My dad was in his early 40's when he drove to the hospital over ill defined chest pains. Turns out he had an aorta aneurysm (what killed John Ritter) and it was kind of questionable for a couple of days if he was going to make it.

So maybe you feel silly going to the ER for a tummy ache. But you have to go.

You have to.

I dealt with sharp pains in the right side of my chest for a couple of weeks last month. It was the wrong side for heart problems, but I had it checked out anyway. After x-rays and CT scans, it was apparently a swollen lymph node in my chest cavity putting some pretty serious pressure on some nerves.

I didn't even know I *had* lymph nodes in my chest cavity...

Sounds like you're just tough enough to do it.

I have one of those "oops, heart attack" moments about twice a year and it sure is localized. About an inch above my sternum and unlike anything I've ever felt. Apparently just some kind of gas block from my disgusting diet.

Be well.

I had horrible chest pains as the result of a hiatal hernia and constricted esophagus. They finally figured out what it was and did some kind of balloon procedure and it went away totally. But I went through all the heart attack testing, etc., before they nailed it down.

I had a fit, weight-lifting co-worker who died of a heart attack at the ripe old age of 24. Ever since then I've fully known life to be pretty much just a roll of the dice from one day to the next.

It actually feels like some sort of lung issue, but it didn't show up on the X-ray, so it isn't pneumonia or anything like that.

My husband suggested paint fumes--I'd been painting the front porch. Could be.

Anyway, it's nearly gone now, and it's a new day.

I'm 21, and I had chest pains about a year ago -- all the classic heart attack places - chest, left arm, jaw, etc. As it turns out, I'd pinched the nerve that is bothered when you have a heart attack. It recurs sometimes, which is disconcerting, but at least I know I'm not dying.

You did good, you. For someone who's so disgustingly healthy all the time, you took this one on like a pro.

Book! Cell phone! Sustenance!

Plus, you WENT. You did the right thing.

And it sounds like there wasn't one fool there who tried to tell you it was female anxiety. Thank heaven. That BS is one reason more women die of heart disease than breast cancer: so many of our genuine physical diseases get blown off as "psychological," like those heart attack deaths a day after being sent home misdiagnosed as a panic attack or, God almighty, "histrionics."

Think it doesn't happen today? My niece recently got sent home from a doctor's office with advice to get "psychological counseling" for her -- get this -- ASTHMA. He didn't even test her for it first, ok? It was one of those admirable Diagnoses-by-ESP. He could have KILLED her. Because, as it turns out, her asthma is perfectly real and quite serious.

And it isn't that women's heart attack symptoms present abnormally. They're usually perfectly normal for WOMEN. Until very recently, no one bothered to wonder if women and men might be different. They really are.

'Scuse the rant. I'm in a mood to rip up certain doctors today.

I'm so glad they took good care of you.

I agree about the lung bit. If it hurts on deep breaths and isn't too localized, it sounds like a lung thing. If it were localized I'd wonder if you had a cracked rib.

Since you already have pretty serious allergies, you're prone to asthma, and maybe to other good old-fashioned lung ailments like pleurisy. That's when the lining surrounding your lungs gets inflamed, and when it tries to expand on deep breaths, it sort of sticks on the lining of your chest. Usually the two linings are all lubricated and slick, and slide around nice and smooth. But when the pleural lining gets inflamed, it's sort of swollen, right? and doesn't slide so good. Hurts like a sonofabitch. But often, only when you breathe deep.

The reason I dry pave and almost never use mortar any more is because it's caustic. When I pour or stir up the dry mix, like with its water, I can't get around breathing it a bit. Even mixed, I can feel it when I breathe. It gives me pleurisy. Which, being a soft tissue issue, won't always be seen on an ex-ray. See?

So I'm wondering about those paint fumes, too.

Glad to hear you're feeling better. I love good jobs and happy endings. Here, I got both. Thanks.

Glad to hear you're well.

If you continue to have similar symptoms, start a log of everything you eat, and have yourself tested for allergies, and especially for food allergies. I'm allergic to soy, and for months had chest pains and "indigestion" -- then stopped eating anything that contains soy (mayo has soy!) and the pain is gone.

H=heart related
E=esophageal problems
A=anxiety attack
R= I've forgotten;but probably reflux
T=Tietsche's syndrome(a viral inflammation of the chest cartilage)
50-81 mg of aspirin/day recommended

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1) I'm glad you're feeling better.

2) BOO!!!!!!