Could I have CAD or Angina? (I'm only 20)

[sammycung]

Hi, I am a 20 year old female and suffer from high blood pressure. I am 192 lbs 5'4 tall and have just started a diet.
For the past 2 months I have had a dull ache in the left side of my chest, this pain was occasionally radiating to my top half of my left arm but wasn't an extreme pain. I went to the ER as it concerned me. The ER did a chest X-ray, a VQ scan and a blood clot test; although the clot test was positive, that didn't mean anything because that clot could be anywhere in my body and my X-ray and VQ were both fine, (oh and they did a ECG on me) that was fine too. Just 2 days ago I was sitting in the passenger’s seat in the car and I got a sharp pain in the "left" side of my chest, although it was sharp, it was mild. At the same time I had the sharp pain in my chest it immediately radiated to my left side of my jaw, this was constant for a whole 5-7 minutes. This has really worried me, I am only 20 but I know it is still possible to have heart problems. Is it possible for me to have CAD or Angina? I'm going to go back to the Dr's soon but until then, any ideas???

Thank you very kindly
Samantha.

[ed34]

you're welcome, and seriously, have a great life :)

[sammycung]

Thankyou for your answer, it was very imformative. I guess i just worry too much. Thanks again for your answer.
Sammy

[ed34]

Well if it's stable angina, which would be the type associated with most cases of CAD, you wouldn't have a sudden discomfort while sitting still. If you had said you was running
at the time, or walking up a steep hill then I would think differently. You have to think about these things logically at your age because you will end up worrying yourself enough to have heart problems, and we certainly dont want that. Think of your heart as a
car engine, it is running very slowly and gently when you are sitting or laying still. As soon as you stand up, an accelerator pedal is slightly pressed and your heart works a tiny bit harder. When you start to walk your heart will speed up again. When you start to run it will start to run quite fast. The faster your engine (heart) runs, the more petrol (gas in america) it will require which is the oxygen. If an engine doesnt get enough petrol for
the power it is trying to generate, it coughs and splutters and gets into trouble. THis is the same for your heart when it doesn't get the right level of oxygen. So, if you get a discomfort like that again when sitting down, and it didn't happen when you was walking, ignore it. There are quite a few muscles and nerves in the chest area and it's surprisingly
easy to upset these without realising it. Even coughing. Muscle pains feel like they are
deep inside the chest as do nerve sensations and these can shoot anywhere such as into the arms.