Heart Problems?

[boobles]

Started feeling pretty rough 2 weeks ago with just a common cold type thing which then turned into feeling sick for a couple of days. That then turned into severe headache along with stiff neck (had this before though). Over the last 4 days I have had this shooting pain in my chest (heart area) & the feeling that my heart is pounding so hard which then makes me anxious & scared. I went to the doctor yesterday & explained all of these symptoms & she kind of put it down to some stress in my life recently ( I don't deal with stressful situations that well) & that I was possibly feeling anxious. My heart rate was slightly higher than it should have been but she didn't seem to concerned & prescribed me with Propronolol to be taken once a day. I started this medication yesterday morning but this chest pain is still there on occasion (almost like heart burn) & now I feel really tired & dizzy. Could this be the medication making me feel tired & dizzy & how long should it take for this medication to kick in? The only other thing I have noticed is I have been burping more frequently & not just after eating. I am able to sleep at night without any discomfort so could a lot of this be in my head & or worrying?

[Brave Fart]

I had something very similar to this four weeks ago, minus the chest pain. My GP was next to useless, so in frustration I went to A&E myself. Was quickly admitted to the cardiac ward and diagnosed with heart failure. I was in hospital for a week, and am now recovering after expert cardiac care.
I think going to A&E prevented a heart attack. I suggest you do the same, NOW.

[boobles]

When you say you had something similar, what were your symptoms?

[Bungleaio]

Stop asking questions on the internet and get yourself down to A&E to get checked out. What ever you are doing now isn't worth doing over getting looked at to see if you are going to wake up in the morning!

[Riley Blue]

Propronolol is a beta blocker so yes, it may make you feel tired. It may also make you dizzy, give you blurred vision and cold hands and feet. I'm on a different one (bisoprolol) and I often feel cold and/or very tired, so much so that if I fall asleep, a hand grenade under my arse wouldn't wake me.

If you're concerned after how you feel right now, call 111.

[boobles]

I am having an ECG done this afternoon at my doctors as this will be quicker than at A&E.

[MYOB]

Unfortunately, the symptoms does correspond to heart failure Might be nothing but a check up is vital. Good luck with the ECG.

[boobles]

So thankfully my ECG was perfectly normal along with my examination. They are convinced that this is stress/anxiety that has been building up over the last few weeks & now my body is beginning to show the physical side of it. I haven't had any chest pain until about 11am this morning so fingers crossed this will remain this way. I do feel alot happier after getting a second opinion though.

[Patch1875]

Good news! Now forget about it and get on with things.

Anxiety has an amazing impact on your body been/still have a few issues with it but it helps when you recognise the signs. Been through the heart thing mines felt like it was dropping in my body...weird!

[boobles]

Patch1875 said:

Good news! Now forget about it and get on with things.

Anxiety has an amazing impact on your body been/still have a few issues with it but it helps when you recognise the signs. Been through the heart thing mines felt like it was dropping in my body...weird!

The medication is making me feel really dizzy & sick so they had told me to stop taking it after today. I have to try controlling this as I still feel poorly & still have this feeling of it being something serious. I know stress/anxiety can affect you this way but I can't seem to control it.

[Soov535]

boobles said:

So thankfully my ECG was perfectly normal along with my examination. They are convinced that this is stress/anxiety that has been building up over the last few weeks & now my body is beginning to show the physical side of it. I haven't had any chest pain until about 11am this morning so fingers crossed this will remain this way. I do feel alot happier after getting a second opinion though.

Well done on getting checked.

Are you still on the beta blockers?

[Patch1875]

boobles said:

The medication is making me feel really dizzy & sick so they had told me to stop taking it after today. I have to try controlling this as I still feel poorly & still have this feeling of it being something serious. I know stress/anxiety can affect you this way but I can't seem to control it.

I found it doesn't happen instantly, you think once you get the all clear it disappears but I found it took a few weeks for the thoughts to go elsewhere.

[Brave Fart]

boobles said:

When you say you had something similar, what were your symptoms?

OK my symptoms, in detail were as follows:

• shortness of breath e.g. when climbing a flight of stairs (I'm normally perfectly fit and play sport)
• fluid on my lungs especially at night, so I'd wake up unable to breathe properly, which made me very fatigued
• no appetite, my abdomen felt full, and I was burping all the time
• heart rate of over 150 when admitted to hospital

I'm now on bisoprolol, ramipril, diuretics and anti-clotting tablets. My pulse is now normal, and the only side effect I'm having is a little bit of tiredness. My GP surgery thought it was a respiratory problem, despite my very fast pulse. Fortunately A&E spotted the real cause almost instantly. My experience leaves me with zero confidence in a GP's ability to understand an ECG - my GP did an ECG and said "let's keep an eye on it....."

Anyway, hope you get the diagnosis and treatment you need.

[majordad]

Different types of ECG, probably needed a Stress ECG , wired up and on the threadmill.

[boobles]

Brave Fart said:

boobles said:

When you say you had something similar, what were your symptoms?

OK my symptoms, in detail were as follows:

• shortness of breath e.g. when climbing a flight of stairs (I'm normally perfectly fit and play sport)
• fluid on my lungs especially at night, so I'd wake up unable to breathe properly, which made me very fatigued
• no appetite, my abdomen felt full, and I was burping all the time
• heart rate of over 150 when admitted to hospital

I'm now on bisoprolol, ramipril, diuretics and anti-clotting tablets. My pulse is now normal, and the only side effect I'm having is a little bit of tiredness. My GP surgery thought it was a respiratory problem, despite my very fast pulse. Fortunately A&E spotted the real cause almost instantly. My experience leaves me with zero confidence in a GP's ability to understand an ECG - my GP did an ECG and said "let's keep an eye on it....."

Anyway, hope you get the diagnosis and treatment you need.

Thank you for this & really hope you will be fine now... I never really felt out of breath & was able to walk (approx 7 miles per day) at work & a lot of up & down stairs. I found I was eating more than usual & drinking more coffee (which I couldn't work out) My heart rate was slightly higher than it should be but they thought this was down to being anxious all the time. I have now stopped taking the propranonol as it was making me feel really strange & I am trying a more natural remedy from Holland & Barret so fingers crossed. I have had a lot of stress in my life since the new year so hopefully this is now the physical side of it coming out & attacking me. I know stress & anxiety can make you feel pretty ill.

[J..]

Glad you've got to the bottom of it – take it easy and get well soon.

Hearts issues always need to be checked out quickly and followed up. I read this post and it brought back some memories! My symptoms were fairly similar to yours, but the cause was clearly different which shows importance of getting expert advice.

My story –
3 months ago I had a regular man-flu virus which took about a week to get over. Shortly after I had intense chest pain, arm ache, dizziness, jaw ache, nausea, palpitations… all heart attack symptoms, so rushed off to A&E. The ECG and blood pressure/pulse tests were fine, but blood test for troponin indicating heart failure was extremely high. They didn’t know what it was, so shipped me off to Harefield hospital who quickly diagnosed viral myocarditis. CT scan was good, but MRI showed up some inflammation. Since then I’ve been having symptoms of tiredness, exhaustion, dizzy spells, shortness of breath, chest pain. It’s just about gone now, but still get the odd dizzy spell and chest pain. I’m on beta blockers and ace inhibitors to avoid blood pressure going up and not allowed to exercise. Apparently myocarditis isn’t that common, but you can get it very mild (that you put it down to a bit indigestion) to very severe. Just wanted to share to ensure people go and get advice if they have any heart issues.

[boobles]

Had a bad day yesterday which resulted in spending a lot of time in bed (just felt tried & no energy) I do seem to have an ache in my left arm (or like a burning sensation) & still have the headaches. I am getting bloods done for thyroid function so see what they come up with. In general I just feel down & depressed really.

[Don1]

J.. said:

Glad you've got to the bottom of it – take it easy and get well soon.

Hearts issues always need to be checked out quickly and followed up. I read this post and it brought back some memories! My symptoms were fairly similar to yours, but the cause was clearly different which shows importance of getting expert advice.

My story –
3 months ago I had a regular man-flu virus which took about a week to get over. Shortly after I had intense chest pain, arm ache, dizziness, jaw ache, nausea, palpitations… all heart attack symptoms, so rushed off to A&E. The ECG and blood pressure/pulse tests were fine, but blood test for troponin indicating heart failure was extremely high. They didn’t know what it was, so shipped me off to Harefield hospital who quickly diagnosed viral myocarditis. CT scan was good, but MRI showed up some inflammation. Since then I’ve been having symptoms of tiredness, exhaustion, dizzy spells, shortness of breath, chest pain. It’s just about gone now, but still get the odd dizzy spell and chest pain. I’m on beta blockers and ace inhibitors to avoid blood pressure going up and not allowed to exercise. Apparently myocarditis isn’t that common, but you can get it very mild (that you put it down to a bit indigestion) to very severe. Just wanted to share to ensure people go and get advice if they have any heart issues.

I got hit with that at University and have never really recovered. My advice - don't do too much to soon and be patient.

Since that I haven't had many heart issues until two years ago. Just the odd twinge. But two years ago I had a spell of palpitations that lasted about a year. At one point I had a reading of over 200bpm for over 30 minutes, peaking at 240bpm.

OP if you are worried, look up AliveCor as a monitor that links quickly and easily to your phone. It means if something happens you can record it and prove to the cardiologist what is happening. It's not cheap, but it works.

[boobles]

I seem to feel so much better once the bottle of red wine is half empty. I know this is only masking the issue but I feel "relaxed" & the pain seems to go until the morning.

[FlyingMeeces]

boobles said:

I seem to feel so much better once the bottle of red wine is half empty. I know this is only masking the issue but I feel "relaxed" & the pain seems to go until the morning.

That sounds like very good grounds for an open chat with your GP. When I was a lot younger and going through tough times I got diagnosed with reactive depression - basically body & soul ran out of ability to cope with a load of really difficult stuff. There's nothing wrong with needing a helping hand to get through the hard times, although I'm aware that's a spectacularly un-well-built-directorlike stance.