1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Angina

Angina?

Posted , 3 users are following.

jacqueline80034
jacqueline80034

I woke up before Christmas with my heart beating hard and had "palpitations".  I had an extremely sore right arm/shoulder.  The next day I had a blue line up my right hand palm. Since then I have had a tight feeling in my chest, a sore neck, jaw and occasional sore left arm. I have also had a feeling in my chest like a small electric shock.

I spoke to 2 pharmacists who suggested angina.

I went to my doctors today and they did an ECG which was normal - so he wouldn't even discuss whether it was anything else.  He simply said you came in because of a chest pain but it's nothing so that's it.... he wasn't even remotely interested in hearing about the other symptoms I've been having - he's putting it down to "musculoskeletal pain...(whatever that is)". 

The symptoms I am having are: tightness in my chest, aches in my back, neck, jaw and left arm, tiredness (extreme), not sleeping properly (which is probably what is leading to the tiredness).  It seems to be okay when I am relaxing/lying down but as soon as I start doing anything I feel it again - even baking bread the other day was a task (kneading the dough was very difficult).

I got the impression from my doctor that he simply couldn't be bothered...!!!  It was a late "emergency appointment" and they were running behind on time....

Could this be angina or should I just accept that it's musculoskeletal and do what the doctor said and just take pain killers...!

Thoughts appreciated!

Jacqueline

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • jacqueline80034
    jacqueline80034

    Posted

    I should also mention that I have kidney disease (I have an atrophic left kidney - 5cm) as a result of which I have severe hypertension - which means I am on blood pressure medication - Amlopidine, Valsartan and Bisoprolol. I also have an underactive thyroid for which I am on 75mg of Levothyroxin. 

    It took the doctors years to diagnose the kidney disease - in fact it was only diagnosed AFTER my blood pressure was at 180/120....!!!

    You can see why I don't have the greatest amount of faith in my doctors!!!!

  • ross84532
    ross84532 jacqueline80034

    Posted

    Hi Jacqueline,

    I'm no expert but I had 3 stents fitted in veins supplying my heart (angioplasty) to cure my angina.

    Several of my symptoms are similar to what you have but not all, but with your other problem area's it would be difficult even for a doctor to say for sure.  The ECG shows problems better when you are actually having the pains, but when the pains go so do any odd results in the ECG.Try seeing another Doctor to see you during a normal appointment time, If they suspect anything to do with Angina, they should get you checked out by the experts.

    Sorry to be a bit vague, but 1 year after my Angioplasty I am still having chest pains possibly caused by the oills I have to take daily and my Doctor is not getting very far in stopping it.

    Regards

    Ross

  • mary73394
    mary73394 jacqueline80034

    Posted

    Hi Jacqueline

    I'm new to this forum but have you thought of looking under microvascular angina to see if that makes sense for your symptoms? I have this condition (and your symptoms are typical though not heard of blue lines before!)) and although mine comes on at rest too, MVA is often triggered by activity. Also ecgs don't always show anything in this condition. Angiograms are usually clear too. It's often diagnosed by exclusion of other conditions but you need a cardiologist/doctor who has some understanding of MVA or who is willing to refer you. You may of course have something completely different but I'd check out discussions on this site and or studies online - also referred to as CMVD especially in USA, or small vessel disease. Mary

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.