Left arm, pain and nausea.

[justynajoj]

Good afternoon everyone.

I am sorry to bother you but I feel like nothing else is left for me then some comfort and advice from people online.

Long story short I been diagnosed with high blood pressure January last year, I am on meds now. I had ecg and bloods done, all good. In July had mri Aorta whole (which was normal) and then in September echo and chest xray all good. Since then every other week I experience chest pains, then left or right arm or shoulder pain and recently also nausea I had repeated ecg last December and again in mid February(all good). But here I am with all those pains panicking I am going to die of heart attack. Did anyone else experience similar symptoms and had some idea where is it coming from? I also have a gallbladder stone (so far no symptoms) and a cyst on bile duct Dr recons the pains aren't caused by it. Could it be I developed some kind of anxiety around my heart health?

Just to add extra info I am 37 slightly overweigh(pcos girly in here) with normal cholesterol and sugar levels.

[Mister1]

Hi justynajoj ,

I have had the same symptoms since May of last year..

Have they tested you for Angina?

I have found that a lot of the time if you suffer with Anxiety then you will be told by the NHS that it is just Anxiety and will pass.

I suffer with anxiety and know the difference between cardiac issues/pain and anxiety as my anxiety never elevated my heart rate and gave me pains as you have described which I have now..

I have been given GTN spray and Aspirin to use for Angina and symptoms associated with it and am now on regular medication for Angina.

I would recommend speaking to your doctor for more tests and emotional support which is very lacking in the cardiac health industry...

I can understand your worry about your heart as my heart can beat irregular and I can drop to the floor and it makes you feel like you have a ticking bomb inside you.

[justynajoj in reply to Mister1]

Thank you for your reply. So I was at the hospital mid of February and had Ecg, xray and bloodtest done and there was no traces of troponin, fats or cholesterol in so I assumed this is the test they do to check for Angina.I never had a panic attack or anxiety but I know when I start worrying to much all the symptoms get out of control. I called in my gp today and explained the sytuation and the receptionist just called in and said doctor isn't worried and my appointment is on 20th of march so I definitely mention more test and ask for some support.

Thank you.

[Fanfab1 in reply to justynajoj]

Hello

Angina is not a heart condition, it is a symptom / response that arises from having an underlying heart condition or issue. It’s the underlying heart condition or issue that they test to identify / confirm / rule out.

This link from NHS says anxiety / panic can increase heart rate and unfortunately has some of the same symptoms of a heart issue and similar to what people feel when experiencing angina

nhs.uk/mental-health/feelin....

I would never dismiss someone’s chest pain as anxiety as I have been there when doctors would say it’s just anxiety, but in the meantime while you wait for your appointment keep written track / a diary of when your chest / arm pain occurs, how it feels and what might be the triggers I.e. what you were doing or experiencing before the pain etc started (e.g. emotional, physical exertion, cold / hot weather, food triggers) so you can relay this to your GP.

I have a confirmed through testing underlying heart condition and my triggers are minimal physical exertion, weather and emotional triggers (and some foods or depends when I eat) resulting in persistent moderate to severe angina only relieved at rest (although it’s taking longer and longer to relieve😣)!

Good luck

[AngedeLac]

Hi, several times over the last 10 yrs I went to A&E because I was having pains in my chest, neck, jaw and shoulder. Each time they did bloods and ECG and said I hadn’t had a heart attack and was probably stress. In 2023 I was in A&E again for the same thing and a doctor said the pains I was having could be gallstones (apparently very common in overweight women over 50, which I was). A scan a few months later showed multiple small gallstones…so every time I felt pains after that I put it down to my gallstones and took pain killers and I was on a waiting list to have my gallbladder removed. In April last year the pain killers didn’t work so I went to A&E again…and 5 minutes after arriving at A&E I had a sudden cardiac arrest. Turned out I had had a STEMI, as my main artery was blocked, and I needed a STENT fitted. I’m now on a cocktail of heart medication. The interesting thing is that the consultant said that all the pains I’d been having over 10 yrs was most likely to have been Angina. Which makes me cross, as I will always wonder if my HA and SCA could have been avoided. I carry a GTN spray with me now for Angina, which I have had to occasionally use and the pain goes. Also interesting is that since my HA I haven’t had any gallbladder pains…so I’m not going to have it removed!

[junik53]

I can’t really advise but if I were you next time you get the pains in your arms and sweating and nausea cal 999 or 111 they will send someone out to you and give you an ecg there and then .