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Having Chest Pain And Heaviness In Chest. Having Diarrhea. Had Normal ECG. LHV Thickness Due BP. Suggestions

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Posted on Mon, 24 Jun 2013
Question: Hi, I am having chest pain not pain but sort of heavy feeling sometimes in my chest area from the last 6 months atleast, 5 months ago, I've had angiography which was normal echocardiography which is almost normal a part from LVH thickness which was due to hypertension, I am 24 years old, and after controlling my BP my echocardiography showed normal results afterwards, But the chest pain still persists and I am also having diarrhea three to four times during this month my feet gets cold and my stomach pulsates almost all the time especially when laying the in the bed I also have some sort of heavy feeling below my left rib my stools are yellowish I am very confused what to do, I also did ECG's from time to time which were normal, But my problem now is diarrhea and the chest pain that comes and goes It is very confusing for me, there are many cardiologists and doctors I visited to but no good results till now, Is there any tests that you would suggest for me to examine my whole organs or body and see if there's any problems because I am sick of individual tests.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (2 hours later)
Hello,

Thanks for posting on XXXXXXX

I am Dr. Nsah and I am pleased to be able to answer your health query,

Well I would have loved that you indicate the area where you feel the most pain on your chest so that I may be able to provide some specific information regarding that as chain pain could originate from the heart, lungs or GIT (oesophagus and part of stomach= gastritis or gastric ulcer or oesophageal ulcer). If you can let me know which part of your chest is painful, then more specific answer can be provided.
As for your diarrhea episodes, it could be as a result of one of a wide range of diseases with the most common being gut infections (either with bacteria, fungi, parasitic worms, virus etc), others could be autoimmune diseases, Irritable bowel syndrome, specific food intolerance (such as lactose), tumors(very much unlikely because of your age) etc. In order to determine the cause, a series of laboratory tests will have to be conducted including stool exams, complete blood count, colonoscopy etc. A gastroenterologist will be the doctor of choice to consult at this point. In regards to your diarrhea, you will have to consider oral rehydration therapy with water + rehydration salt mixture which will help to keep body fluids and body electrolytes in a balance and prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance (which could cause you severe health problems).
Please provide me with where your chest pain occurs most and I will be glad to be able to provide more specific answers.

Hope this helps and let me know if you got further questions.
Dr. Nsah

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Nsah Bernard (48 minutes later)
My chest pain is like a feeling that some kind of needle is being pushed into my chest the pain is not too much it just moves here and there some times it will be at center left some times it is felt below my arm pit area it also moves to my back my left side of the body don't feel good and normal from the time this started I've had ECG's during this pain and palpitations and they are all normal I am not sure what this is but the pain is not for long periods of times it comes only for like 3-4 minutes maximum and disappears. However my most common symptoms normally are that I feel pulse in my stomach and the rest of the body as well at times, but mostly in my stomach area I feel dizzy only when I am having diarrhea I bought a tread mill two weeks ago and I used to exercise on it for 15-20 minutes the reason doctors ruled out any heart problems is because of the fact that they checked my hands and angiography and said that there are no heart problems but I am still not satisfied, I am looking for some sort of test that will reveal any problem in my heart related or any other organ related is CT scan of full body recommended for this?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (23 minutes later)
Hello,

thanks for updating,

Per your new description, it will not be unwise if peptic ulcer diseases(PUD or gastritis) is ruled out as these can cause similar symptoms and mic mic a cardiac origin pain. CT scan would not be able to give any more information besides the ones that the doctors have done. Already ECG, echocardiography, angiography all are normal, there is no need to look for other exams that can give more info.
My suggestion is that, you can also get a doctor to check for peptic ulcer diseases by doing an endoscopy.
Further doing of CT scan, MRI will simply waist time and resources as they will give you little information but those can help too to rule any problems that originate from the lungs (as chest pain could also be due to a lung diseases).
You can consult an internist for that (will be the specialist of choice).

Hope this helps further.

Dr. Nsah
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Nsah Bernard (11 minutes later)
I am going to have an ultrasound next week does that help detecting spleen difficulties I also hear noises in my ribcage area and stomach area like some reaction is going on in it heh. Also I read on internet that my symptoms are also same as that of Aortic diseases do you think that can be ruled out? The reason I wanted to go for a full body CT scan is because I wanted to know if I have any other heart related problems since I get this chest pains. I would simply list my symptoms here for ease.

1. Some times not most of the times (difficulty in taking a deep breath).

2. Pain in the chest (mostly in the left chest area and it moves in the whole chest also sometimes can be felt at the back)

3. Stool (Yellowish in colour, and is not consistant colour changes but mostly yellowish and soft blobs).

4. Dizzines (mostly when I have diarrhea with the same symptoms)

5. Palpitations and sometimes rapid heart beat.

6. Feet get cold.

7. Discomfort while sitting idle (for example If I move my feet I feel more better if I sit idle it does not feel comfortable).

8. my legs and hands have no good power (especially when I am having these loose motions).

These are the kind of diseases I want to rule out -> All kinds of heart diseases including aortic diseases.
Any spleen or gall bladder pancreatic diseases. Do you think ultrasound will cover these?

As for stomach ucler or peptic disease, is there any other way to detect them other than endoscopy since that is some thing I am not comfortable to go with.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (28 minutes later)
Hello,

Taking a look again at your symptoms I can group them into two main organ systems that have a problem which are cardiovascular and digestive problems. They might be related or not. Your digestive problem might be due to hypertension). It will also be good if your doctor's could rule out a thyroid problem or kidney problem.
Ultrasound could rule out spleen or gall bladder or pancreatic diseases but only cardiac ultrasound can rule out cardiac related diseases. CT scan or MRI could come in handy to rule out digestive diseases such as gastritis but the best is an endoscopy.
Reading from you already makes me feel that you are an over worried person especially as regarding your health. You are still young and I suggest you should stay calm and follow through with your doctor's advise. Being worried alone could make you feel more sick.
Let me know if you have any more questions and I will be pleased to answer.

Dr. Nsah
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Nsah Bernard (8 minutes later)
i've had two echo cardiography I will have one more from another hospital this time is it ultrasound of the heart? plus I thought that CTSCAN would be more helpful to rule out aortic diseases as well as other heart problems.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (17 minutes later)
Hello,

Yes CT scan can be used to rule out cardiac diseases but I was just saying that the tests that you have done so far ECG, cardiography etc are sufficient enough to rule out significant cardiac diseases. CT scan can detect aortic diseases but if your doctors deemed it necessary they would have requested for it themselves.
I believe you will feel a lot more better if you quit worrying too much as it might exaggerate your symptoms and make you feel more sick.
What strikes me most is the fact that you are young and have hypertension, usually at your it is secondary to an underlying diseases. Being overweight or obesity could also be the cause of you problems (well not saying you are, but if you are, you should try loosing some few more kilos to achieve a better health).

Hope this helps and wish you the best.

Dr. Nsah
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Nsah Bernard (13 hours later)
What could be the reason that while I am sleeping especially at night my heart rate is around 70-80 but when I am moving my feet or hands the heart rate settles down and I don't feel the discomfort that I feel when I am laying down idle this is what frustrates me the most, could this be due to any blood cots in some where if yes can they be found in full body ct scan?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (4 hours later)
Hello,

If I understand fully well, you mean that when you are sleeping you always feel your heart pounding and your rate is between 70-80bpm (which is normal to me): palpitation and when you are upright you do not feel it. That is because, when you are sleeping you become fully aware of your heart beat. This shows clearly to me that you might be suffering from anxiety disorder which can be treated if you are willing to give it a shot.
Well if you mean you are having an embolus or thrombus (clotting disorder in the vessels), then I am not sure that is possible, because those are usually life threatening conditions that if present, you will be at the emergency room at this point. Yes to answer your question, a CT scan can show the clots if available.

Hope this helps further
Dr. Nsah



Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Nsah Bernard (5 hours later)
yeah I am just concerned about how my feet hurts when I go through these situations where I have diarrhea however my dad says that it is because diarrhea makes you lose too much energy that's why your feet hurts and feels cold but yeah I also have lumps in my arms and feet some areas I hope they are not the reason I am having all this but the reason I want to go for more tests is because although cardiologists say that I am having no problems but I haven't been to stomach specialists I will be going to stomach specialists now as my problems are mostly related to that area I am just not sure what these back pains and chest pain are due to that lasts only for a few minutes and goes away. Thanks :)
doctor
Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (3 hours later)
Hello,

I think that if you visit an internist he/she would be able to look through your problems thoroughly as he/she can make a synthesis of all your problem into one after getting your history, examining you and conducting specific tests that can make him/her bring a somewhat more accurate diagnosis of your condition. The new symptoms that you have just mentioned such as lumps/ in your arms could be related to your possible heart or stomach condition. A CT scan is not an exam that will scan through your body to find all the problems you are having, but rather an exams that doctors conduct for specific purposes to look for specific problems in specific areas of your body.
I suggest you visit an XXXXXXX medicine specialist (internist) to look through your health problems again.

Sincerely
Dr. Nsah
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Nsah Bernard

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2012

Answered : 1704 Questions

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Having Chest Pain And Heaviness In Chest. Having Diarrhea. Had Normal ECG. LHV Thickness Due BP. Suggestions

Hello,

Thanks for posting on XXXXXXX

I am Dr. Nsah and I am pleased to be able to answer your health query,

Well I would have loved that you indicate the area where you feel the most pain on your chest so that I may be able to provide some specific information regarding that as chain pain could originate from the heart, lungs or GIT (oesophagus and part of stomach= gastritis or gastric ulcer or oesophageal ulcer). If you can let me know which part of your chest is painful, then more specific answer can be provided.
As for your diarrhea episodes, it could be as a result of one of a wide range of diseases with the most common being gut infections (either with bacteria, fungi, parasitic worms, virus etc), others could be autoimmune diseases, Irritable bowel syndrome, specific food intolerance (such as lactose), tumors(very much unlikely because of your age) etc. In order to determine the cause, a series of laboratory tests will have to be conducted including stool exams, complete blood count, colonoscopy etc. A gastroenterologist will be the doctor of choice to consult at this point. In regards to your diarrhea, you will have to consider oral rehydration therapy with water + rehydration salt mixture which will help to keep body fluids and body electrolytes in a balance and prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance (which could cause you severe health problems).
Please provide me with where your chest pain occurs most and I will be glad to be able to provide more specific answers.

Hope this helps and let me know if you got further questions.
Dr. Nsah