Q;
I have had severe heart burn for about 5 day’s now, It gets so bad at times I have trouble breathing, I am having a hard time eating and taking my meds beacuase it hurts to swallow. I have been taking over the counter Prilosec, but that does not seem to help. I am 45 years old. Should I be concerned about this? Thankyou for your time.
A:
I am concerned this is not heart burn, but angina because of coronary artery disease. If prilosec has no effect – even at the low dose of over-the-counter medications – I’d want to exclude heart disease first.
You can read more here:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/heart-information/coronary-artery-disease
My advice, see your doctor and get evaluated.
Risks include a variety of factors that include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and smoking:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/heart-disease-diagnosis/general-tests
If you know your blood pressure and cholesterol you can calculate your risk here:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/app/risk-assessment.php
Hope this helps,
Dr T
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/