Alarming Symptoms of Heart Disease

Dear Ask The Doctor: I'm a 63 year old obese woman and presently trying to lose weight by going to a 45-minute aqua therapy class three times a week. I've been told that while I have a very early stage of Peripheral Valve Disease, my condition is not serious and also that my chest pain is atypical. I'm not taking any medications apart from aspirin and vitamins. Though overweight I am 95% vegetarian and conscious about nutrition and food quality. My personal hunch is that my chest pain is part of the anxiety and panic attacks I've been prone to for a long time now. I've been advised and believe that my top priority is to lose the weight. The problem with the aqua therapy is that I feel fine while I'm in the water, then a bit shocked at how tired I actually am once I get out of the pool and feel the gravity again. Later my chest feels a bit tight and also I feel a small sensation like it's a little hard to breathe. I've been ignoring this, but not certain I should. When I was younger I would definitely have pushed myself but now I'm not so sure. Do you have any guidelines that can help me judge how much to push myself?

I honestly believe you need to have yourself checked by a doctor promptly. I commend you for doing the aqua therapy to lose weight and for being vegetarian and health conscious. However, heart disease is pretty common once a person reaches the age of 60. It is part of the body’s wear and tear process. Your chest pain may have some serious underlying condition since you mentioned you observe it usually after the exercise. Chest tightness and difficulty of breathing are alarming symptoms. It could either be a heart or lung problem, or both. I highly recommend you go back to your doctor and have tests done. I hope this helps. Take care always.