Could this be a heart attack or am I overreacting?

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hi, for the past 6 hours i've had pain in my left chest and upper arm. It's fairly minor pain. I have been diagnosed with severe anxiety by 3 different doctors and am taking medication for it. I am twenty years old, I am a male and weigh 312 pounds, and my father died at 35 of a heart attack, these are the only potential causes for heart issues I have. I was checked at birth due to the doctors thinking I have heart issues, however I didn't. And due to my fathers heart attack I get a blood test once a year. I got mine in April of this year. My sugar was good, cholestorol was good, blood pressure is good, although it gets very high due to anxiety but when i'm not anxious it is within the normal range. Also my CBC and other organs were all perfect. Am I overreacting and just feeding my fear or should I go to the ER. It seems to get better when I don't think about it. I am currently trying to lose weight and live a healthier life before it's too late. However I am worried that it already is too late. Any help and advice would be appreciated.

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3 Replies

  • Posted

    You might be over-reacting, but I wouldn't take a chance. The combination of hour family history and present weight make a heart attack not entirely unlikely.  Go to the nearest emergency room RIGHT NOW.

  • Posted

    Agree the Judith, I had a Dr some years ago explain to me when I had chest pain, that their are alot of people in the morgue who decided for themselves that they weren;t having a heart attack. 

    He told me he would have been delighted if my chest pain had been indigestion, but it wasn't it was fluid trapped between my heart and the sack your heart sits in, pericarditis if I remember correctly, you could see it on the x-ray, and he said without treatment it could have become really really serious, a series of injections and problem solved, and a course of tablets to follow up for a couple of weeks to follow, never has returned thank goodness, chest pain was nasty.

    Airforce - you must lose weight, i am not a little girl myself but i have got onto a really good dietian who has help me make sense of where I am going wrong, and given me a series of charts to hang on the fridge, that tell me what to eat and when, and how much, postage stamp sized pictures and description of what when and how much, works for me.

    I have noticed I am eating like my great grandparents would have a little meat, nothing processed, lots of vegetables, not too much bread (two slices a day), no soft drinks or cordials, no beer, fruit, 3 - 4 pieces a day, (ie 20 grapes), or one apple, or one pear, is one serve, not a whole bunch as i used to sit and eat thinking I was eating healthy.

    Also doing more exercise, as walking hurts my joints, I go to the heated swimming pool and have now built up to an hour 3 times a week, took a while, but got there with being stubborn, just refused to let my arthritis beat me.  But first get your heart pain seen to.

  • Posted

    Thank you both for the responses. I decided to head to the ER. Got two EKG's an X-ray, and two blood tests for my heart muscles and blood clots. All came back negative and was released. They said it was anxiety and to get into contact with my psychiatrist for better medication. 

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