Angina and Angiogram

Hi everyone - I'm a 49 year old woman in good health. I have been experiencing angina like symptoms for a few years. When I first start exercising, or take two flights of stairs, or suddenly get up and walk somewhere fast, I get sudden pain shooting through my arm veins, neck and jaw/chin. It stops when I slow down, but it's horrible while it's happening.

I have worn holter monitors, taken three treadmill tests, one of them nuclear (with radioactive isotopes) and no blockage ever shows up. My cholesterol is great, and my blood pressure is low. My weight is okay - I'm usually at the high end of a healthy bmi, never more than a couple lbs into the overweight side. The pain is getting worse, I think, now it occurs to some degree every time I take stairs.

My cardiologist wants to give me an angiogram. He does them radially (through the wrist, not the leg). When he told me, my mind went blank and I forgot to ask him any questions. Five minutes after the appointment I started wondering what to expect post-op (can I drive? return to work? lift my toddler? how long do I have to take blood thinners afterwards?)

I can not get him to call me. I'm not convinced I need this procedure, and I have important questions! I've already postponed the angiogram once because of this. I asked for a 2nd opinion and the only cardiologist in my network who can see me before the year ends works in the same office as him. Great. Awkward much?

If anybody has angina, or has been through an angiogram (radial or not), can you please give me some words of wisdom? Whenever I google this procedure, it seems I only hear about the ones that went wrong, and that is not helping me feel better. Thanks in advance. :)

Thank you, I appreciate the advice. :)