what are symptoms of a blockage of an artery?

Question

I go for a stress test tomarrow but i really felt the problems i am having was more a lung thing, but i am told you can have shortness of breath with a blockage. i am also having some chest pain or discomfort that comes and goes. If ... this is my heart when do i know to go to the er? do i wait until the pain is bad or do i go with discomfort? i am so unkowing what to do!!!

Answer 1

If you have tightness, pain, or heaviness in your chest that may or may not radiat to your left arm, back, or jaw, you should go to the hospital. These are symptoms of a heart attack. A heart attack is basically when one of the arteries that supplies your heart muscle with blood is blocked. Shortness of breath is also a symptom.

If an artery in your heart is partially or completely blocked, there is part of your heart that is not receiving enough oxygen. This sends a signal to your brain that says you need more oxygen in your blood stream. This is the feeling of shortness of breath.

The heart has no sensory nerve endings. The sensory nerve endings of your left shoulder, back, jaw, and upper stomach area are very near the nerves of your heart at the spinal cord. Therefore, pain in your heart muscle manifests it self as shoulder pain, chest pain, or heartburn.

If you have any questions about whether the pain is normal or not, you need to call your doctor immediately or have SOMEONE ELSE drive you to the ER (or call an ambulance)

Fluid backing up into the lungs is a result of heart failure. Heart failure can result from a heart attack, but is a sign that irreparable damage has already occured. Disregard the answer about fluid in the lungs.

Answer 2

That is correct, you can have shortness of breath with a blockage of the pulmonary artery of the lung. as well a the coronary artery. If you are experiencing chest pain or discomfort that is cons tent and sudden onset it could be cardiac related. If the chest pain or discomfort comes and goes it is more likely not cardiac related. Chest pain occurs when there is a blockage in the coronary arteries that carry oxygenated blood to the heart. When the artery is blocked or partially blocked by a clot that part of the heart that is to receive the oxygenated blood begins to die and that is what causes the pain known as heart attack or MI. Any person who is experiencing any type of chest pain or discomfort should seek medical attention.

Answer 3

You were told correctly. If it's not your lungs, it COULD be your heart. If you have shortness of breath AND chest pain with it, get to the ER! It could be a heart attack, or angina (which often precedes a heart attack). Or it could be anxiety combined with a spasm to the chest muscle or even cartilage around the ribs...BUT, do you want to play those odds?!

Go and have the stress test (make sure they use persantine, to measure the flow of blood through the arteries). It will feel VERY weird...not painful...but as if your heart is expanding! (I had this done). You may get light-headed, ,esp. during the treadmill part of the test (if they even do that).

If you feel pain or dizziness, tell them and they'll stop! Some people can actually be having a heart attack when the test starts, so let them know how you feel beforehand.

If they find nothing wrong, go to a pulmonologist (lung specialist) and get re-evaluated about your breathing problems. You may have badly managed asthma, COPD or emphysema (do you smoke? Quit now!).

Anyway, good luck!

Answer 4

I have had a heart attack and 3 years later, a major blockage. The blockage was not detected by the stress test and a heart cath was done. It was 99%. My only symptoms were tiredness and shortness of breath. You know your body, and if it doesn't seem right to you, see the doctor. With my first heart attack I had indigestion symptoms in my back for about a week. Then, one morning I felt nauseated and suddenly the pain hit me in my back. Symptoms are different for women. I never had any chest pain.

Answer 5

a blockage in one of the arteries that feeds your heart decreases the ability of the heart to pump effectively and fluids back up in the lungs causing shortness of breath. The lack of circulation causes the heart muscle to hurt. You ought to have some nitroglycerin for when you have chest pain. If you do not, then you need to call your doctor for some. When the pain comes on, take the nitro and wait ten minutes. If the pain is not gone, take another one and wait ten minutes, if the pain still is not gone it's time to go to the ER.

Answer 6

My husband had shortness of breath. He was also have chest pains. He got sick at work and starting having severe chest pain, was taken to the hospital. He had a stress test but couldn't finish it. Next he had a heart cath to see if there were blockages. His blockages were so bad that he had to have open heart surgery.They found 3 blockages and found another 1 during surgery. He had a quadruple bypass.

Answer 7

Don't wait just go to the E.R. when the pain increases. Heart damage is irreversible. Go see a general practitioner as soon as possible and let him decide the best course of action.

Answer 8

The only way to get a sure fire, reassuring answer, is to head to your doctor, and get a CAT/MRI scan of the area. They may even be able to tell you what it is without a scan. Please don't delay. It's probably nothing, but I can tell you from experience, being overweight really doesn't benefit our bodies in any way, in fact it can make relatively minor health complaints into big problems. Definitely go see a doctor, hopefully it is nothing. Make sure you eat lots of fruit and veg, and cut down on those carbs/greasy foods.

Answer 9

fatigue, swelling in the limbs, pain in the chest, jaw, or left arm, if you think it may be something, better to be safe than sorry, go in!

Answer 10

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