<p>starbright, I’m so glad you are OK. Heart problems can strike at any age. Never try to self-diagnose chest pains, and never ignore them. One of our friends had a mild chest pain, and then he woke up in a hospital ICU room with a pacemaker!! Please don’t feel bad about “wasting” ER resources. I’m sure the physicians who treated you were relieved that they did not have to open up your rib cage.</p>
<p>I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to go to the hospital if you have symptoms that you even think might be heart-related.</p>
<p>In the last year, I’ve known three women, all in their forties, all in good physical condition, who had heart attacks. They were fortunate, and savvy enough to go to the ER. They are all doing well now.</p>
<p>I wish my sister-in-law/best friend had been as savvy. Seven weeks ago we sat together in church, chatting about mundane things. Less than two hours after we left, she died from her heart attack.</p>
<p>As it turns out, she had told her husband a week or more before her death that she thought she was going to have to go to the ER, but she thought she was okay.</p>
<p>She had just turned 50. She was a nine year stage four breast cancer survivor. I’m sure she thought she was too young to have a heart attack.</p>
<p>Thank you Bunsenburner. </p>
<p>Oh my gosh Justamom! That is such a sad story. I’m so sorry about your loss. My heart goes out to you and your family. Maybe others will read your post and heed the warning. I really had no idea women our age were at risk until now.</p>
<p>My Cardiologist told me 95% of chest pain is non cardiac. It is rare for patients who come to the ER with chest pain to be having a cardiac episode. </p>
<p>Sure you could go to the ER every time you have a chest pain, but for most adults they would be broke. When I was a teen and till this day I get extreme chest pain, I used to get it more than I do now but I was one like many of you whom felt I needed to go to the ER every time. I swore there was something wrong with me and the doctors just didn’t find it. </p>
<p>That first year I continually went to the ER with Chest pain, probably over 50 times. Over the next 2 years from the first episode I went to 4 different cardiologists. All said I was fine, only slight mvp.</p>
<p>Eventually I just realized and with doctor suggestions that it is just panic and I cant worry about it. Ive been in extreme pain while having a completely numb left arm and being short of breath. Ive had multiple varieties of stress echos, Ive word a halter, etc.</p>
<p>Nothing was wrong. Though I do suggest you go to a Cardiologist, ER docs get you out the door and will make sure you will live, but chest xrays and cardiac enzymes wont tell if there are some other problems.</p>
<p>Good Luck, Im surly glad you are OK.</p>
<p>Starbright - glad you went in. DH is a runner, a triathlete, really fit. Fourteen years ago, my DH was coaching a varsity b-ball game and felt funny. Game went into double overtime, they won, and when he came home he still felt funny. The day before he had run five miles without difficulty, but he described the feeling as a pressure, an increasingly uncomfortable build-up. We went to the hospital and sure enough he was having a heart attack. He had bypass surgery a week later. I tell anyone - do not take a chance. Don’t worry about being wrong or looking foolish - it is one time you want to be wrong.</p>
<p>Do not confuse fitness with health. You can look mighty fit, but still have a significant health issue.</p>
<p>What my dad thought was a possible heart attack turned out to be a herniated disk (which lead to shooting pains in the left shoulder/arm).</p>
<p>Glad it all turned out well for you starbright - but think how much stupider you’d have felt if you stayed home and it turned out to be a heart attack. “Well, I had pain on the left side of my chest, shooting down my arm, but…” You did the right thing!</p>
<p>Last month I had the same symptoms. Chest pain, shoulder pain, and most worrying, was short of breath just walking 30 yards from one side of the school to the other (note: I’m pretty fit, regularly walk miles, never had a heart or breathing problem before that day)
Felt like I was really over-reacting, especially after arriving in the ER and being sent to the head of the line and wheeled to a room… and then the blood tests came back negative for heart problems.
Now I was REALLY embarrassed. No heart problem, missing work, running up bills, etc.
A few Xrays and CT scans later they announced that my case was “getting more interesting” and finally diagnosed a ruptured ulcer (did I have enough pain to know that I even had an ulcer? No…) While my helpful D sent me the Wikipedia list of famous people who have died of this, they prepped me for surgery and wheeled me off into la-la land. Spent 6 days in the hospital. Have a scar down my front like the one Sigourney Weaver probably had after the Alien popped out…
So - if you have severe chest pain, don’t just rule out heart problems. Get it checked out by the pros.</p>
<p>dargonmom, so true! BTW, if you call your family clinic for an appointment and say “I have chest pains”, guess what they will do? They will refuse to see you and will tell you to go to the nearest ER immediately!! Happened to my H. He was also diagnosed with stomach problems. While 95% or chest pains may not be heart-related, the remaining 5% are and require immediate attention. Do you want to play this Russian roulette???</p>
<p>My very fit 44 year old husband had what we now realize were the tell tale signs of heart problems. Shortness of breath, arm pain, and eventually chest pain. We were not even thinking about heart attack because of age and lack of family history. Long story short, he got on an airplane from the east coast to the west all the while thinking he didn’t feel very well but had to get to a family event. After one day decided the chest pressure was to great to ignore any longer a checked into his home town (small) hospital emergency room. The doctors didn’t believe he was having a heart attack (again based on his fitness, non smoker etc.) until his blood work came back. They sent him by ambulance to a hospital with a cath lab and he had 100% blockage of his (left descending) artery (the “widowmaker”). He is alive and well 4 years later, on all the meds etc. He still plays basketball, coaches, works out etc and frankly looks better than ever. He was very lucky. Do not ignore shortness of breath or chest pain, he said eventually it was like an elephant was sitting on his chest. Of course we have all heard about arm pain. Because he plays ball, and had been laying retaining wall stones, he assumed his problems were just from “overdoing” it. Looking back he knows that the pains were certainly unlike other workout pain. The shortness of breath was obvious to him when he was trying to run up and down the court. But he just thought he needed to improve his fitness. ALWAYS error on the side of caution!!</p>
<p>Bettert han this: As Luck Would Have It</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08GENB.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=michael%20winerip&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08GENB.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=michael%20winerip&st=cse</a></p>
<p>Before heading out the door to the ER with chest pain, take an Aspirin. It is not going to do you any harm and might end up saving your life.
Before I began working at my current job I had no idea that generally a chest pain is not of a cardiac origin (many of you are quoting the 95%), most of the time it is a GI problem and in many instances they just do not know what caused it. As a very GENERAL rule a worrisome cardiac pain is the one that is in the center of your chest (and not on the left 
), increases with physical activity or does not go away with rest, produces nausea and sweating (although many people when they think they might be having a heart attack they get nausea and become sweaty just from stress ). I know I would!
One more thing. Unfortunately there are places/doctors in this country that will be pushing you towards a diagnostic heart catherization. Think twice about if you are a healthy person with no history/contributing factors towards heart disease and who had passed a stress test with flying colors. Just erring on the side of caution…</p>
<p>Paris79 - DH was about the same age as your H, our younger daughter was in first grade, now a junior in college. Looking back at it, the one subtle sign we had was that DH was a little more tired than usual and his coloring wasn’t very good. But -as you said, we could always find a reason why - he kept a very full schedule and was so active. I do know, I will pay more attention if he doesn’t seem “right.”</p>
<p>I feel so lucky he was with me to raise our DD’s.</p>