Hello rockon26,
Worrisome chest pains! That would be stressful! Most people with chest
pain immediately suspect heart problems, but chest pain can originate
from other sources, most of which are less serious than heart disease
!
Causes of chest pain other than heart problems include stress and
anxiety, gallbladder problems, fractured rib, muscle strain or spasm,
costochondritis (Inflammation of the cartilage at the end of the
ribs), esophageal reflux and heartburn among others. A doctor will
know what steps to take to diagnose your problem. For example, if it
were costochondritis, the area would be tender and painful when the
doctor applies light pressure. Numerous diagnostic tests such as
cardiac enzymes, among others, are available to diagnose heart
disease. Your doctor will order what she/he feels necessary to find
your problem.
http://www.medicinenet.com/Angina/page2.htm
You really can?t diagnose heart problems online? A physician with an
array of diagnostic tools is needed for something of this
significance.
You can fill out this short form, if you know your cholesterol and
LDL values, and your blood pressure reading to find out the likelihood
that you will suffer from heart disease.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3003500
Do you have risk factors for heart disease?
These are risk factors you can not modify:
· Over age 65
· Male gender
· Heredity/Race: Did your parents have heart disease? Are you of
African American descent What are the major risk factors you can
modify, treat or control by changing your lifestyle or taking
medicine?
These are risk factors you CAN modify:
· Smoking (Your own or others around you)
· High blood cholesterol
· High blood pressure
· Passive lifestyle
· Obesity and overweight
· Diabetes
· Response to stress
· Excessive alcohol consumption
The American Heart Association:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3016281
About going to the ER: The folks that work in the health care system
like to do things rather systematically. This would involve your
visiting a private doctor/free or low cost clinic first. The doctor
will examine you to determine if you indeed have cardiac problems. If
the primary care doctor determines you need a cardiac work up, you
will be referred to a cardiologist, who will then determine the
correct diagnostic route to take. Medical personnel like to reserve
the ER for emergency purposes only. While going to the ER if you feel
you are having a heart attack IS a legitimate cause, going to the ER
for a check-up or diagnostic tests is not. If you were to utilize the
emergency department for diagnosing a non-critical heart problem, not
only would your costs be extreme, you would probably have a 4-6 hour
wait depending on the number of patients ahead of you. (Being the flu
season, your wait *could* exceed 8 hours!) I?m not sure why you would
prefer to go to the ER unless there was a true emergency.
I?ve listed some health care choices for you, in no particular order:
All are free or low cost clinics.
============
I don't know if you would qualify, but Medi-Cal pays for health care
for people with low incomes, even those under 65 years of age.
1-800-952-5294
http://www.medi-cal.ca.gov/
Visit this page to find out about your eligibility for Medi-Cal:
http://www.dhs.ca.gov/mcs/medi-calhome/FAQs2.htm
============
City of Berkeley Dept.of Health & Human Services. A call to this
office can direct you to city health care services for which you may
be eligible.
2344 6th St.,Berkeley,CA 94710
Contact:Verdie Thompson (510)644-6496;Fax (510)644-6494
E-mail:vet1@ci.berkeley.ca.us
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/hhs/
============
The Berkeley Free Clinic
The Berkeley Free Clinic believes health care is a right, and should
be available to all regardless of age, race, gender, immigration
status, or income level. I think this would be a good start. If their
health care providers feel you need to be tested and/or treated,
they?ll make the necessary referrals for you.
The Berkeley Free Clinic, 2339 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704,
Phone: (510) 548-2570 or (800) 6-CLINIC
http://users.lmi.net/~bfc/main.html
Excellent driving directions, and visual maps are found on the Berkley
Free Clinic site:
http://users.lmi.net/~bfc/direction.html
Here are more general driving directions to Berkley from the Bay Area.
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/aboutberkeley/directions.html
The Berkeley Public Library has a dial-in automated health service,
where you may hear audio tapes on health concerns:
Voice 510- 845-0508 Dial in by modem:510-845-0695, 510-845-0583
For future reference, Berkeley Free Clinic also has a dental clinic:
http://www.berkeleyfreeclinic.org/dental.html
============
West Oakland Health Center, 700 W. Adeline St. ,Berkeley,CA 94704
Contact:Norma Mason (510)835-9610 Fax (510)272-0209
http://www.wohc.org/AboutUs%20Main.htm
============
?Alameda Alliance for Health is a not-for-profit health plan committed
to making a difference in the quality and access of health care
services to the people of Alameda County. Established in January 1996,
the Alliance currently provides health care services to more than
87,000 Alameda County residents.?
http://www.alamedaalliance.com/family_care.html
List of clinics:
http://www.alamedaalliance.com/clinics_list.html
Clicking this link, looking towards the bottom of the page, and
clicking the link that says: ?Talk About?, then selecting the first
link ?Vol 1, No. 1, will give you an article about The Family Care
Plan, a low cost HMO.
http://www.alamedaalliance.com/about.html
============
Tri-City Health Care
3835 Logan Dr.,Fremont,CA 94536
Contact:Manfred Hayes (510)713-6685 Fax (510)713-6682
?We are dedicated to serving individuals who are economically
disadvantaged and face substantial barriers to adequate health care.
Our services are available to the working poor and their children, the
homeless, recent immigrants, adolescents and those who cannot access
private care due to language and cultural barriers?
http://www.avenir1.com/tchc/
============
Valley Community Health Center (No web site found)
4361 Railroad Ave.,Pleasanton,CA 94566
Contact:Sandy Reid (925)201-6028;Fax (925)462-1650
======================================
If you are a military veteran, you may be able to get care at any VA
hospital. (You may have a bit of a wait, if your problem is determined
to be non-service connected). Its well worth calling them if you were
on any active duty during a conflict or war.The San Francisco VA
Hospital web site is here:
http://www.appc1.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?ID=152
If you have problems getting into a VA hospital, and you are a
veteran, contact the local DAV for help. The DAV is very useful to
veterans of all conflicts/wars, at no charge.
The DAV has a service office in San Francisco, but not Berkeley (415)
221-4810 EXT. 2328
http://www.davca.org/dsosanfrancisco.shtml
============
If you actually are diagnosed with cardiac problems, you may consider
having your doctor contact the hospital whose ER you already called.
Alta Bates sponsors cardiac studies, called the TIMI Trials. Your
doctor may possibly be able to refer you to this program, if you so
desire, where you would get care for free.
http://www.bcvmg.com/services.htm
You might also try calling Alta Bates-Berkeley Cardiovascular Medical
Group, (510) 204-1691 and inquiring there about low-cost health care.
They may have a study or funding for low income patients.
2450 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705, Fax: (510) 204-5422
Email:greener@sutterhealth.org
============
Sutter Health, a community based non-profit clinical cardiac care
network provides this informative site about cardiac procedures and
treatments are available in your area.
http://www.sutterhealth.org/medicalspecialties/cardiac/servicesbysvc.html
============
Diagnostics:
About Echocardiograms, a non-invasive procedure for detecting some
kinds of heart disease.
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cardiactests/a/echo.htm
Cardiac Stress Test
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cardiactests/a/stress.htm
Other cardiac diagnostic testing:
http://heartdisease.about.com/library/weekly/aa072097.htm
Blood tests used to diagnose heart disease:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4477
More about heart disease from How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/heart-diagnosis.htm
Medline has some interactive educational tutorials on heart health on
this site. Look on the right side of the page for the peach colored
box titled ?Interactive Video?
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseases.html
An illustration of ?How Your Heart Works?
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1557#
Remember, as boring and repetitive as it sounds, a healthy lifestyle
is the best preventive measure you can take to avoid heart disease. A
well balanced diet, low in fat, high in fruits and veggies, regular
exercise, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, no smoking and
taking an aspirin tablet a day (if you are able to take aspirin
safely) are the steps you need to take to ensure a healthy heart.
I hope this has helped you, rockon26. Of course, if you have severe
chest pain, crushing chest pain, or pain that radiates from your chest
into your left arm or jaw, shortness of breath, or even if you feel
you are having a heart problem, don?t hesitate - go to the closest ER.
I urge you to arrange to be seen as soon as possible in one of the
health care facilities I have listed. Remember also, the information
presented here is not intended to replace sound medical advice by a
licensed physician, and is presented for informational purposes only.
If any part of my answer is unclear, or if I have duplicated
information you already have, please request an Answer Clarification
before rating. This will enable me to assist you further, if possible.
Good health to you!
Regards,
crabcakes-ga
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