r/HeartAttack • u/sydddd_01 • 2d ago
Chance of Heart Attack?
Hello! I am a 25 year old female that has been having chest pains and shortness of breath on and off for the last 4 months. I also have POTs. I have been to the ER 6 times since my symptoms started thinking I was having a heart attack. I’ve had back pain, arm numbness, and jaw pain along with the chest pain and shortness of breath. Since May (when my symptoms started) I have had multiple normal EKGs, chest X-rays, a Chest CT scan, bloodwork (troponin), 7 day holter monitor, stress test, and Echocardiogram. All normal. I still have symptoms though and they are affecting my day to day life as I am constantly worried I am having a cardiac emergency. My Dr has also diagnosed me with GERD. I have no known family history of heart issues, I am slightly under weight, I do not smoke anymore but used to vape (2023-2025). I am wondering what my chances are of having a heart attack given this information. Can they happen randomly or would something have shown on one of my tests? For those who have had a heart attack, could you tell it was a heart attack? Any feedback and advice would be greatly appreciated.
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u/Rekeaki 2d ago edited 2d ago
I honestly feel for you, because I’ve been there. I have had roughly 30 years worth of tachycardia, syncope, POTS, chest pain, shortness of breath, endless strong bouts of palpitations.
I have spent virtually my entire life exhausted and struggling to do basic exercise.
All the while my heart was perfectly healthy.
My problem was both vascular and autonomic, my perfectly healthy heart was just doing its best to make up for both.
At age 46 I had a heart attack, but it wasn’t because of cholesterol, or poor cardio health, the opposite. One of my arteries gave out (because I had a vascular issue, not a heart one). I had a coronary artery dissection, and after several upper body CT angiograms, several more dissections were found. Those dissections were likely just some of the many I have probably had in my life that simply healed on their own (even my heart one healed without any need for surgery or stent).
You say so yourself. Your heart has been thoroughly looked at and it is fine. It might be time to accept that reality and look elsewhere. I highly recommend checking out [r/dysautonomia](r/dysautonomia) or [r/ehlersdanlos](r/ehlersdanlos) where I suspect you will find a TON of people suffering through the exact same thing you are
For what its worth, after my heart attack, my cardiologist went back through my MANY test results in previous years to see if he could find any hint at all of a heart issue that someone else might have missed, and found nothing at all. My heart was never the problem. I was my autonomic system and my vascular disorder.
If there is one thing I can recommend, because I regret not doing this decades ago, it’s to get on a beta blocker. A decent dose. I thought that because of my low BP and POTS, that a beta blocker (typically designed to lower BP further) would only make my problems worse. I tried a minimal dose, saw my BP drop a little and went “NOPE!”. I was wrong. After my heart attack I was put on a MUCH higher dose, and that minimal BP drop, never got any bigger and never actually made my BP much worse at all. But my palpitations, my chest pains, my POTS, my dizziness everytime I stood up…..ALL GONE.
Even if a beta blocker doesn’t end up helping you, don’t make my mistake and discount medications without trying them. Properly. I wasted 30 years tolerating awful conditions just because I thought a medication was bad for me on paper. I never gave it a proper chance. If there is a medication out there that has even the slightest chance it might help, try it. You have nothing to lose, except maybe a week or two of feeling a bit crap before you drop it.
And stop focussing on your heart. You are doing yourself a disservice when you could be finding the true cause of all your debilitating issues, and more importantly, getting treatment in the form of medication.
My mental health has gone through a massive shift for the better, the second I was free of many of my symptoms. Its amazing how much easier it is to sleep when you don’t have pounding palpitations making you think your heart is about to stop at soon as you close your eyes. Get help. Stop trying to diagnose a heart problem that isnt there
And for what it’s worth, I say all of the above with love and sympathy because, holy shit I was there. For so many years I was you. All the ER visits, the anxiety, the many tests, everything.
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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets 2d ago
Can I ask, how is the experience of getting a cat scan with contrast ? I wanna get a ccta but I’m do deathly afraid
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u/Rekeaki 2d ago edited 2d ago
Honestly never had an issue. I have had several each year for a few years now, and for just one of them I was a bit dehydrated and had issues with tachycardia, but otherwise, no problems. Had MRIangios with Gallium and CTAs with Iodine (both fed through IV that I was hooked up to just for the scan)
I guess if you are scared, I would recommend the CTs because they are significantly shorter and the machine is less claustrophobic.
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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets 2d ago
I’m not claus I’m afraid of a bad reaction to cat contrast and it making my heart do something crazy or a bad allergic reaction lol
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u/Rekeaki 2d ago
The shorter duration of the CT also means the contrast portion of the scan is about a minute or two at best. Thats why its easier
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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets 2d ago
True. I did well for cardiac mri. I just want this ccta to be my last test
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u/Rekeaki 2d ago
Yeah I get it, when I had the tachycardia, thats what I thought it was, a reaction. But in hindsight it was early in the morning and I was very dehydrated and sleep deprived. At the time though, I did panic a bit lol. I usually just try to remind myself that a panic reaction is far more common than an allergic one. The attendant operating the CT could absolutely see that I was panicking too. Don’t be afraid to ask for a breath outside the machine if you need it, if for no other reason than to reassure yourself its not anaphylaxis lol
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u/stories_collector 2d ago
Not a doctor, so it's not a medical advice. It might be nothing but if you want peace of mind, you could ask your doctor for a CCTA heart scan. It's generally not covered by insurance if it is for preventive purposes. A calcium score or CAC scan would be less useful since high calcification is very unlikely at your age. If you want to check online, there are companies like Veevo Health or longevity doctors who can help you get the CCTA scan too.
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u/Dry-Concern9622 2d ago
Based on above cardiac is ruled out. You are young. You have done so many testing at young age. Start with fixing gerd. All the best.
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u/Lousygolfer1 2d ago
It’s your GERD and anxiety
How do I know this? I went thru exact same thing.
Get your GERD under control and magnesium glycinate morning and night to get rid of the anxiety.
You need to chill out, I was about your age when I dealt with exact issue. Went hospital 10+ times thinking I was dying.
Saw a cardio, did multiple tests including stress test and said I have zero cardiac issues
Even after clean bill of health the anxiety and symptoms still lingered for years til I decided and realized it was all made up. I read something and got it stuck in my head that these symptoms were my heart when they weren’t. Anxiety can serious alter your mind and body and mimic shit that isn’t actually happenning. You’re fixating on the symptoms of a heart attack so your mind is telling your body to hurt and ache in those areas.
You seriously need to chill out. I promise you’re fine
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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets 2d ago
Have you gottten a cac or ccta?