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November 22, 2009
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Patient Discussions: Angina - How Was Diagnosis Established

Angina - How Was Diagnosis Established

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How was the diagnosis of your angina established?

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Comment from: sunflwrgirl, 45-54 Female (Patient)

I had surgery on my foot about three weeks ago. The day after my foot surgery, I was at home in bed resting when my chest started to hurt. It felt kind of like indigestion, but the pain was pretty bad, and it kept getting worse. I took some antacid tablets, which did not make the pain go away. The pain was in the middle of my chest and was, on a scale of one to 10, about a seven or eight. The pain lasted off and on for about six hours. It finally subsided after I took a pain pill that I had from my foot surgery. About two weeks later, I was sitting at my desk at work and I had the same kind of "attack." The same symptoms occurred and, again, lasted for about five or six hours. The pain was about as severe as it was the first time and in the middle of my chest. This "attack" also felt a little like indigestion so, once again, I took antacids and, once again, they did not help (I have since learned that the feeling of indigestion is a symptom of angina). I took a pain pill and the pain subsided, but this time the pain came back in a short amount of time and my eyes also "felt funny." I went to the emergency room (by insistence of my daughter). They did an EKG, which came back normal. I spent the night in the hospital and had a stress test the next morning. The stress test came back "abnormal," (although no one told me what the abnormality was) and I was told that I needed to have a heart catheterization to check for blockages. I was scheduled for a heart cath the next morning. The heart cath came back "normal" -- no blockages were found. The doctors diagnosed me with angina. I was told to follow up with my family doctor in a week and to follow up with the heart doctor in one month. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow, and I hope I will get some answers then. I have had some chest pain since my heart cath, but nothing "major" like the previous two episodes. Published: November 17 ::

Comment from: Tim, 55-64 Male (Patient)

I am 57 years old. I am in good physical condition, but I am 25 lbs over weight. I have smoked for 45 years. I quit seven and a half months ago. After sex about 3 months ago. I found myself out of breath to the point I could not catch it back for a minute or so. I thought I was maybe seriously out of shape. I found this to happen with each sexual encounter or while walking briskly. I would have to slow my pace to catch my breath. While at the emergency room for a check up after an accident They said I had angina put me on Flexeril for the neck injury, but wanted me to see my regular doctor. I told my doctor about this shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. He listened to my heart and gave me an EKG. He said he suspected angina and sent me for a stress test and another test. The stress test showed abnormal. The next step was a heart catheterization. That showed one artery about 50% blocked but not a problem by his standards. The rest showed normal. At this point almost $20,000 later we don't know what the Angina is from. I am on Coreg Cr, an 81mg aspirin a day and Isosorbide MN ER that made me dizzy, nauseous and gave me a horrific headache. I complained to the doctor about it and he told me to discontinue. So at this point I have been diagnosed, but not verified. Published: October 30 ::

Comment from: Karin6363, 45-54 Female (Patient)

I am a 46 year old female. I started having chest pain at night just as I was ready to fall asleep. The frequency became more and more often. I clean for a living, so I am active all day into the evening. After a few months it started occurring during the day The chest pain became more severe and radiated down my to my left arm and into my jaw. It also started occurring during the day. I finally did the doctor thing, blood work, stress test and angioplasty, while on the table I had major chest pain and was told I needed to go for bypass surgery. After another doctor reviewed the tape, he stopped my doctor and told him it was a muscle spasm and they tried a small catheter. They sent me home and told me to follow up with my heart doctor next week. I didn't know what to think. Finally, my brother a fire fighter told me that I probably have angina. I read up and yes that is it. I never got answers from the doctors yet, but I have my Nitro sub tabs which help lessen the attack. We will see what the doctor says. Published: October 26 ::

Comment from: suszec1, 55-64 Female (Patient)

I went to the ER the other night, feeling this heaviness under my left breast and my heart was pounding and then it would come to almost a stop and then a thud this alarmed me. The ER found nothing wrong. I still have this feeling there and tightness in chest area, I am tired a lot. I cannot think clearly sometimes and I just don’t feel right. Seems like angina. I have been under so much stress for the last 2 years and I do everything I can to try and find time for myself. I also am unemployed, living with a 21 year old son who has Asperger, and does not work. It has been difficult to say the least. I thought maybe this is just the stress, but I am concerned because I do not have health care and I am too afraid to go to the clinic. I read about Angioprim. It is too expensive for me, but I would like to try this and to add to the problem with the heart. I am asthmatic. Published: August 18 ::

Comment from: lonestar, 19-24 Male (Patient)

I have had issues with chest pain for almost 5 years now. It started during a time of high emotional stress for me. One day, after being up for 2 days straight I had heart palpitations and numbness in the extremities and went to the hospital. Every since then I have had random chest pains that sometimes run down my arm. I am 23 years old now and the pains still come. While in high school I experimented with cocaine and marijuana. I only tried cocaine sparingly though, over a period of 2-3 months. I maybe did it 10-15 times. I smoked marijuana pretty regularly for a semester or so in high school also, but do not believe it is related to that at all. I have always played sports, I am in a college ROTC program and run multiple times every week for long distances and do vigorous exercise. The pains are not necessarily triggered by exercise; they are random and always take me by surprise. I have had multiple EKG's done, done a stress test, blood work, and seen multiple doctors and have received no diagnosis whatsoever. I know something is wrong and I can't figure out what. I don't even know who to contact any more since my primary care physician has already seen me multiple times on this issue and has basically written me off as "ok", which I think is total B.S. Please, if you know any specialist that can help, or a website I'd appreciate it. Published: June 04 ::


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Angina

Heart disease and stress introduction

Are stress and heart disease related? Does stress increase the risk of heart disease? Stress is a normal part of life. But if left unmanaged, stress can lead to emotional, psychological, and even physical problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains, or irregular heart beats.

How Does Stress Increase the Risk for Heart Disease?

Medical researchers aren't sure exactly how stress increases the risk of heart disease. Stress itself might be a risk factor, or it could be that high levels of stress make other risk factors (such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure) worse. For example, if you are under stress, your blood pressure goes up, you may overeat, you may exercise less, and you may be more likely to smoke.

If stress itself is a risk factor for heart disease, it could be because chronic stress exposes your body to unhealthy, persistently elevated levels of stre...

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