Is It Normal for a Woman to Get Chest Pains?

"Too young for heart problem"

YEAH! That's why there's no "Pediatric Cardiologists".

Wait...

Ahem.

Go see a Cardiologist.

It could be something as simple as acid reflux, an inflamed connection on your sternum -usually fixed with antibiotics-..... or it could be a minor to serious heart condition

Cardiologist. Cardiologist. Cardiologist.

Oh.

AND A NEW GP!!! Because yours has his head so far up his bum that little bump in his throat is his nose.

3 moms found this helpful

Get a new doctor NOW. Dump this ignorant, sexist, under-trained nitwit. Anyone of any age can have heart issues. Or not. He cannot tell by just looking at you. If the EKG is fine, do not stop; pursue other tests until a doctor can tell you what is going on; an EKG alone may not show a heart issue if nothing's happening with your heart at the time of the test.

Women's heart issues do not present the same symptoms as men -- for a woman, a heart attack may bring on some nausea (or not), tiredness, a tight shoulder or back pain (or not), chest pain (or not) -- the idea here is that women's symptoms are NOT like classic men's symptoms of chest pain, arm numbness, etc.

If doctors say your heart is fine, please see your ob/gyn and ask to be checked for fibrocystic breasts. I underwent a treadmill stress test for heart trouble because my regular doc (to her credit) wanted to rule out heart when I was having pains in the left breast. It wasn't my heart; instead, I get cysts that form and break up and form elsewhere in the breast and can cause considerable pain that comes and goes. Your doc may check your breasts and feel nothing if it's a tiime when the cysts are not present, yet at another time there may be definite cysts there. Check it out once you rule out heart issues. Meanwhile -- if you drink caffeine (including sodas, teas, etc., not just coffee), eliminate it! It causes these cysts to develop and isn't great for the heart either -- no one with chest pain should be taking in caffeine.

Please update us!!

2 moms found this helpful

I agree with the others that your doc is an idiot. Most people can get a EKG as part of a routine physical, so what is the problem with doing one? I had one done for increased blood pressure, and a few years ago for chest discomfort that was related to horrendous acid reflux. Young people can have heart problems. How many athletes do you hear about that pass away suddenly because of some cardiac issue that was never detected? Supposedly young and healthy people can have heart issues. It could be acid reflux, a ligament pull in your chest, pneumonia, etc... You need to find a doctor to take you seriously, run labs, and do a full work up.

1 mom found this helpful

Uh, I would switch doctors...asap. Good luck!!!

1 mom found this helpful

I also suffered from chest pains off and on for a year a two but brushed it off to being tired from chasing a toddler or from too much caffeine. During a routine physical my PCP discovered a heart murmur and ordered an EKG. I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse with mild regurgitation. Basically, I had a floppy heart valve which allowed some blood to flow back into my heart. It explained my symptoms. Guess what I'm saying is that it's important to find a doctor who is vigilant about his/her patients' care. I was only 34 when I was diagnosed with this condition, so your doctor may have dismissed my concerns as well.

1 mom found this helpful

Well, I don;t know of any MDs on this site, so keep in mind that we're not doctors. Personally, I think you are wise to get this checked out and I think your doctor is being a butt head by poo-pooing your complaints & symptoms. Any chance you can switch docs after this? Sounds like you might need to fire him. Good luck!

I have also had big problems with chest pain for years. Lot of doctors are rude and don't believe its anything. Mine hurts a LOT though. Recently I was given Omepeozole because they think it might just be terrible acid reflux that can cause this. Its working for most part but I still have it. Last night even I had worst pain in my life. I also have an apt soon.

So maybe its something or nothing but I don't believe your doctor you can have heart problems at ANY age. Glad your getting checked out to be safe!

EKG on Sunday???? I guess since it has been three years it is not something terrible. I would see a cardiologist, so that you can put it to rest.

Women... get different symptoms than men, per heart problems.
And it can occur at any age.
Your Doctor, is being sexist.
Yes, get tested.
Or get a 2nd opinion with another Doctor.

Follow your instincts!! It is better to be told it's nothing than to drop dead of a heart attack!! Just ask the families of the high school kids who have dropped dead with heart related problems. Oh, PS, find another doctor, sounds like he's lazy and not interested in you. I always thinks that when you have any test and it comes back negative, you can simply check that off the list of what you "don't have". Good Luck!!! I.

Would love to know the out come! Ive had all kinds of weird symptoms since my last child was born, 8 years now, which no doctor can explain. Including chest pain, leg pain, elbow pain, you name it... I got tired of paying for all these tests! I found out what the elbow pain was, Ulnar nerve damage.. but the chest pain still has no outcome. Xrays and EKG and sonograms shows that I have a 'mild' murmur but thats it and shouldnt cause this kind of pain. Sometimes it feels like my heart is fluttering, sometimes is a constant dull pain, sometimes its sharp, but it seems to be in the same area. Honestly I get freaked out that IM going to just drop dead from a heart attack!

They were going to send me to a fibromyalgia specialist for more testing but I said no. Turns out my mother has fibromyalgia and well I hate doctors and refuse to be on medication for the rest of my life so I just deal with it.

Good luck.

My daughter visits the gravesite of a friend who had a heart attack and died when he was 14. He was a very active healthy boy until he was dead. A friend of mine spent many days and nights with her daughter in the hospital trying to figure out why she kept fainting until she had a heart attack and needed surgery to save her life. She was a senior in HS. A lady I sew with has a nephew who had a stroke a few weeks ago and they dont think he will live. He is 18 and was healthy before this. Its time to find a Dr who will listen to you and run the tests you need and find a reason for your pain and not make excuses. My regular GP runs a EKG in his office in about 2 minutes time. You shouldnt need to schedule it and go somewhere else fancy for it. It will rule out a lot of things and ease your mind. It might be as simple as you are carrying your kids too much and straining your back and chest muscles. You might be wearing a bra too tight. You might have a bone spur on a rib. you might have an infection. the list goes on and on. So find a new Dr and find out whats wrong and fix it. You cant be a complete mom to your kids if you are spending time wrrying about your chest pain.

Good for you for getting an EKG. If it turns out not to have been necessary, you can let your doctor say "I told you so," and you'll have to pay for the procedure, but you won't have to worry because you'll know.

I've read that women can experience different heart symptoms than men do. But you have a toddler to raise and you don't need this concern on your to-do list.

I had some periodic chest pain some years ago that turned out to be esophagitis. It could have fooled me - I was positive it was my heart acting up. I was very, very glad I had it all checked out.

I have on and off aching in my chest. (I'm 31 and in otherwise excellent health) My dr immediately ordered a stress test. The results were perfect. The aching continued. She ordered an echocardiogram. The results were perfect. I still have the aching from time to time.
This is the best diagnosis I can get, at this time. http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/costochondritis

Good luck to you.

Find a Cardiologist and see him/her as soon as you can. Waiting three years is not good.

I'm sorry, but your doctor is an idiot. I had a friend who was 13 when she died from a heart attack. She had never had any indicators of heart issues.

I'm glad you insisted on an EKG. You need to find out why you're having them. I'd also find a new doctor.

On a side note: I've had issues with chest pain on and off for the last few years. My actually is due to stress. I've had an EKG and other tests run. So it may end up just being stress.

I'm 37 and have been to my doctor twice in the past year for the same thing. Each time he does an EKG and says it's stress. I believe him because the chest aches usually come during stessful times. My kids are 3, 5 & 6. If I were you, I'd get the EKG done just to be safe though.

Your doctor should look into chest pains, and an EKG should be the bare minimum. LOTS of things can cause chest pains (including simple anxiety), but cardiac causes should be reasonably ruled out. Young people can have heart problems -- it shouldn't be ischemia (the kind of pain you get that's related to clogged arteries and heart attack), but there are other things that can cause it. My husband gets mild chest pain occasionally because of a congenital heart condition (meaning one he was born with).

As far as trusting your doctor goes ... it's hard to say. STudies actually show that a good doctor who listens to you and examines you properly is about as able to diagnose you as a doctor who orders a bunch of expensive tests. Overall, it's better for everyone if doctors use their brains rather than just ordering a slew of tests for everyone. That being said, the cause of this chest pain should be assessed. An EKG should be done. He should listen carefully to your heart and to your symptoms. My brother had chest pain and his VERY GOOD doctor didn't order tests because he was confident he was able to diagnose it without all the tests. He was right. But just brushing off your concerns without trying to figure out a cause is not a good way to handle it.

While a lot of things can cause chest pains, such as acid reflux, pleurisy, anxiety, or even your back out of whack pulling on muscles - you are never too young for heart issues. I've had mitral valve prolapse since my very early 20's. It causes my heart to race, bugs me but doesn't damage my heart.

My daughter had a heart attack at 16. No illnesses previously, no risk factors, etc. Just out of the blue heart attack. It does happen.

Definitely find another doc who will make the effort to look into this. It may be nothing serious, or it may be something really wrong --but how will you know if it's not properly checked? I experience chest pains from time to time, mostly since my mid 30s, but there were episodes in my mid 20s. For me it's costochondritis, as another responder mentioned. I have also found that i get intense flare ups when I'm overly stressed. The pain is managed with anti-inflamatories and stress management techniques. But I'll tell you something: getting properly tested and being able to rule out a significant heart issue helped reduce MY stress levels greatly!!! :) I hope you'll find a new doc who will take your heart health seriously.

You're never too young to have a heart attack. Get another doctor. Anyhow, it could be your lungs or angina.