Chest pain

Monday morning, after a weekend trip to Vegas, I woke with a sick headache, took tylenol, ate breakfast, watched the morning news, and then got my list and went grocery shopping. I'd worked off about half my list when a jolt of pain hit me square in my chest. I put my hand to my heart and tried to breathe normally, thinking it would pass in a moment. It didn't pass so I decided to ignore it and hope it would go away...probably indigestion. (at which point I wondered if Cheerios and fruit could cause indigestion) The next item on my list was steak so I rolled my cart to the meat department. I picked up a package of ribeye steaks and examined the marbling while trying to ignore the pain in my chest and neck. Feeling more sick than well, and thinking that IF I had a heartattack I didn't want to be discovered with steaks in my shopping cart, I put them back in the cooler. I learned it is hard, if not down right impossible, to buy steaks while having chest pains. JUST in case I passed out, I jotted my symptoms on the back of my grocery list ...sharp, squeezing chest pain, sweating, neck pain. From there I made my way to the medicine aisle where I grabbed a box of children's aspirin. I tore open the box (being careful to preserve the barcode), twisted off the cap and popped 4 cherry chewables into my mouth. Sure enough, a minute or two later the pain subsided. I went to the pharmacy and took my blood pressure which was high but not dangerously high. I finished buying the groceries (yes, I paid for the children's aspirens and I did buy the steaks after all), unloaded at home and put away the perishables before calling Hubby.

He was concerned and had me talk to Daughter (who works with him and is a registered nurse). She asked me a battery of questions and then hesitated before saying "Mom, you are giving me all the wrong answers" and telling me to go to the ER. Five hours later I was sent on my merry way with instructions to get a referral to a cardiologist, have a stress test, and eat more bananas and avocados. (while at the store I had purchased bananas which is routine and an avocado which I rarely buy - my body was telling me something) My EKG was normal, the EBT showed I have a heart that an athlete would envy, and the labs showed all in the normal range except for low potassium.

I don't know if I should have gone or not...I felt rather silly sitting on a gurney in the ER, feeling and no doubt looking healthy. But family members and the ER doc reassured me that I did the prudent thing. So, I learned, or had the lesson reinforced, that one should not ignore chest pain. And what I observed about human nature is that our motivation to do the right thing (in this case avoid eating beef) often fades right along with the related pain.