bad chest pains!! - Heart Disorders Message Board

hypo_mom · 02-02-2003, 10:57 PM

im 31 and somewhat overweight and my dad suffrered 2 light heart attacks in his late 40's. well thats what i thought of when my chest started aching. i had a few pains in my arm the day before but they went away. well my chest pain (ache) was there when i went to bed and was still there when i got up! so we went to the ER and they gave me an ekg,chest x-ray, and blood work (heart enzymes) and it all came back fine! they said it was just my gastritis/reflux acting up.
does this sound right/normal?
even my head and my eyes hurt with it. not sure but whatever it is/was ....was scary!!!!!!!!!
opinions??????? advice????????
thanks, Lisa

McLink · 02-07-2003, 12:15 AM

I have had 3 years of chest pain and done a lot of reading on the subject. The pain radiating to your head and eyes do not sound like anything I have ever heard of. The only way to tell for CERTAIN that you have a cardiac blockage is with a Cardiac Cath. All the other tests that MIGHT show blockages come back on me with a false negative. When they went in to do the caths, every time I had major blockages after the other tests not showing artery disease.
Good Luck

02-07-2003, 09:16 PM

Thier diagnosis sounds accurate. Often gastric pains/problems can feel cardiac in origin (especially to those with current cardiac problems) because of thier proximity to the heart.

If you would have had an actual heart attack, ischemia, or any other afflicting ailment, it would have been detected by the (EKG)electocardiogram.
BB

hypo_mom · 02-07-2003, 10:46 PM

thanks BB, that makes me feel soooo much better!!
i was so worried at first then relieved at their diagnosis then worried again that it could be wrong!
lol
oh well i guess alls ok!
thanks!!
~Lisa

Gooba · 02-08-2003, 11:04 AM

That is not exactly accurate.I hate to rain on this parade,but,even though the ekg showed normal,the chest x ray is to see if there is a heart enlargement,if they did not follow up with the series of blood tests for cardiac enzymes over 24 hours,then you could still have heart problems.Alot of patients who come into the ER have symptoms and their first blood work comes back normal.Over a few hours the levels rise,peak at around 12 hours and start to fall back to normal and reach that usually in 24hrs.These patients also present with no abnormality in their EKG.You take this,and the fact that you are a young female,the chances of them dismissing a heart problem is very high.Young females unfortunately have to be persistent in their efforts to get proper treatment.Alot of their heart problems are dismissed as gastric in origin and not floolowed up.
If you still have those pains then you need to get to a cardiologist and get a complete workup.