To not go to a&e?

[heartmugoftea]

I'm 36, otherwise healthy. I've had chest pains since Friday, DH thinks I should go to a&e. I choked on my drink either weds or Thursday and coughed for a good few minutes quite violently.. could that just have caused this persistent chest pain?

Please don’t give medical advice unless you are qualified to do so.

Otherwise it’s life threateningly dangerous.

An ecg (12 lead) being normal is very reassuring, but does not exclude the possibility of a heart problem. You can be having a heart attack with a relatively normal appearance ecg (called a NSTEMI). There's a blood test which looks for a protein released when your heart is under stress that is more specific.

Whether this would be undertaken for a 36yr is really how it comes across in the initial consultation, "I hurt my chest and jaw coughing violently a few days ago, it's still aching a bit is that normal/can i have a pain killer" vs "I've had this pain in my chest for a few days now that doesn't feel right, it's got me thinking about my parent who had a heart attack at my age.... do you think its my heart is is it just muscular or reflux".

I think given your family history and how heart attacks present differently in women you should go to A&E. I think your GP was quite remiss in not seeing you.

Women's heart attacks are often missed because they don't present as the typical symptoms we are told to watch out for.

How are you this morning op? Did you get yourself to A&E?

Hope you're doing ok OP and made it to a doctor

Hi everyone.. I didn't go to a&e last night as I actually fell asleep as I didn't sleep much the night before. I feel much the same today, chest pains still there and I tried to eat a sandwich and felt so full and sick. I'm on my own with DC but when DH is back at 6 I'm in 2 minds whether to go to the out of hours in our town which is open until 8 or just straight to a&e x

I think it's been long enough now and you need looking at. Worth trying OOH first and see what they say.

@TheWonderhorse yeah it's open 8-8 and tends to have less waiting times than a&e.. as a rule under an hour unless it's busy with people who have gone after work.

Your symptoms could very much be gallstone or stomach ulcer, it sounds more gastrointestinal but it also sounds like it would be worth ruling out heart given the family history.

Im assuming your GP prescribed a PPI? If you havent picked it up you can buy nexium over the counter but wont necessarily see an instant effect and could take days to see an improvement.

So I think to be safe its better to be checked but I would put money on it being gastrointestinal, but never take chances with your health and for the sake of a few hours, get checked over.

I agree.

@anothermnuser123 I'm wondering that as I had cold a couple of weeks ago so was taking ibroprofen a few times a day for a week or so.
It's just the chest pain that's throwing me off else I'd say it feels more gastrointestinal with not being able to eat a lot, nausea etc. the gp put through lansoprazole which I started this morning.

Ibuprofen is not suitable for a cold. People who have to take it regularly for health issues taking stomach medication in tandem. It's nasty stuff but a godsend for some.

Ibuprofen is absolutely fine for a cold, need to stick to the instructions on the pack and make sure it’s taken with food, but other than that it’s absolutely fine to use it for a short period to manage fever and generalised aches/pains, headache, etc that may result from a viral cold.