After 26 months, a few false diagnosis', and a medication prescribed that is not safe for those with a family history of congenital heart issues I had to get proactive because the doctors sure weren't. Menopausal, overweight by 30 pounds, female and bipolar 2 in small hospital ERs. I didn't have much hope of open minded health care when the ecgs came back negative. May the next woman receive better care because of my experience. The hardest thing was learning to decipher my symptoms. After the Cipralex it was a roller coaster ride, with symptoms and triggers coming so quickly I could hardly keep up. I finally gave the colchicine a fair try ( lost 3.5 inches of my waist and six pounds in two days) and doubled the Diltiazem which slowed the spasms down to bearable. I ate popcorn through the spasms one night, and did the same with granola another night to test and see if it was esophageal. My last trip to ER the doctor told me it was a hernia. When I asked why the nitro was helping and why the inside of my left arm was still numb after two hours the dr shrugged and left. I kept hearing that vasospastic angina is too rare to be a consideration. Maybe the reason it is rarely diagnosed is because many people are shamed into suffering in silence and/or patients are left to wait until they progress to the classical heart attack before they get help. What this disease needs is a public profile.

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