Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group

Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.

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/ Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group

It's Time

Shae1961
Shae1961
Well, 12/28/12 is just around the corner and so is my gallbladder surgery. I'm worried, but it's time.

I came home 2 nights ago and had pain between my shoulder blades and stomach pain for 8 hrs. I called doc the next morning, she thought it might have ruptured, seriously, sent me for labs, called me and said..."the lab work is normal, no infection. I don't know where the pain is coming from, great so now I'm thinking...did I have a heart attack?

I see my EP/Cardio tomorrow, yup Christmas Eve, for surgery clearance. I expect he will do an EKG and if it was a heart attack he should be able to tell me...right? I would think pain like that for that length of time would leave something behind. What do you all think...heart or gallbladder? Should I push for echo and/or stress test before surgery?

Ahh...the joys of the holidays! Awaiting your replies.
pacyetep
pacyetep
My vote is gall bladder pain. Gall Bladder

Pain Symptom List - Types of Pain
Sporadic pains in the middle of the upper abdomen, or just below the ribs on the right side.
The pain may spread to the right shoulder or between the shoulder blades.

The pain can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting and sometimes excessive wind.
The attack can last from a few minutes to two to three hours before getting better.
The frequency and severity of attacks is very variable.

Attacks can be triggered by eating fatty foods such as chocolate, cheese or pastry.
It can be difficult to distinguish the pain from other diseases, such as: gastric ulcer, back problems, heart pains, pneumonia and kidney stones.

petey
CLane
CLane
Good luck Shae. I am with Petey. It really sounds like gall bladder pain. Keep us posted and I hope you feel better soon! :)
deleted_user
deleted_user
I've had both types of pain, acute gallbladder attack with emergency removal and severe angina and, I can't speak for everyone, but the gallbladder was the worst pain I have ever experienced, yelling out loud pain. The pain was centered just under the ribs on the left side near the center of the abdomen. It started out mildly but progressed relentlessly to extreme pain in a couple of hours. I had a large stone block the duct and pressure slowly built up until the gallbladder nearly ruptured. My advice if you have any gall stones is to get that sucker taken out as soon as you can afford to do so.

Pain between the blades can be angina but is an atypical location, ujsually it's substernal. Blockages in the back of the heart (e.g. marginal circumflex artery) can sometimes radiate to the upper back
deleted_user
deleted_user
Shae1961 While I can't say what your pain is caused by I can say if it is your gallbladder the operation is a piece of cake most of the time. I spent one day in the hospital because I had waited to long but my wife was in and out in one day. Recovery time is fast and almost pain free with few restrictions. Good luck and happy holidays. nsr to all Rick
DeeMR11
DeeMR11
Sorry that you're having pain, and yes, it's especially miserable to have major duty pain during the holidays.
Hope you feel better today. Good luck with your surgery.
D.