking, but was still scared as heck to "tax my poor heart." However, I did take up running at the end of 2002, and now run 5-10K almost every day, compete in races against healthy individuals and even more amazingly, place well against those in my age group.

However, the thing to keep in mind (and I have old stents) is that there is a chance that these stents can last a long time if you treat them well. I have beaten the odds so far (failure rates), but I also live life much more healthy now than before. Good Luck and keep up the good work. The anxiety should subside over time....at least it did for me.

Hi Heartcreature,

Did you end up having a heart cath too? And what did they do for your blockage?

Thanks :)

Yes I did have a cath and yes I had blockage. They put in stent and then it failed and I had to have bypass. I do very well now.

Hi Heartcreature,

I'm so glad your okay and they caught it all in time. :)

well after reading all these i am really worried. doctor insists it's anxiety nothing more, all he did was take my bp. i think he is right that i am suffering with anxiety, as i have felt rotten all day yesterday and today so far. still, i think there's something else too, but i can do no more. i've seen other doctors, and in the uk they don't take kindly to you 'shopping around' to get the answers you want. i haven't been given any medication, just a self help booklet and told to go back in two weeks.

Ohhhh I remember the "anxiety" diagnosis. Grrr it makes me so mad when doctors chalk their misfindings to anxiety! Dont fall for that! YOU know your body better than anyone else!! Persist my friend. I just got out of the hospital again last nite from having another cath done to make sure everything was ok. I was having all kinds of pains after the first one the week before..and it seem that the muscle pains I was having was from the cholesterol medicine Vytorin they gave me. I have been off it for two days now and feel much better! Dont be afraid to "shop around" for a new dr. I have been thru so many drs until I found one who actually believed me and saved my life. If I could have found him earlier..he could have saved my insurance company a whole lot of money too! Take care..keep us informed.

I have had exactly the same thing lately. The only thing I can add is I have had a sensation in my jaws (almost a pressure) not a pain and my eyes have been bothering me. Have you been experiencing that?