Heart Health

I am a 25 year old female. I'm not over weight at all, exercise and eat as healthy as I possibly could. I have a couple drinks here and there but all in moderation. The one issue I have to admit is that I do smoke. Now that all these health issues are arising, I am going to be hopefully quitting soon. Lately I have been having this really odd pain right under my heart. It's kind of right below the breast. It's not extremely painful but more annoying than anything. Also, I have been getting strange numbness in my hands...typically after I have a couple alcoholic drinks OR after I am fatigued from not getting enough sleep the evening before. The heart issue and the numbness do not happen at the same time so I don't know if their associated with each other or what. I do know both my father and mother have no heart issues but both of my fathers parents had heart disease. Also, my father is pre-diabetic. Another factoring issue that worries is me is I do have some dental issues. I have had an dental abscess for years now and I often wonder if maybe the infection has spread into my blood stream, is this possible? I did make an appointment earlier today but the soonest they can get me in is in two weeks so I kind of have to wait it out unless of course it gets worse. I was just curious as to if anyone here has experienced any of these issues and if you had gotten a diagnosis. I am just trying to research as much on the topic as I can before I visit the doc.

Thanks in advance =)

I'm glad you have plans to see your doctor, are you on a list to be called in if there are any cancellations?

Try not to do too much research between now and your appointment, while research is good, too much can be scary. 

Hi, there! Let me just say right off that heart issues do not show favoritism between age, race or lifestyle. There are two contributing factors that may put you at risk and those are smoking and a family history. When I was first diagnosed with heart disease, I was healthy for the most part and not overweight. (I can't say that I ate the foods that were good for me all of the time.) My high cholesterol was found first and then it just went from there. I also have significant heart disease within my family. (My great-grandfather died of a heart attack and a few others struggled with heart issues.) What amazes me, is that I've never had a heart attack!

The small amount of alcohol you drink shouldn't have anything to do with your heart. The numbness you feel in your hands could very well have something to do with your health, whatever that may be. My hands also go numb from time to time, but I've also had carpal tunnel and back problems. I really can't say why yours are going numb.

I'm not a dentist, of course, but in my own opinion, I don't think the infection from your tooth could have spread into your blood stream. It just doesn't make sense that that could happen.

I agree with the first poster that you shouldn't do a lot of research and therefore self-diagnose yourself. Information - especially from the Internet - may not be entirely reliable. Here's what I suggest.... wait for your appointment and then bring up all these things to your doctor. However... Should you feel pain that's intolerable, don't waste time. Go to the ER immediately.

Here are the five most common early warning signs of a heart attack: 

-- Chest pain. 

-- Pain or discomfort in the neck and jaw. 

-- Pain or discomfort in the arm, shoulder or back. 

-- Sudden feeling of profound fatigue. 

-- Sudden shortness of breath.  

A person may or may not have all the symptoms listed above, so keep that in mind.

Please let us know how you're doing and what you find out from your doctor, okay? You'll be in my thoughts!

With heart hugs ~