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.

Thank you Willdo for your response. I am hoping to find people who have had this type of procedure and how anxiety affected them afterward. I keep asking my doctor....are you suuurree I am going to be alright? I think the fear I live with is way more damaging. and ps...Xanax doesnt help.

Thats alot of information to take in. I am supposed to pick up my nitro today. I dont want to overuse it..so I am not sure exactly when I am supposed to take it. I still dont know which is heart pain or muscular pain. I do have a tendancy to use bad posture. I am definately trying to make a life style change. I walked the treadmill for 5 min today (lol) I just got out of the hospital yesterday and dont want to overdo it. And I am wanting to eat healthy..but am so gosh darn afraid to eat anything for fear of the damage it could do to me. There is so much to learn. Oh how I wish I would have taken better care of myself earlier. Will take your advice and look for a support group for mended hearts. Cause I dont want to go to the looney bin. lol Thats all those doctors faults tho for making me think I was crazy and all those pains were "in my head". I guess I actually started to believe them. :nono: Shame on them. God Bless

Hi Godiswithyou,
God sure was with you!! I'm so glad your okay!!
Can you tell me why the doctor wouldn't let you leave his office, what were you going through at the time?
I total agree that the heart cath is the ONLY way of knowing for sure what is going on.
Congrats on quitting smoking. It's been 10 days for me and the hardest thing I ever did. Keep strong.
Again I'm glad your okay.
God bless!!

Hi 777! The reason the doctor wouldnt let me leave was because I was having radiating pain from my chest to various parts of my shoulders, arms and jaw..but the funny thing was..that I wasnt really feeling that bad. As far as shortness of breath..I was just having trouble taking real deep breaths but I wasnt gasping for air. So it was pretty scarey cause I didnt think I was having a heart attack (which I wasnt at that time) but the blockage was sure sending off warning signals! Yes God was and is with me..I just pray that he will remove this spirit of fear that keeps bothering me. Thats why I come to this message board..to know that others have been thru the same thing and survived it quite well. People....please get more than one opinion from doctors. You know your body better than anyone!!!!! Dont take no for an answer!!!

Hi again,
I've been getting chest pains for years and I took it in my own hands to get a EBCT scan (calcium score) and I found out in my LAD artery I have 38% hardend calcium. Well every doctor I have been to since thinks it's no big deal but it is!! It's the first sign of heart disease. I don't know how to get a heart cath when I pass all the other tests (I've had them all) with flying colors. They say I don't need it.
I'm going for an Echo on Wednesday because now they are saying I have MVP. They put me on a beta blocker, which I hate, and I think it is making things worse.
I am going to bring up the heart cath to the doctor again and see what he says.
Did the heart cath hurt? Are you put asleep?
Thanks for sharing your story. It will help a lot of people. :)

Hi 777,
Absolutely insist on a cath!!! I passed every single heart test before that with flying colors. I finally found a cardiologist who believed me and ordered one right away. It didnt hurt...they make an incision in your main artery in your groin..they gave me morpine and a local anesthetic before the procedure. The hardest part of the cath is afterwards when you have to lie still for many hours or rather..you have to keep the leg that they go in still..until it has time to heal so you dont bleed. When they are doing the cath...you just feel them putting pressure..but you dont feel anything inside your heart. I tell you..praise God for that doctor who listened. The docs dont like to order caths because the risks involved...but the risks are rare..and you have more of a risk NOT having it! and let me remind you...my heart problems started out a just lil flutters to..and got more and more frequent...and after the cath? very very few. Something to think about. :confused:

Hi Godiswithyou,
I will talk to him about it on Wednesday. You would think he would want to do one because of the calcium in the artery but now I think he is just going to focus on the MVP.
Thanks again for the information. I wish you get health!! :)

Godiswiithyou the anxiety probably will not go away anytime soon. Every little twinge you feel in your upper body will make you think something is going wrong. I'm assuming you had the medicated stents which are much more reliable than the old bare metal ones that would often restenose after about 3 months. You are very lucky that someone finally listened!

As a matter of fact..I did get the medicated stints and I didnt realize that they are more reliable. Thank you so much for that information!!! You have no idea how much more that puts my mind to ease. Every comforting and encouraging word sends me on my way to better mental health..which is crucial to my physical recovery!! :wave: