Could this be an AA or dissection?

Posted , 2 users are following.

For the past 8 months, I've been having severe GERD symptoms, indigestion, heartburn, nausea, chest pains, tightness in my chest and throat, increased heart rate and occasionally increased BP, and dysphagia. All of these symptoms make me very anxious, especially the chest pains and tightness in my chest and throat. I sometimes get panic attacks when these symptoms get severe. I've had 4 EKGs, an endoscopy, a chest x-ray, a barium swallow x-ray, a sniff xray with fluro, a regular echo and a stress echo. I have no cardiac ischemia or problems with my heart, I do however have a large sliding hiatal hernia which seems to be the cause of all of my symptoms. My doctor has me on inderal for the high HR and BP and omeprazole for the GERD symptoms. I've also had to start using a rescue inhaler again because the GERD has been making me have asthma symptoms (I haven't had asthma since I was a young kid). I also have the head of my bed elevated to help with controlling stomach acid. My doctor wants me to see if the omeprazole helps along with avoiding trigger foods before resorting to surgery to repair the hernia. I still get all of my symptoms almost daily and often many or all at the same time. I went to the ER in November one night for some abdominal pain right in the middle below my sternum. The doctors did an ultrasound of my gall bladder to make sure it wasn't gallstones and they examined my abdominal aorta just to put my mind at ease. It was normal diameter. They examined it from my lower stomach below my naval, up to below my ribs. 

I get chest pains almost daily, lasting a few seconds to hours to intermittently throughout the day. They can be sharp and stabbing, dull aching, sometimes it feels like it goes through to my back to my scapula. It's usually a small location on the left or right side and usually feels like it's at the surface, though I have chest pains that feel deeper sometimes. Rarely do they feel like pressure on my chest. I also occasionally get achy pains in my neck alongside my throat and into my jaw. I get palpitations when I lie down to go to sleep every night. It feels like my heart is pounding and I can't fall asleep. I usually just prop myself up on 4 pillows so I'm almost sitting up, then I can sleep. Rarely, but sometimes I get a strong fluttering feeling in my chest that feels like it's coming from my heart too. My doctor said I should of course go to the ER if I have severe chest pains or if I get heavy, crushing pressure on my chest. I know you're supposed to go to the ER when you have chest pains of any kind but I would be going daily if I did.

Now for the weird symptoms. When I lie down and put pressure on my upper back, sides, or front of my chest (pretty much just my ribcage area), I get this weird feeling like theres a golf ball in my throat right below my adam's apple and it also feels like there's pressure on my mid-upper back at about the same level. It goes away when I sit up. I can breathe just fine, it just feels like there's something pushing on my throat and back. It makes me cough like there's something stuck in my lungs, but it's not a productive cough. I've tried using my inhaler but it doesn't make a difference. I sometimes get pretty bad back pain right at the lower throacic level or between my shoulder blades. It's not so severe that I need to go to the hospital. It feels sharp and burning. Ibuprofen and ice packs makes the pain go away. I should mention that I broke my back 10 years ago and I had a spinal fusion at T12-L2. It healed perfectly and I rarely have problems with my back. 

I also occasionally feel faint and dizzy like there's pressure in my head that lasts for a few seconds. This is usually coupled with a strong, tension/pressure headache. 

I take my own BP and heart rate and I'm always right around 120/80 and 60-70 beats/min bilaterally. Capillary refill in my fingers and toes are always normal too. I'm a 27 year old male, 6' tall, 200lbs. I'm not in great shape but I'm not obese either. I have no family history of aortic aneurysms or dissections. My 3 x-rays were done by 3 different doctors and none of them indicated any widening of my mediastinum or abnormalities with my aorta however an x-ray isn't a definitive diagnosis for a dissection. I'm just so sick of worrying every time I get these symptoms. It makes me feel very anxious. I know AAs and dissections are very rare for someone my age, especially with no risk factors, but I can't shake the thought that it's possible. Sometimes I lie away at night because I'm afraid to go to sleep for fear of my aorta rupturing in my sleep and I die in my sleep. I know this sounds totally hypochonriacal, but when these symptoms start, my anxiety kicks in and makes me worry. Should I push for a CT or am I just overreacting? 

1 like, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Posted

    I had a dissection and didn't have any symptoms until it happened. Stastically, you're pretty young to have a dissection. Your best bet, I think, would be to get a CT scan and put your mind at ease.

  • Posted

    The ER doctor did a scan covering your aorta so you can put your mind to rest on that. It is mainly a midle aged male problem so there is another thing in your favour.

    I have GERD and an AA and GERD is the problem one with many odd symptoms.

    • Posted

      A standard chest x-ray cannot be used to rule out aortic dissection. A CT scan, an MRI with dye, or an ultrasound of the heart and aorta (how they diagnosed me) is necessary.

      That said, aortic dissection is not a subtle disease. It often presents with extreme chest pain (for some bizarre reason, it did not do so for me) and sometimes loss of control of limb(s), and people do not generally live very long (hours, days) with untreated aortic dissection - it's a killer. If your symptoms are not new and not more painful than previously, you probably do not have a dissection.

      My advice about the CT scan was that it's probably the easiest, cheapest way to put your mind at ease. It seems unlikely that you have a dissection because: 1) you're young and 2) you're still alive with these symptoms.

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