Hello, I’m a 19 year old female. Both of my grandparents died from heart attacks and my uncle has a pacemaker after having one a few years ago. My uncle’s symptoms of problems started at the same age I am.
I have been off work since January due to breathlessness, chest pain, palpitations, increased heart rate, nausea and occasional left arm pain. I have felt faint and had a poor appetite too. At the very beginning of January I was sent home from work due to almost passing out. I am unable to speak full sentences or walk more than a few steps at a time. If I move rooms it takes me at least 20 minutes to recover. Prior to this year I had no problems at all with exerting myself.
I am due an echocardiogram but I have no idea when it will be. I’m on the 4th urgent cardiology referral from my GP but nothing seems to be happening.
Last Thursday I was seen by a GP who said it could be heart failure, but offered nothing to confirm or deny this. She then changed the topic to anxiety although I have been in recovery for years and had a mental health assessment fairly recently at another GP’s request, which has disproved anxiety as the reason for me having these symptoms.
I have been sent to hospital twice by paramedics but was offered nothing and quickly sent home. An acquaintance who is perhaps mid 30s told me she had scans and dye to check heart function all within 4 days of her being in A&E with breathlessness and palpitations. I can’t help but feel dismissed.
I am unsure of what to do as I feel I am getting nowhere and as if things are taking longer due to me being young with a history of depression and anxiety. I am really struggling and cannot live like this
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dorito26
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I too am a 19 year old female dealing with pretty much the same things after having my son and having an SVT for the first time ever I have constant chest pains and pain in left arm, upper back, shoulder blade, neck and even sometimes my jaw, palpitations, breathlessness, being woken from my sleep feeling like my heart is stopping and having pain laying on my heart and I have been to A&E more times than I could count all they do is send me home saying it’s anxiety but had my tests done being an inpatient after having my son I have had an echo, ECGs, chest X-rays and due a exercise stress test and everything keeps coming out fine I know how you feel it is so scary! I hope they find what’s wrong with you and can get it sorted!
it’s reassuring to hear that there are people around my age going through the same thing, it makes me feel less alone. my chest x-rays have been clear and nothing remarkable has shown on my ECGs as of yet so it’s just a matter of waiting for scans to check pumping and function etc (whilst i continue deteriorating).
if you are offered a mental health assessment it may be helpful to take it. i didn’t want to as i have been in recovery for years, but it ended in me having a letter saying my symptoms are not due to anxiety and for GPs to stop mentioning it which has been useful to some degree. given the pandemic and just in general, it seems easiest for people to palm off problems as mental health issues.
wishing you all the best and hopefully we can get some answers
It is so nice to hear I’m not the only one and can totally relate to how you feel about deteriorating I honestly feel that I will end up having a heart attack soon enough if I leave this any longer!
As for the mental health assessment I am under the Perinatal Mental Health Team, I have had anxiety since I was 14 and can say that all my symptoms are not anxiety related, as soon as doctors see it on notes that’s it it’s anxiety. I just don’t know what to do anymore! Life just doesn’t seem worth it with the constant pain everyday.
i definitely relate to what you’ve said, i feel like a time bomb and that’s not a nice feeling.
if you are able to get one, then a letter from the mental health team may help. it’s seemed to have helped things get moving a bit although things are still rather slow. all i can really suggest is to keep pushing for answers.
The mental health team are actually against me they don’t believe me which is a joke really and yes we definitely got this! pm me whenever you like and keep me updated on how you get on x
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