painful heart - Heart Disorders Message Board

cazajacks · 03-29-2004, 06:02 AM

HI, i wonder if anyone can reassure me on my problem, i feel like a right hypo but felt i must post.(again)
I posted once before about my palpitaions, i have a mild heart problem (pulmonary valve stenosis and a murmur,i'mnot sure if they mean the same thing).
Anyway i have had palpitations all my life so am used to them, 18 months ago they got a lot worse and a lot harder, sometimes up to 11 thousand missed beats a day. I saw a heart doc who did a chest xray, echo and a heart traceing thing and he said i was getting that thing where your heart beats a beat too quick and then misses the next one, well this is happening to me every 3rd or 4th beat and now i am getting a horrible sort of pain in my heart. It feels like my heart is being sqeezed or squashed, i have to keep rubbing my chest to help the pain but it won't stop.I have noticed that when i lay down in bed it is much worse and it frightens me. It does not feel at all like a heart attack but i how am i meant to carry on like this, it has been going on for a week now. My mum had a heart attack at 36(i am 39) and my dad has an enlarged heart????. I do have a lot of stress in my life atthe moment and i feel almost sure all my problems are down to i am having an early menopause but my doc won't have it. I have noticed that i am a bit more short of breath than i normally am, especially if i shout at the kids i am totally breathless afterwards, and am also very very tired. The only other thing different is a bad pain in my leg that radiates up and down the leg???
I do hope someone can help me and reassure me this is all normal.
P.S. i have an underavtive Thyroid and take 125mg thyroxine

Thank you...

zip2play · 03-29-2004, 06:21 AM

cazajacks,

You need an intense consultation with a GOOD cardiologist. Pain, shortness of breath a history of some known heart problems is a sign of trouble. A couple of your phrasings ("a right hypo") lead me to believe you're British and I'm not quite sure how your General Health works but see somebody this week.
I don't think the palpitations (like 1 in 9 ballpark) are the major issue here. It sounds most like angina to me and an arteriogram (catheter) is the single best test.

The back radiation is sciatica caused by an irritated nerve root in your lower spine and of no concern to your heart.

Thyroxine can cause a raft of symptoms but I'm not well versed on them.

My guess is the cardiologist will give you a good workup.

cazajacks · 03-29-2004, 01:00 PM

Thank you for replying, i just don't know what to do, my doc says all my symptoms are down to the stress in my life but i am not so sure. I tell myself not to worry too much as the docs have reassured me all is ok with my heart, but when you sit here day in and day out for about a week having constant palpitations and this heavy pressure i just find it so hard to lead a normal life. How am i meant to carry on normal things whilst trying to rub the pain in ny chest away???? Yes your right i do live in England.
I rang for an appointment to see the doc today but she could not fit me in so i left it, now i am home and have done all the house work and dinner etc and am resting it does not feel so bad, but it will suddenly just start up again for no reason??? more so on excertion?
I worry because the heart doc told me that nothing showed up and i was to go away and not worry?? He did say that in later life something can sometimes go wrong with my heart condition but he said he won't tell me what as it will worry me???
Thank you so much for your reply, i need someone to guide me a bit at the moment.

Machaon · 03-29-2004, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cazajacks

It feels like my heart is being sqeezed or squashed, i have to keep rubbing my chest to help the pain but it won't stop.I have noticed that when i lay down in bed it is much worse and it frightens me.

I have similar symptoms. When I've come into contact with chemicals, smoke, dust or other irritants that make my symptoms worse I use nitroglycerin pills under my tongue. I primarily use the nitro for chest pain, but when I get chest pressure and my breathing is labored, I'll pop a nitro under my tongue, and it really helps. Has your doctor suggested nitro to you?

Recently I found out that the fabric softeners and detergents that I was using were really causing my heart to beat badly. We've stopped using fabric softener liquid and sheets, and detergents and it has had a dramatic effect on how my heart beats, especially when lying down at night.

My heart beats better when I am lying on my left side. Do you find that your heart behaves better when lying on a particular side?
.

cazajacks · 03-31-2004, 05:19 AM

Hi, thanks for replying, i don't know if it is any better if i am laying on one side as have not really taken any notice. I felt a bit better yesteday and i feel a bit better even more today, but...... I know this is not the end of it, maybe in a week it will all start again and it is just a real pain. The doc says ignore it its stress but how the hell can you ignore it,it is really painful sometimes. I do get frightened about it, but who wouldn't.
I do notice that chocolate can make the palpitations worsebut not the pressure feeling, that is there when it wants to be. My doc has never suggested anything to me apart from something called betablockers, and to be honest i don't know what they are and i also don't want to take more drugs if they won't help a great dea.. I still am unsure if this is just stress or if there is something that they've missed, surely if something was wrong it would have shown up on the tests i had??? so many questions, if only these docs took a bit more time to listen i wouldn't be so anxious/stressed now.
If it comes back as bad as it was i am going to go straight back to the doc and tell her to do something. P.S.i have just bought a humidifier for my daughter so this might help rid any chemicals/dust in the house and help me as well. I don't know if detergents make me any worse or not, its not something i have thought to look at .
will speak to you soon.

Caz