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Are Chest Discomfort, Weakness And Giddiness Signs Of Heart Attack?

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Posted on Tue, 4 Oct 2016
Question: Hi, sorry to bother but I would like to get some opinions & peace of mind.  I am a 22 year old female who's trying to lose weight. Currently 12kg over my normal weight with no health problems so far.  My father is a heart & diabetes patient. Recently, my pulse rate have been high even while at rest at around 92-115. This has been ongoing for the past 2 weeks. There was once I went to the ER as I was feeling a lot of chest discomfort & was weak & kind of giddy but ECG was normal so they told me I was dehydrated & sent me back. However gave me a referal letter to the same heart specialist my dad is seeing as a precaution due to my father being a heart patient. He told me I am too young for it to be a heart attack but, just to be safe, sent me for a chest x-ray, treadmill stress test & an echocardiogram. The echo is scheduled for next month & I will be seeing the doctor in a week after that for the results & most likely a diagnosis if any. I have done the x-ray & treadmill & I only managed to last 6 mins 55 secs before I told the nurse to stop on the treadmill & at that point my BP was 151/91. Is that normal? Cause no one would tell me as all will only be told to my doctor & I will only know when I meet him. I only ever had one occasion where there was a few seconds intermittent jab of pain on the left side of my chest before it stopped. Pulse rate is still kinda high between 89 -110 even at rest & I feel unusually sleepy lately. I am not sure if I am imagining it but, I feel slightly more sleepy & tired lately. There was once BP was 135/89 when I got up. This past 2 days it has been 106 or 103/66 with pulse of 98. 


I did take this slimming pills last mth & my family thinks it could be because of that. However the pills are safe & others taking it have no complaints. Only thing I didn't do was you are supposed to drink a lot of water on that pill but, I didn't drink a lot. 


Any opinion as to what could be wrong? :(
doctor
Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (4 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Following advice...

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concerns.

What you are experiencing doesn't seems related to cardiac problems. It's normal to have HR at rest in the upper limits of norm (between 90-115 b.p.m), especially if you are overweight and/or untrained.

Moreover, since the ECG, chest x-ray and stress test doesn't find every thing abnormal you shouldn't worry about cardiac issues. The rise of BP during stress test (151/91 mmHg) is proportional to exercise level and is considered to be normal.

My opinion is that you should stay calm and relaxed wait for the scheduled echo and continue with healthy lifestyle and diet.

If you were my patient I would recommend to do as follows:
- Reduce caffeinated drink, energy drink
- Reduce alcohol to less than 1 glass of wine per day.
- Increase physical activity
- Avoid unnecessary stress
- Increase recreational activities
- Add magnesium supplements
- Use chamomile tea

Hope this will be of help!
Wish you health!
Dr. Shehu

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Benard Shehu

Cardiologist

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 2257 Questions

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Are Chest Discomfort, Weakness And Giddiness Signs Of Heart Attack?

Brief Answer: Following advice... Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you for asking! I read your query and understood your concerns. What you are experiencing doesn't seems related to cardiac problems. It's normal to have HR at rest in the upper limits of norm (between 90-115 b.p.m), especially if you are overweight and/or untrained. Moreover, since the ECG, chest x-ray and stress test doesn't find every thing abnormal you shouldn't worry about cardiac issues. The rise of BP during stress test (151/91 mmHg) is proportional to exercise level and is considered to be normal. My opinion is that you should stay calm and relaxed wait for the scheduled echo and continue with healthy lifestyle and diet. If you were my patient I would recommend to do as follows: - Reduce caffeinated drink, energy drink - Reduce alcohol to less than 1 glass of wine per day. - Increase physical activity - Avoid unnecessary stress - Increase recreational activities - Add magnesium supplements - Use chamomile tea Hope this will be of help! Wish you health! Dr. Shehu