Have a Heart.

It has been several years, maybe as many as seven or eight, that I have had pain in my chest / shoulder / back.  When I was in my late twenties I couldn't imagine having something wrong with my heart.  It just didn't seem possible.  I was always very active, worked out at the gym or did karate almost every single day, so I didn't understand how I could possibly be having chest pain.  At first I simply ignored it, never said a word about it to anyone.  When the tiny, sharp pains would shoot through my left shoulder I would just try to sit still and breathe very lightly.  Sometimes they would last more than a few minutes, and there were times that I was really nervous. 

Over the years I have put on weight and then took it off again, but always worked out consistently.  I have had my blood pressure checked and it is always on the low side, never high.  My cholesterol levels have been on the borderline of being an issue, but I have always taken consideration to keep them under control. 

So for the past few weeks these pains in my chest have been very much constant, mostly remaining a dull ache, of which I am always aware, but sometimes really giving me trouble.  At night I sometimes have to lie on my right side and put my left arm up over my head to find any relief.  I breathe very carefully and hope than the sharp pains will subside.  Kristen has not known any of this.

Finally, on Wednesday night I confessed to what has been going on. 

And so yesterday began the journey into figuring out what is wrong.  We started out at urgent care and ended up in the ER...two electrocardiograms, one chest x-ray, but still no answer.  Now that I have told someone about this problem, I just want to have an answer.  I can't believe that I have worried about this for years.  I have a lot of variables on my side...age, relatively good health, I don't smoke, but who knows how this will all turn out.