opinions on chest pains

[Robin61970]

Okay nursing students ....patient grabs his chest and can't breathe. his face turned bright red...his lips were tingling(a little blue) and his jaw hurt. First response said blood pressure was 159/120. Paramedics came....did EKG ans it was normal....gave nitro and 4 baby aspirin. Went to ER and did chest Xray with blood work and repeat EKG...blood pressure continued to drop to normal. Sent home with instructions to take Mylanta for acid reflux and follow up with nuclear stress test with cardiologist. Have recently found out that he has had chest pains previously off and on without saying anything. I am not happy with the diagnosis at all. There is a history of heart disease in the family. Patient is overweight as well. Any thoughts? I have done research and it seems to be some sort of Angina, but I am not a doctor. This patient is my husband and I am very concerned...please give me your thoughts and prayers....thank you

[Bonnie Blue]

Robin, I would strongly encourage you and your husband to look into some kind of supervised fitness program. Your husband should probably work with a trainer and a dietician at the very least. I am exercise physiologist by training, (starting nursing in the fall). I know many people who need that extra help to get started. Particularly with your husband's HTN, he shouldn't really go out just exercise. Many hospitals have fitness facilities that would provide the comprehensive lifestyle information and support to make changes. You might even be able to get your insurance or employer to help pay with a referral from the cardiologist.

:)

[Peeps Mcarthur]

So glad to hear that your husband is stable,

What about his HDL/LDL?( in referrence to cholesterol)

LDL is the one you want to lower, and is associated with the feared malady.

I also wondered(sorry to pry) what his ABG's showed?

If pain and tingling was associated with histamine reponse at all, could it have been allergic? Just speculation, I know, but seems fair to think about given it's unknown etiology.

Anyway, I'm very glad to hear that a lifestyle change is all that is prescribed:)

God bless you,

Brad,

Columbia, MD

[Robin61970]

My husband works for his mother, and when he collapsed it was at her house...she dialed 911. Now I am worried, but what she does is another story. She has set up a treadmill and exercise bike in the office to get him started. She is making him do it for at least 30 minutes a day. She also has gotten a blood pressure machine and checks his pressure every day. She is going to get a membership to a gym soon, but she wants him to get used to doing it a bit a day. She has also bought a book on fat grams and is making him eat right at work and such. I am glad she is trying to help, but i think he's gonna get tired of it before long,lol. I do believe this really scared him though and he will probably listen now...thanks I will ask the DR about cholesterol when we go back.....

[crnasomeday]

I sure do empathize with you Robin. It's hard when someone you love has to go through things like this. My dad had a TIA back in November, and it just scared me to death. We (myself and siblings) kind of went nuts with him afterwards too, trying to get him to drastically change his eating and exercise habits. Very little luck though. I did get him to start monitoring his blood pressure daily, but that's about as much change as I've been able to influence.

I think an exercise bike in the office is a wonderful idea, but doing it 30 minutes a day is exessive, at least to start off with. For a person that is unaccustomed to exercise and is overweight, great care has to be taken when starting an exercise program. Sometimes doctors forget to tell people that they need to start off slow and gradually build up their time as they build up their stamina. 30 min/day is too much to start with.

Be blessed dear lady, and my prayers will be with you and your husband.