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Medical Forum / General / Cardiology / February 2006Need some info, thanks..
Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. First off I am a 37 year old male. Every male in my fathers side of the family has died of heart disease or heart attack. My father has had a 4x bypass, has CHF and has a defibrillator. A few people in my mothers side of the family have had heart troubles as well. I smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 6 years, then 40+ - for 17 years. I quit three months and 2 weeks ago. My current med list is: Depakote 2000mg Seroquel 400mg Zyban 150mg 2x daily Trazadone 300mg Lovastatin 20 OTC Fish Oil 3000mg I've been having these chest pains the last few days, especially when I wake in the morning. They are pretty much dead center and it feels as tho something has sat on me all night. It hurts to move and breath for quite a while. For instance, today it didn't really go away till 8pm. A few years ago (4 or so) I had horrible chest pain that went from arm to arm. This has happened at least twice a year since. I always considered it to be a pulled muscle of some sort and never even considered heart problems. Since I have quit smoking, I do feel much better, but I cough more than ever now. It hurts to cough, breath and even some positions will shoot hard pain through me. It almost feels like a nasty electric shock. One day I took my father to the cardiologist and I questioned his Nurse Practitioner and she told me that I should really get checked out, so I did. I had a cardiogram, blood drawn and a stress test. They wanted me to achieve 156 bpm and I hit 158 in just over ten minutes. My cholesterol was 220 and my Triglycerides were 339!! I don't get my results for another two weeks and I assume that they would have called if something were wrong. Its just that these chest pains have got me worried. Does anyone have an idea what it could be? Many thanks! Chris > Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. > First off I am a 37 year old male. [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > Chris > Chris, I am not a doctor, but they will probably tell you the same thing ... there's no way to know over the internet for sure! It could be musculo-skeletal, could be lungs (related to your smoking perhaps), it could be your heart. With your family history, you should not be taking any chances. I know it may sound a little crazy to you, but as soon as you feel any kind of persistent or progressive chest pain, you should go straight to the ER with NO HESITATION. My Dad had his first heart attack when he was about 60. His cardiologist told him at that point WHENEVER YOU EVEN HAVE THE SLIGHTEST INKLING THAT YOU MAY BE SUFFERING FROM A CARDIAC EVENT, CALL AN AMBULANCE OR HAVE SOMEONE TAKE YOU TO THE ER ... DON'T EVEN STOP TO CALL ME ... THE HOSPITAL CAN CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THERE. Not to alarm you, but IMHO, this isn't something you should take any chances with. Once the heart muscle is damaged, it is too late. And that is assuming you survive. If you get there early enough ... sometimes it is possible to avoid any heart damage at all. Larry E. > Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. > First off I am a 37 year old male. > Every male in my fathers side of the family has died of heart disease > or heart attack. Uh-oh. > My father has had a 4x bypass, has CHF and has a defibrillator. > A few people in my mothers side of the family have had heart troubles > as well. > I smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 6 years, then 40+ - for 17 years. Uh-oh. > I quit three months and 2 weeks ago. Good. > My current med list is: > Depakote 2000mg [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > They wanted me to achieve 156 bpm and I hit 158 in just over ten > minutes. My cholesterol was 220 and my Triglycerides were 339!! Neither are optimal. > I don't get my results for another two weeks and I assume that they > would have called if something were wrong. Its just that these chest > pains have got me worried. Does anyone have an idea what it could be? With a negative stress test it is not likely to be angina pectoris from occlusive coronary disease. It does sound musculoskeletal. Here examining you would be helpful. Would suggest you inform your primary doctor about your continued symptoms and s/he should be able to help you sort this out. > Many thanks! You are welcome, Chris :-) All thanks and praises belong to the LORD Whom I love with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength :-)) Will be available to "glow" and chat about this and other things like cardiology, diabetes, Bird Flu, cooking and nutrition that interest those following this thread here during the next on-line chat (02/16/06) from 6 to 7 pm EST: http://tinyurl.com/8w7uq For those who are put off by the signature, my advance apologies for how the LORD has reshaped me: http://tinyurl.com/bgfqt Prayerfully in Christ's love, Andrew http://tinyurl.com/8juld > Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. Coconut, I'm not a doctor. But one bit of advice: please take better care of your heart. Quitting smoking is a great first step. I have one comment on the stress test. You said: >[...] I had a cardiogram, blood drawn and a stress test. > They wanted me to achieve 156 bpm and I hit 158 in just over ten > minutes. At age 37, the average max heart rate for a male is 183 (using the formula of 220 - age). This is a an average for a population. A target of 156 is about just about 85% of that 183. As a layman, my reading suggests that that may not be enough to show a problem. Again, I am a layman. If you're not in shape for running, they may not have wanted you to go any further. I took a stress test about a year ago, and I was able to go 14 minutes. I think my HR was in the 170s when I stopped. >> Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > I took a stress test about a year ago, and I was able to go 14 minutes. > I think my HR was in the 170s when I stopped. See a doctor. (Physician, preferably a cardiologist) It could be your heart, your G.I. Tract, it could be costochondritis. But a negative stress test one year ago, does not rule out angina or infarction now. Get checked out. I would think an EKG, and cardiac enzymes like an MB CPK, and troponin would be in order for starters. > >> Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. > > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > out. I would think an EKG, and cardiac enzymes like an MB CPK, and troponin > would be in order for starters. It seems the OP has been seeing a cardiologist and that the OP's stress test was 2 weeks ago. Will be available to "glow" and chat about this and other things like cardiology, diabetes, Bird Flu, cooking and nutrition that interest those following this thread here during the next on-line chat (02/16/06) from 6 to 7 pm EST: http://tinyurl.com/8w7uq For those who are put off by the signature, my advance apologies for how the LORD has reshaped me: http://tinyurl.com/bgfqt Prayerfully in Christ's love, Andrew http://tinyurl.com/8juld It seems to me I heard somewhere that Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD wrote in article <1139915607.412378.6950@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>: [. . .] >> See a doctor. (Physician, preferably a cardiologist) It could be your >> heart, your G.I. Tract, it could be costochondritis. But a negative stress >> test one year ago, does not rule out angina or infarction now. Get checked >> out. I would think an EKG, and cardiac enzymes like an MB CPK, and troponin >> would be in order for starters. >It seems the OP has been seeing a cardiologist and that the OP's stress >test was 2 weeks ago. That is not what he wrote. He wrote "One day I took my father to the cardiologist and I questioned his Nurse Practitioner and she told me that I should really get checked out, so I did." No time indicated. Then he wrote: "I don't get my results for another two weeks . . . ." In English usage "another two weeks" does not mean there was a two-week period in the past unless it is explicitly stated, but that there are two weeks longer to wait for an expected event.  SignatureDon Kirkman >It seems to me I heard somewhere that Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD wrote in >article <1139915607.412378.6950@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >period in the past unless it is explicitly stated, but that there are >two weeks longer to wait for an expected event. I originally talked to the NP in November, right after I quit smoking. I had a cardiogram done, then they set me up in a harness heart monitor for 24 hours, but I felt absolutely fine during that period. If it were on for a week, they maybe could have seen when a chest pain had come along. Then again, maybe they can tell if something is wrong in 24 hours...?? Back then (In November) the chest pains weren't nearly as bad as now, except for the REALLY bad ones back a few years ago. So anyway, they set me up with a stress test and I couldn't do it because I blew my back out badly on Thanksgiving. I was finally able to do it a couple of weeks ago since my back finally healed. I would assume that all is well, otherwise they would have called me? Many thanks to you all, for helping me out! Chris > >It seems to me I heard somewhere that Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD wrote in > >article <1139915607.412378.6950@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>: [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > had come along. Then again, maybe they can tell if something is wrong > in 24 hours...?? They could but to correlate the problem with your symptoms would require your having symptoms. > Back then (In November) the chest pains weren't > nearly as bad as now, except for the REALLY bad ones back a few years [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I would assume that all is well, otherwise they would have called me? That would be a safe assumption. > Many thanks to you all, for helping me out! You are welcome, Chris. All thanks and praises belong to the LORD Whom I love with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength :-) Moreover, I am thankful that your post proves to Don Kirkman and others that indeed the LORD has given me the ability to discern the truth and that this ability is more than simply reading comprehension :-) May the LORD receive all the glory for HIS gifts :-)) Will be available to "glow" and chat about this and other things like cardiology, diabetes, Bird Flu, cooking and nutrition that interest those following this thread here during the next on-line chat (02/16/06) from 6 to 7 pm EST: http://tinyurl.com/8w7uq For those who are put off by the signature, my advance apologies for how the LORD has reshaped me: http://tinyurl.com/bgfqt Prayerfully in Christ's love, Andrew http://tinyurl.com/8juld > > Hi, I'd like to get some info and/or advice. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > They wanted me to achieve 156 bpm and I hit 158 in just over ten > > minutes. Have you learned anything more? To follow up on this with my experience, I just participated in a run yesterday. Two minutes into the run, my HR was at 152. For the next 34 minutes, it was between 152 and 163, mostly around 156. These reading are from me glancing down at the HR monitor on my wrist. I don't have a unit that recorded min, max and average HR. Based on your smoking, you may not have been been able to push any farther and it may not be wise. On the other hard, at your age, 12 years younger than me, if you are physically capable of it, your HR may not have gone high enough to show a problem. Remembee, I am not a doctor! >Have you learned anything more? > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Remembee, I am not a doctor! Hi Tony, Yes, I've received the final report. Search this group for "Got results back" and you'll see what happened next... This whole thing has been like a suspense story to me. |
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