ferwoods

Hi There -

First off I will say I have a history of hypochondria and perhaps an addiction to worrying. Last week I thought I had a Cavity, once the dentist told me this was not there my worrying switched back to my heart again. I'd say thoughts of "heart concern" are on my mind 45% of the day. Besides this, I live a very normal life, have a great job and am in a long term committed relationship. I keep these thoughts internal.

No onto my concern about my heart health.
- Paternal Grandfather had first MI at age 37. Eventually died at age 67 on MI in his sleep. Enjoyed 13 years of retirement.
- Maternal Grandmother has first MI at age 57. Still alive at a ripe age of 93 and no other events.
- Maternal Grandpather lived til 93. Had first MI at 83.
- Paternal Grandmother still alive at 90.

My heart concerns / symptoms:
- Palpitations
- High Blood Pressure (140/75) a age 28. Working on getting this down through diet and excercise but despite healthy living think this is in my genes.

Symptoms:
- Occasional chest pain during physical exertion. Only when running and occurs at about the 15-minute mark when HR reaches 175 - 180 range. Lasts for 2-3 minutes and then goes away. I'm able to continue my run.
- When I use an eliptical and keep my heart rate under 170 I never experience ANY chest pain.

Tests:
- Blood Cholesterol: Considered normal for my age.
- EKG Stress Test 2011: Normal Results. Got HR up to 193BPM did not experience chest pain as normally I need about 15 minutes of high endurance activity to get chest pain.
- Resting 2D Dopler Echo in 2005: Normal
- 24 hour holter in 2004: Normal
- BP: High as mentioned above but working on it.
- Weight: 5'11 pounds, 176 pounds. So slightly overweight but not bad.


Now - after my *normal* EKG my doctor has rule out Heart Disease. I understand that this test is normally only about 75% accurate in diagnosing heart disease but my guess is given my age the dr has decided not to press further.

What is next? Should I try to get another doctor to give me a radioactive isotope test? Even if i found thickening arteries with it not having any impact on my life (other then chest pain when running which I am able to run through) would a medical treatment even be recommended? I would imagine stents and angioplast would cause more harm then benefit.

Should I FINALLY stop worrying about this and just ignore the chest pain? or push through. Does anyone else get chest pain from running only and concerned?

Thanks!