Hello -
First, my deepest sympathies on the recent loss of your father.
This
pain should at least be looked into so that the most obvious and most serious potential problems can be ruled out. While it sounds atypical for cardiac
pain, most women do present with atypical
pain. The fact that you're young and otherwise healthy probably has led doctors to ignore this possibility, and while at your age it is less likely than post-menopause, it is possible and should always be ruled out first. There are also other, non-coronary-related pains that can happen that aren't necessarily as serious but still deserve diagnosis and possible treatment. At the very least you should have been given an electrocardiogram (
EKG) to rule out any gross abnormalities. You probably should have an
echocardiogram as well, since
mitral valve prolapse (
MVP) is very common in the general population and about twice as common among women as men. While
MVP is almost always benign, it can cause some pretty scary symptoms such as left-sided
chest pain, palpitations, occasional
shortness of breath, etc. When
MVP causes symptoms they can be treated with a simple medication and/or exercise and relaxation exercises.
There is also the possibility, further down the ladder of seriousness, that this could be a nerve-muscle-orthopedic problem caused by a strain or pull caused by the very physical sort of work you do. It could even be a very simple orthopedic problem known as costochrondritis, which is inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs.
The
pain down your leg may or may not be related to the
chest pains, since due to the nature of your work you're at greater risk of orthepedic and muscle injuries and could have more than one problem with your spine causing separate problems.
One way to help rule out cardiac involvement regarding the
pain is to find out if it can be provoked or worsened by physical movement, twisting of the upper body, raising of the arms, or direct pressure on the affected area. Can you tell me if this is true or not? Also, is it worsened by exercise? These are important things which would be very helpful in clarifying what's going on.
The observation of your boyfriend that you seem to pause or hold your breath when you're breathing should probably be looked into as well, as you have a family history of sleep apnea. While it seems unlikely it is possible. It's hard to tell whether this would be related to the other symptoms or not, but it would be worth learning if this is a real problem or not.
If you move too often to establish a primary care physician relationship then your best bet is probably to be seen at an acute care facility and use it as your temporary primary care source. You can be referred to local specialists this way, also. You should probably be seen by a cardiologist and maybe pulmonologist as well. There are a lot of possible causes of your symptoms and it's difficult to narrow them down at a distance this way. I hope this has been somewhat helpful. Good luck to you and please follow up with us as needed.
