chirapachegurl

The other day I was laying down on my bed ready to sleep, and then all of a sudden I had a pain in my heart. It felt as though someone had grabbed a hold of my heart and was crushing it. All I could do was grab my chest. Has anyone else had anything like this, and/or does anyone know what causes this??

Riverwoman

I would say get to the ER OR the docotors office ASAP! Problems with the heart are nothing to mess around with. Even if you are told that nothing was wrong, atleast you are better safe then sorry:)

Gache

Get an EKG! Was the pain sharp or dull?

redskyndn

chirapachegurl

The fact that your pain awakened you from sleep concerns me.
I had a similar incident only a month ago. I hoped it was hearthburn or pleursy--it wasn't. I don't want to go into all the details, but I would recommend you get checked out.

You are considerably younger than me, however, I agee you must go to the doctor and get checked out, especially if you have first degree relatives with heart problems. Even if you don't for your own peace of mind and health.

redskyndn

aka Nahyssan

chirapachegurl

the pain was sharp but mild.

chirapachegurl

I wasn't really awakened, I was just lying down trying to put my daughter to sleep, and all of a sudden I got that pain. I wouldn't really consider it a pain, but it was a disturbing feeling. Like I mentioned to Gache, it was sharp but very mild. I would like to go to the doctor, but I do not have medical insurance, and for certain reasons I would not qualify for public aid assistance. My employer does not have medical insurance for his employees. And I already went to the ER room because I got sick, and just to be admitted into the room I was charged about $400, plus all the extras that they charge it came out to 500 some dollars!!! And I haven't paid the bill yet, and just to be admitted for just 5 minutes for the doctors just to tell me to go home and see how I feel the next day and to come back I got billed for that amount. It was only that one time that I had that feeling in my heart, and I was just wondering what it could be caused by.

One Hot Mama

Chirapachegurl, what you described sounds like an angina attack. While not a heart attack, it can indicate the beginnings of heart disease, but not always. I used to get them when I was really stressed out. You need to get a full cardio exam where they have you hooked up to an ekg and other monitoring equipment while doing various things. Mine was just stress, but they also found that I had high cholesterol, and it is known that heart disease runs on my ndn granmother's side of the family. I have to lose weight, exercise more, and change my diet in order to preempt heart disease.

Too, I have leaned more strongly onto taking care of spiritual matters since prayer and worship are important for peace and joy in one's spirit; I don't get so upset by things that are unfair, mean, frustrating, or just plain nasty like I used to.

You have to take good care of yourself, girl. There's too few of us to start with, so we need to get healthy and stay that way. Let us know what the doctors find out.

chirapachegurl

I don't think I need to loose weight because I only weigh 98 lbs. and i'm 5'0. Maybe changing the way I eat. Right now I'm working at a restaraunt and you might have an idea how my eating habits have been. Try a little of this, try a little of that. And they have donuts, and all that other stuff. Definately cutting a lot of those things out. I have a strong will power and mind, so it will not be too hard. And definately work more on my own spirit and prayers. Thank you.

SmokeEater

In my professional opinion it sounded like you were having Plueral Wall Pain... which is essentially a pulled muscle in the chest.

Going by your age... 20... You are too young to be having a true Cardiac event. However there are two exceptions to the rule: 1. A pre-existing heart condition (which you should already be aware of), or 2. Recent Crack/Cocaine use or any other Meth products.

What Gache asked about sharp or dull pain is important. Plueral Wall pain is often characterized by a sharp pain that changes with motion and breathing.

A true heart attack is characterized by dull pain. My patients often describe it as, "an elephant sitting on my chest".

Angina Pectoris, or Chest Pain to all of us Non-Latin speaking folk, is a condition that occurs when the heart is deprived of oxygen. This is usually precipritated by physically activity and/or emotional stress. This may or may not be a serious event for the individual and it is almost always treated with Nitroglycerin. Nitro relaxes the blood vessels in the heart and throughout the body to recirculate the blood. Also Nitro lowers the oxygen demand on the heart. As said before, Angina can lead to more serious heart conditions...

True Heart Attacks, or Myocardial Infarctions (MI), occur when the heart muscle itself becomes deprived of blood and oxygen. Just like any other organ, the heart needs to be supplied with blood and oxygen. However, unlike most other organs once heart muscle is damaged, it's damaged for life, and can seldom be repaired. The heart becomes deprived of oxygen when the Coronary Arteries that supply the heart become blocked, or rupture. A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) is a procedure the clears the blockage or reroutes the artery to another location of the heart.

Signs and Symptoms of a true MI are:

*Chest Pain. Often dull in nature, that radiates down the left side of the body- namely the arm, neck, and leg. However Women, may present differently- Woman have what is called "Deferred Pain", which is pain that occures elsewhere in the body, but is a result of a MI. Usually this is back pain (between the shoulder blades), belly pain, or jaw pain. Anything but typical chest pain.

*Diaphoresis- Sweatiness and cool and clammy skin. When the body is suffering shock, it tries to shift blood from non essential organs and body systems to whatever is gonna keep it alive (Brain, Heart, and Lungs). The skin is usually the first organ deprived of blood, which gives it is pale color and cold, and clammy feel. The body does this by constricting blood vessels in these organs.

*Nausea and Vomiting- Once again the body is shifting blood away from non-essential organs and body systems. No blood in the stomach and intestines means everything you've recently eaten is coming back up.

*Shortness of Breath- The body is trying to get in as much oxygen as it can, so it kicks up your respiratory rate.

Treatment for MI's-
Most doctors will recommend taking a Bayer Aspirin daily and once during the event. Aspirin is a blood thinner and may help to relieve the blockage. Person who have been PRESCRIBED Nitroglycerin should take a dose or two until the pain is relieved. If it isn't relieved with a couple of doses, then you should dial 911 or get to the hospital.

The key to treating a MI is early treatment. Most if not all Paramedic level ambulance agencies (do not confuse Paramedics with EMT's) across the US, and Canada carry medication and equipment to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of MI's. The service I worked for utilized 12-lead Electrocardiograms (ECG's)- which takes a "picture" of the heart from 12 different angles. We also had the ability to transmit the 12-Lead directly to the ER. In some cases we could transmit the 12-Lead directly to a cardiologist through his Cellular phone, and he would call us and determine our next mode of treatment.

Before you get to the hospital Paramedics can administer Aspirin, Nitroglycerin, and Morphine Sulfate to relieve the chest pain, establish IV and Oxygen therapy. All of this gets the ball rolling, which saves probably 30-45 minutes in the ER if you went yourself. In the future Paramedics will be able to draw enzyme levels, and give more Thrombolytic care (clot busters) to to speed up the process.

The key is early detection and early treatment. Remember... Time is muscle...

__________________
***Edited for explicit content***

Lapis Queen

I would get it checked out. And please don't let them tell you that you are too young to have heart problems.(i.e don't let them tell you that the workup is not needed b/c you are too young) The leading cause of death among women is heart disease. Though increasing age is a large factor, there are cases of women in their 20s and 30s that have problems. We sure hope that you do not have heart disease, but only a full cardiac work up can rule that out. Better to rule it out now and early than for it go unobserved for years and cause you problems down the road. It very well may be chest pain, but to know for sure is to cosult your doctor. I hope everything turns out ok for you.

SmokeEater

Other conditions associated with Chest Pains...

Tension Pneumothorax- Collapsed Lung
Acid Reflux
Flail Chest Segment
Pain assoicated with trauma to the chest.

__________________
***Edited for explicit content***

chirapachegurl

Well it only happened that one time, but you guys are right, the sooner the better before anything starts to really develope. But for the moment I can't really go to the doctor because like I mentioned I already owe the hospital $500 and I do not qualify to get the medical card from public aid. But I would surely love to get a full exam to see how everything is, if i'm okay or if it's the early signs of something. Like when I felt it, the pain, like i said, was sharp yet mild, and last ed for about 15-20 minutes. Like my left arm felt weak, and I was breathing normal, I didn't feel nauseous, or dizzy. I just wanted to lay there.

alamosaurus

Another condition that can cause heart-attack like symptoms:
hiatus hernia. (Hernia in the diaphragm separating the chest
from the abdomen.)

__________________
alamosaurus