24 female with angina symptoms, resting tachycardia. Doctor says im fi

Posted by veryanguishedmel @veryanguishedmel, 1 day ago

i come to you in utter desperation. I am 24 years old, female, dont smoke, dont do drugs (besides clonazepam, since a panic attack i had 2 weeks ago derived from the symptoms ill describe next), dont drink, not overweight (SLIGHTLy high LDL, ten units over desired), mostly sedentary (only takes dog on short walks) 20° scoliosis.

So. On december 13 i had a burning chest pain in the left side of my chest: the er took no ecg (they werent equipped enough) but said it was anxiety.
I do an ecg, nothing. The pain continues but i think eh, must be reflux. On december 16 i start getting resting tachycardias (110-120).
I go to the er. No ecg. They say im fine, its anxiety. I get a panic attack one day, i cant breathe. I go to the er. They give me clonazepam and knock me out. When i wake up i can breathe and my heart rate feels normal. For almost a day. They prescript clonazepam drops that make me sleep but dont calm me down.
The tachycardia goes on and on. Maybe stops when im asleep. But has been coming and going all these days, along with a pain in my neck and jaw, that also made my face tingle. ER doctor, again, says its anxiety. Take meloxicam.
Meloxicam does nothing. I change pillows.
Chest pain is more centered now, radiates to the left side like a burning sensation; and sometimes it just feels like opression.

I go see a cardiologist. Hes super humane, does a resting ecg that shows im fine, does an echocardiogram and sees nothing wrong, only a "brighter" spot that he says is normal after an infection and that disappears on its own. Blood count shows LDL is 10 units over desired, lymphocites are slightly high too. Thyroid test shows in fine. The pain in my chest is so scary and i also feel a crushing sensation from my back, i do another ecg but not in the moment, hours later. Its fine.
I do a stress test with no imaging, everything is fine.
But the symptoms are back, i get palpitations in rest, and then the pain in my chest and back feel sharper, and im breathless. I can still move and talk, but i need to breathe between each word.
After 5 minutes the pain lowers. Its still there, but less sharp.
The doctor has already discharged me. He really believes this is anxiety but ive experienced anxiety before and it wasnt like this physicially. I dont know what to do. I dont know!! Im so desperate, i feel like im gonna die undiagnosed any moment. This is horrible. Of course im anxious but that isnt all there is to this. What else can i do?

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celia16 | @celia16 | 1 day ago

I had similar episodes in which I thought I was going to die many years ago and it was horrible, so I do empathize with what you’re experiencing. It’s very frightening and frustrating. You could get a second or third opinion, if you think that would help.

When I had multiple episodes of chest pressure, racing heartbeat, tingling, etc. , I ended up in the ER, where after many tests, found nothing wrong. I was relieved, saw my primary, who diagnosed panic attacks and prescribed medication. She also referred me to a cardiologist, just to make certain my heart was ok. I did a stress test on the treadmill, which showed everything normal. I then accepted that anxiety was causing my symptoms and went about learning all I could about the disorder and how to overcome it. I was successful and stopped having them.

In recent years, I developed health anxiety and receive talk therapy for that, which is very helpful for me. Anxiety can cause you to doubt your judgement and that of medical professionals. I’ve learned tools to help me sort through that and be at peace with my decisions.

I hope you can find answers for your situation. Did the doctors clear you for exercise? With your spine condition are you able to walk, run or do work outs? If so, that has helped me a great deal. Good luck with everything.

manuelpo | @manuelpo | 1 day ago

Please find a Cardiologist specialized in obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (oHCOM). He must do a full echocardiogram or another test to see what is going on. It is true that anxiety can make things worst. Try to remain calm and take action. I had similar symptons in the past as you have. How is your blood pressure. Is it in the normal range or not? How is your pulse when you are sleeping at rest. There are apple watch you can wear that can take your pulse while you sleep. Is your diet healthy ? Is your weight healthy? I eat half of what I used to eat and only fresh vegetables with limited amount of fish or chicken. No deep fried food or fast food at all like McDonalds, or similar no no no. Do not eat french fries that are deep fried either or salty. Now I take slow walks every day to control my weight and high blood pressure. AVOID STRESS.
The key point here is find a highly specialized Cardiologist with at least 10 years of experience. If you have trouble finding one, give me your zip code where you are and I can find one good one for you. If you do not eat healthy low sodium diet ask your doctor what is the best diet for you and follow it. You are young and strong and you can do all I said. I am almost 65 years old and if I did it, you can do a lot better than me. God bless you!

gloaming | @gloaming | 1 day ago

I'm no expert in anything medical, but I wonder if you're actually losing out to scoliosis, and perhaps also to a spinal stenosis that affects your Vagus nerve or your phrenic nerve. It might be worth a pokerfaced ask of your cardiologist.

They say your ECG is normal, and that's pretty much the end of it...right there. If you wear a smart watch or use a Kardia Mobile (you might find a use for one of those, probably cheaper in the case of the Kardia), and if they show arrhythmia, you can download the data from either one and send a file to their offices. My electrophysiologist accepted my Galaxy watch's depiction of my recurring atrial fibrillation at face value and scheduled me for an ablation. But what I'm intending here is for YOU to learn for yourself, and definitively, whether or not you are actually in arrhythmia when you get those sensations. If it says no, then.....................again, that's pretty much that.

Did the cardiologist mention troponin, which is an enzyme given off by damaged myocytes (heart muscle cells)?

celia16 | @celia16 | 17 hours ago

In reply to @gloaming "I'm no expert in anything medical, but I wonder if you're actually losing out to scoliosis,..." + (show)

Can you recommend a watch that’s better at this?

gloaming | @gloaming | 16 hours ago

The latest Apple and Samsung smart watches are all very good. I have the Samsung Galaxy 6, but the 7 is out and the 8 will be released in the spring...I think. Also, the Oura Ring does a decent job.

Less costly, and maybe something you'd prefer not to have to wear, is the Kardia Mobile. It's a small flat card pad you keep handy and you place a finger on each hand on two surfaces to get an ECG. You do this when you feel you might be fibrillating or having palpitations. All of these can send a graphic file to your computer or phone through the app, and you can send that to your electrophysiologist.