Relieved (Well, somewhat)

 

Hello everyone, I recently had a CT Angiogram, that showed that my arteries are clear and I dont have heart disease. I decided to write my story as it might help someone with unexplained chestpains.

I am a 36 year old male, Indian origin. Not overweight, I eat healthy, Normal cholestrol, I dont smoke, drink moderately, I excercise. I have slightly elevated Blood pressure, I do have a history of heart disease in the family, My dad had a bipass in his late 50s.

From July 2012, I started getting mild chest pains in the left side.., feels more like a pressure. The pain is almost constant..usually comes with mental stress. It doesnt exacerbate with physical activity, but I noticed that my blood pressure, heart rate goes up a little when i get these pains..

One night, when I got chest pains, I freaked out and went to the ER, Normal EKG, Normal x-rays..blood tests..They said nothing is wrong but asked me to followup with a cardiologist.

Cardiologist did the usual drill, Stress test - negative, Echo - negative, Stress Echo -Negative, but the pains didnt stop, To put me at ease..the cardio ordered a Calcium score test, I got a score of ZERO. My Doc reassured that nothing is wrong with my heart..asked me to followup with my primary.

Got back to Primary, took medicine for heartburn..didnt work, a pain reliever balm for costochondritis...didnt work..

xanax for anxiety...xanax seemed to work a little or at least reduced my health anxiety, I decided not to worry about the pain anymore and move on with my life...this was in November of 2012.

I didnt see a doctor eventhough the chestpain surfaced everynow and then..usually when I am in stress. In May 2013, I decided to get a second opinion.. the new cardio basically asked me to pick my poison..nuclear, angiogram or CT Angiogram, I decided to go with CT, My insurance didnt pay..and spent about 2k from my pocket.

My CTA results are normal,No blockages..although it mentioned something like "I cant rule out a PFO, but it is NOT Typical", My doctor told me, since i had a recent normal echo..there is no need to dig anydeeper on the PFO thing.

I hope there is no twist to this tale, and would like to moveon leading a normal life.

You have vaso spasm angina

You have vaso spasm angina>>

Ravinder, My symptoms are very different from this particular condition, My pain almost never occurs between midnight and morning...the pain is mild and stays and goes for hours..

This is what wiki says :

It is associated with specific ECG changes (elevation rather than depression of the ST segment). However, in order to be diagnosed, these ECG changes can only be tracked when the electrocardiogram occurs while the patient is experiencing an attack. Therefore, many experts recommend provocative testing during Electrocardiogram testing to attempt to induce an attack when Prinzmetal's is suspected.



I actually had mild chest pain when i did my stress test and stress-echo..I mentioned that to my doctors..however nothing showed up in results..

How else can this be diagnosed? Are you a doctor? or yourself or someone you know have this condition? Please elaborate...your response is very much appreciated.

Thanks