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Original poster

cardiac ?

37 replies

brighton2272744 · 28/05/2024 15:52

hi all i have posted before just didn't get much response hoping someone can advise
me.
every other day sometimes every day for the last 9/10 weeks for a minute or sometimes longer up to half an hour (once it was for quite a few hours) i get a pulsating mild ache on the left side of my chest deep inside it radiates to my back and then down my arm feels like cardiac no palpitations i've had ecgs around 7 and 3 troponin blood the last one being 2 weeks ago all tests that have come back normal gp won't refer to cardiology unless my at home heart monitor shows anythink ( in a few days i pick this up (
what cardiac tests can i do privately that match this type of issue i'd like to go private with a good cardiac docotr in london possibly but not costing a bomb anyone know any or have any advice my day to day is ruined as i constantly have this on my mind i don't really suffer with anxiety i am an ex smoker ( stoops a few months ago.
thankyou all

OP posts:
Original poster
brighton2272744 · 28/05/2024 20:27

BonifaceBonanza · 28/05/2024 20:16

Between ecg and angiogram is usually heart ultrasound. I don’t know if the ultrasound detects everything but OP would you feel able to leave it if the ultrasound came back clear but you were still having the pains?
@brighton2272744 are you aware that angiogram is not without risk (including risk of heart attack stroke and death)?
Have you considered some kind of harmless inflammation of intercostal muscles?
It does sound a little like health anxiety in as much as otherwise healthy people of your age probably wouldn’t even go to the doctors for this let alone pursue hospital based testing.

hmmm i haven't thought about this fully but thanks for the comment i think i should consult with a cardiologist and see what they suggest maybe see how the home ecg test goes and then what the cardiologist recomends as the risks have just worried me now it's all so confusing on what do do next what would you do in my position? i don't have health anxiety no

OP posts:
BonifaceBonanza · 28/05/2024 20:32

I do mean very kindly, how do you know you don’t have health anxiety? Have you never had any health concern before?

Original poster
brighton2272744 · 28/05/2024 20:47

BonifaceBonanza · 28/05/2024 20:32

I do mean very kindly, how do you know you don’t have health anxiety? Have you never had any health concern before?

i'm not a very sensitive person i go abojt my day as usual havent had any health scares before i don't get how anxiety could cause pain in your chest that comes when your having the best day i hope it's this that would be a relief!!

OP posts:
BonifaceBonanza · 28/05/2024 20:51

Ahh ok so I don’t mean that way around, I mean the worrying about the pains which are most likely to be something innocuous.

Original poster
brighton2272744 · 28/05/2024 22:40

BonifaceBonanza · 28/05/2024 20:51

Ahh ok so I don’t mean that way around, I mean the worrying about the pains which are most likely to be something innocuous.

i'm not sure the pains are defintly there when i'm out/ busy and not evan thinking about it

OP posts:
Original poster
brighton2272744 · 28/05/2024 22:54

TheHornedOne · 28/05/2024 20:06

Troponin would show if you have any heart damage, so looks like you don’t and aren’t having a heart attack right now. ECG is also to check how your heart is.

Neither of these will indicate if you have a “blockage” issue.

As an ex-smoker myself who knows the type of pain you are describing I would suspect significant plaque in your coronary arteries.

I would reccommend a CT Coronary Angiogram (dye injected and then arteries scanned), and also getting a Coronary Calcium Score.

Calcium Scores are really only useful as a marker to check against a later Calcium Score to note change, so aren’t used much now because whilst you ideally want a zero calcium score, you can have a zero calcium score when you have lots of dangerous soft plaque that doesn’t have any calcium in it.

When it comes to plaque there are two basic types; plaque starts off soft (this is dangerous plaque) then it gets calcified and becomes harder. When hard it is stable and is much safer. It’s softer plaque that can erupt into an artery, clot and result in a heart attack or stroke.

With modern CT Coronary Angiogram they should be able to see soft plaque as well as hard. If you have significant soft plaque and make positive lifestyle changes (such as quitting sugar and flour) to help stabilise the soft plaque, your Calcium Score will go up but your risk in reality will go down.

You could also, perhaps more cost-effectively try to get a CIMT (Carotid Intima Media Thickness) ultrasound test - done on your neck. This is less invasive and if you have plaque/calcium in your neck arteries then you WILL have it in your heart arteries.

hey can i ask as you said you've experienced my symtoms i don't have any specific pain when i exercise or sissy spa or pulpitstions this is the reason my doctor says she doesn't think it's cardiac related would you disagre thankyou

OP posts:
AnnaMagnani · 29/05/2024 06:05

Chest (or arm or neck or back pain) triggered by exercise or stress is the key sign of cardiac pain. The pain settles quickly with rest.

This isn't what you describe so in a fit 33 year old woman, angina would be bottom of the list of diagnoses.

Original poster
brighton2272744 · 29/05/2024 06:52

AnnaMagnani · 29/05/2024 06:05

Chest (or arm or neck or back pain) triggered by exercise or stress is the key sign of cardiac pain. The pain settles quickly with rest.

This isn't what you describe so in a fit 33 year old woman, angina would be bottom of the list of diagnoses.

thanks this is why i am confused what would you advice i do somethink is going on

OP posts:
AnnaMagnani · 29/05/2024 06:57

I'd advise you follow the plan your GP is going with and if you have more questions, you ask the GP until you follow their reasoning and are reassured and not randoms on the internet

And definitely don't spend any money

Original poster
brighton2272744 · 29/05/2024 15:03

AnnaMagnani · 29/05/2024 06:57

I'd advise you follow the plan your GP is going with and if you have more questions, you ask the GP until you follow their reasoning and are reassured and not randoms on the internet

And definitely don't spend any money

thanks all for comments anymore advice please add

OP posts:
Incognitomato · 29/05/2024 18:45

No advice as such but if you feel something is wrong keep pushing the GP. I am a fit, healthy, very slim 48 year old who has never smoked - my GP dismissed my chest pains as indigestion as I had a couple of ECGs which came back totally normal. I then had a heart attack, I really should have kept pressing the GP but I trusted their judgement. Just because you’re a young female does not mean you cannot have blocked arteries, even if you don’t fit the usual criteria. Can’t advise on how to proceed as my tests all happened at once after the event! I just know now to keep pestering if you know something isn’t right.

quizzys · 29/05/2024 19:51

Seems all the usual tests are ok. There is a test called cardiac calcium or CAC and it may already have,been mentioned. It's not routine like an ecg, but for high risk people it detects if you have calcification in the arteries which can lead to blockages.

If the score is high and you have other risk factors/symptoms it can be followed up with a ct angiogram which shows any hardening/blockages in the arteries which can result in heart attack/stroke.

I am not a medic but had the cac test with zero calcium score so i wasnt offered a ct angio. I have atrial fibrillation and the tests were part of the work up in my case.

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