Submitted by Dr T on December 22, 2010 – 10:49am
There are many reasons for chest pains and shortness of breath, not all of which are related to your heart and/or lungs. I agree with your doctor though, that, before anxiety & hypochondria are blamed for these symptoms, a Cardiac ECHO is a good idea. I would not have thought from your symptoms that pulmonary hypertension is an issue, but once you think about it, it is best excluded. It is a simple test that looks at the way your heart functions.
Reading more about chest pains may help as well!
I don’t think that your use of anabolic steroids should continue to have an effect a year later.
However, with your height & weight, your BMI=33.1. Body Mass Index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2. Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. The culture of “bulking up” is not a healthy one. Even if you tell me you are a professional athlete and burn many more calories than you eat, I suggest looking into sensible weight loss. It will matter in the years to come. It might help you to assess what your risk for developing heart disease is,
Read more about BMI here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/obesity
Hope this helps,
Dr T