I am a 53 yo female worried about having a heart attack. I have at times had pain in my ribs on my right side that travels towards my spine. Usually, Advil or Bayer aspirin helps the discomfort. For the past week, this mid back pain seems to be coming through to the upper center abdomen. I had taken several 500 mg bayer aspirin over a couple day period so I don t know if I just irritated my stomach or if this is heart related. I have no shortess of breath, dizziness or sweating. I was taking Metroprolol (25 mg 2x daily) and also had Lisinoprol added (one 5mg daily) as I had a echocardiogram which showed a slight enlargement on the left side of my heart. My total cholesterol is high at 250, my HDL is good at 63. My doctor hasn t put me on medication - trying to get it down by diet (I am overweight). While I feel some discomfort in my chest, am I worrying needlessly? I know an echocardiogram doesn t show blocked arteries but, could it be assumed after watching the blood flow to/from the heart that there could be blockages? Should I rest easier knowing that I ve just had the echo and my dr didn t seem needlessly concerned?
Hello, Your symptoms don't suggest any heart blockages, but you certainly have a risk factors like cholesterol and high BP. Also, you mentioned there is enlargement of heart. So considering your echo report to be significant (or it may be just a hypertensive change on echo which your doctor conveyed as enlargement, so please upload your report for better clarification) you should either undergo stress thallium or TMT test which will further help to resolve the issue. I also think you should take treatment for cholesterol like Atorvastatin, as these meds have multiple heart protective effect other than cholesterol lowering. You should have a healthy lifestyle like avoiding fatty, oily and high calorie diet. Have low salt diet and monitor blood pressure regularly thrice a day for one week then once or twice a week. Regular exercises like brisk walking, jogging according your capacity at least 30 min a day and 5 days a week. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables, fruits, fish once or twice a week, avoid meat. Avoid smoking and alcohol if any. There shouldn't be abdominal fat deposition or obesity. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. 