Could i have angina?

Hi Cathy,

That's more than likely why I kept my answer short and sweet and said speak to their specialist/GP for tests.

I don't know but I'm sure you wold know as being an ex emergency nurse, I regularly hear of young and old come into or emergency department complaining of chest pain, it is treated seriously as it should be but the questions the triage nurses ask are very specific in asking how the pain feels, like does it hurt to breathe, does it hurt when you move, is the pain sharp, dull, heavy, stabbing pain etc etc, I'm sure you know it all of by heart.... I have heard patients tell the triage nurse say their pain is sharp and the nurse then reassures the patient it's not their heart as it's an indication it's something of muscular nature, I found this to be a bit scary( I won't go into specifics as it would take half a day to tell you the conversation I over heard) in telling a patient this because what if the tiage nurse is wrong ? weirder things have happened in human health how do they know hat that patient couldn't of already had a heart attack with that sharp pain ?

Chest pain that is sharp in nature usually is muscular.  We have muscles between (called intercostals) that in addition to the diaphragm, we use for breathing.  If the pain is made worse by taking a deep breath (using those muscles), that would lead us to believe that that may be what is causing it.  Feeling like you can't catch your breath of that it is dificult to take a deep breath in due to a squeezing sensation, this would point more towards either anxiety or cardiac.  Some people feel sharp pain with anxiety.  He gave a pretty good explanation of what he was experiencing.  The radiation to the arm, shoulder/back and neck/jaw don't typically happen with non-cardiac pain.  Profuse sweating along with nausea and vomiting is also common when it is cardiac.  Someone's family history and lifestyle play a BIG role too.  So when we triage someone, we take all these things into account and base the likelihood of it being cardiac vs. something else based on that information.  In addition, each hospital has protocols that have been set up based on tons of research to guide the nurse.  Is it possible to have a heart attack with sharp pain, but unlikely, so unless the rest of the information strongly points to that.  For this reason, it will likely be treated as something it is more likely to be.  Depending on the information though, and ECG and cardiac enzymes (the labs the verify if there is a heart attack going on) should still be done. 

Now onto the gall bladder.  In many cases, the symptoms are very close to that of angina,  Like angina pain, gall bladder symptoms can very from person to person.  Most people have stomach, back or chest pain, nausea and sometimes vomiting.  The pain is quite intesnse, like angina pain.  Both can be emergencies, which is why it is important to go to the ER when there symptoms occur.  Just as there are cardiac enzymes that elevate, there are labs that will elevate if it is the gall bladder.  Like the cardiac enzymes, they elevate during an attack, but will then return to normal when it is over.  So the best way to determine the difference, is treatment in the ER. Within this realm of gall bladder issues are inflammation of the gall bladder, a stone that has been produced by the body get stuck going through the ducts (tubes) it needs to pass through, of actual infection of the gall bladder.  After the labs are back suggesting that it ay be the gall bladder, an ultrasound is usually ordered.  

I'm being discharged from the hospital RIGHT NOW, so I'll have to finish this at a later date.

See ya!