In a&e with chest pain

[Duttons1923]

I am so stressed out.
I have been sat at a&e for 5 hours, had bloods first thing (still not back), two ecg’s (haven’t been told if the second one was clear or not).

I have been having chest pains for a few days, didn’t think anything of it (stupid I know), but it’s got worse and gp thinks it might be pericarditis with family history he ordered me to go to a&e for tests.

I haven’t seen any doctors (I know the nhs is so understaffed and it’s not their fault) but I’ve been here for 5 hours with chest pains and doctors are walking around chatting & laughing with the nurses.
They said the doctor will not see me until bloods are back & they have no idea when that might be.

I am on the verge of crying. 😔
I think I would need to be having a full on heart attack to be seen today 😔

I'm sorry OP, even though the NHS are struggling it's not nice to sit around waiting when you must be so anxious 💐

Last year I was in with horrendous stomach pain - DW was on the phone to 999 as I quite literally screamed and begged for someone to help in the background. Despite me being blue lighted in because I eventually projectile vomited from the pain and lost consciousness, I was left waiting for 6 hours before even bloods were taken.

Is there anyone who can come and be with you?

I hope you get seen soon and chest pain goes. And it's nothing serious x

The ECGs will have been shown to a doctor pretty much straight away, and if there was anything worrying you'd be seen quickly.

Abnormal blood results will be phoned through to A&E by the lab, and if anything is worrying the senior doctor in charge of the department will have you brought through quickly.

The fact that you're still waiting means that the results so far are reassuring.

A&Es have multiple patients with chest pain book in every hour- the triage nurses are excellent and will have asked questions which will identify if the chest pain is likely to be a heart attack or not.

It's easy for me to say, but please try not to worry. A&E are experts at emergencies. Unfortunately they are completely overwhelmed with the volume of patients at the moment so people with less worrying results do have long waits at the moment.

Hopefully you'll be seen soon.

I hope you get seen soon and it’s nothing serious. I like to think that the staff would be swarming over me if they thought it was deadly serious so perhaps think about if that could be the case why they are saying they need to wait for the blood results?

A year ago I had horrific left-sided chest and arm pain and at the time I had Covid so I didn’t do anything about it as I thought no one would see me. It was second to childbirth in pain level.

It turned out to be costocondritis which is apparently a common diagnosis of those who are taken to A&E thinking they have heart problems.

Loads of reasons for chest pain try to relax.

Oh, that sounds disappointing. Do you have someone with you?

This.

be thankful you aren’t being treated immediately as it means you aren’t seriously unwell.

Good luck

I have attended A A&E several times with chest pains and I have found that after being triaged bloods BP and ecg done not much happens for a while.
Then when they did find something wrong I was seen by the doctor.

This happened to me - turned out to be costochronditis. So painful!

anyone who has it - I cured it using physical manipulation lying on a ‘backpod’ invented by a NZ physio and commonly used there apparently but not known about in uk at all (where Drs just say to take painkillers, not cure the actual problem). Thank goodness for the internet, eh.

The Backpod - Premium Treatment for Neck, Upper Back and Headache Pain from Hunching over Smartphones and Computers. Great for Costochondritis, Thoracic Motion and Perfect Posture. amzn.eu/d/5cHsMcY

no affiliation, I just was shocked at how backwards UK health advice on this topic was!

i attended A&E after weeks of "palpitations" - the day i attended it felt like someone was sitting on my chest (i'm 46). They did a 12 line ecg and bloods. Bloods were clear and i was told i needed a 24 ecg doing. That showed i had 18% ectopic beats and i've been put on medication to control them and referred to cardiology. Btw i waited 6.5 hrs in A&E. Stay calm there are lots of reasons for chest pain. Good luck!!

Also adding that DH attended with chest pin that was a biliary colic due to gallstones. He had his gall bladder out a few months later.

Thank you very much. Your messages have been really reassuring. No one with me unfortunately.

I have had that Costochondritis so many times! And it is so painful. Fortunately this isn’t as painful hence why I didn’t think much of it at first.

I am having the same kind of pain as you had @urrrgh46 its like someone is squeezing my heart every 5 minutes and when I lie down feels like someone is sitting on my chest.

I have a leaking heart valve and my grandad died of heart attack at 59 and my dad had a heart attack at 45. I’ve just turned 40 last year.

My daughter was diagnosed with costocondritis a couple of weeks ago. I'd never heard of it until then, and now I keep seeing mentions of it everywhere!

Her experience at A&E was a very positive one. Somewhere between 4-5 hours in total during which time they did blood tests, an ECG and chest X-rays to rule out anything more serious.

@Duttons1923 maybe you leaky valve playing up? The only advice i have is if they send you home make sure you get followed up if they say you need it. i was told i'd get a call within a couple of days for the ecg but in the end arranged my own when no one contacted me after a week. Those results were sent straight to my GP. A&E are pretty overwhelmed i think and whilst they're great at sorting out the immediate problem they're not so hot on the follow ups where needed. GP had no record of my A&E trip, which he said he should have had.

and make sure they know the family history!!!

Thank you very much everyone ❤️. Almost 10 hours. But back home and have the all clear on my heart and no clots. But still have no idea what this pain is 😔

that's good news - if you still have the pain get to your GP or in contact with them - whatever way they run their system asap. If it's worrying you you deserve to been seen. i put up with the "palpitations" from the end of April until November - i wish i'd sort help sooner but thought they were harmless until the morning they wouldn't stop and i had the chest pain.