hello to all,

my brother has been having some chest pressure over the last two months, and i just found out about it the other day. He is 50 yrs. old, in FAIRLY good health i guess, he doesn't suffer from anything in particular, but then again, he hasn't seen a dr. in YEARS, so he might even have diabetes, bec. both my parents had this, they had adult onset diabetes. But, apparently, for the past 2 months he's been having chest pressure, sometimes less, sometimes more, and sometimes he gets stabbing pains around that area too. This doesn't seem to interfere with his life to much, he still works. Unfortunatley, he does a lot of heavy physical labor at his job, which i don't like now that i know this. He told me that during those two months of almost CONSTANT chest pressure, when he'd lift something heavy or have to do somethng strenuous, that the pressure would get worse, BUT NOT ALL THE TIME. He wouldn't have pain though. He was able to walk briskly to work with no pain, and no increase in chest pressure either. Back in February, we were at the mall, and they had a health fair set up there, and he had his blood pressure checked, and it was normal. I knw that was 7 months ago, and obviously his blood pressure could have gone up by now, but i'm just throwing that in here for a better understanding of his blood pressure, since i know elevated BP can cause heart attack. This doesn't seem connected to eating, because after a meal, the pressure didn't really get worse, or any pains either. He would, and still does, end up having gas, and digestive problems though. About a week or so ago, when i found this out, he was sitting in front of his computer, kind of hunched over, which is the way he always sits there, FOR HOURS, and he was having these kind of chest "cramps", i don't know how to explain it, maybe more like a squeezing feeling i suppose. That would happen on adn off, every 20 minutes or so, it was strange, and scared the heck out of me! He refused to go to the ER, so i suggested he take 2 of my xanax (and you can bet i took one myself right then!) and made him lay down on my couch. He fell into a sort of restless sleep, but sletp for about 7 hrs. When he woke up, he felt MUCH BETTER, AND ALL THE CHEST PRESSURE AND PAIN WAS GONE! Now, i'm wondering, is this anxiety? I looked up many sites on anxiety, and yes, apparently it can be.
So, the pressure and pains were gone for about 5 days, and returned today. Not in all it's glory though, but still there. However, we were in a bit of a stressful situation today when this happened, so i don't know what to attribute it to.
But, he said he'd been having some chest pressure earlier in the day anyway, before we met up this afternoon, for whatever that's worth. Another thing to mention, two days after that chest pain/pressure was gone, after i gave him the xanax, well, he was over at my house, and he was reading to me from a magazine, when all of a sudden, he became VERY TIRED, and his head sort of flopped over to the side, like people sleeping on the subway, and fell asleep! So, i knew this was strange behavior for him, and tried to wake him. He woke up somewhat, but remained very groggy, and his speech was a tiny bit different. He did talk to me, but he was really really tired, SUDDENLY. So, he just put his head back on the couch, and went into a really deep sleep, mouth open, snoring heavily. I sat there, just looking at him, wondering what to do! Well, i could't bare the suspense of what was happening, so i woke him up, and he kind of jumped off the couch, and seemed a little strange. He groggily hobbled into my kitchen, grabbed a slice of pizza, and took few bites, and a little Coke. The whole time i was asking him if he was ok, and he kept reassuring me he was, and that this "type" of thing happens to him, somtimes at work....but not THIS BAD, he just would get kind of tired, and have to sit down for a few minutes and rest. So, he walked back to my couch, and laid down, and went into another deep deep sleep, till the next day.

now, i should also mention, that, today, along with the chest pressure, he had back pain, between the shoulder blades, but i had read on this great anxiety site, that that is TYPICAL for anxiety symptoms. But, it's also typical of heart problems, and apparently, other things as well. So, i began looking up all sorts of heart ailments, and clogged arteries, and angina...oh boy, there certainly is enough to keep your mind in fear! If this were to be clogged arteries, is there anythng natural he can take to maybe dissolve that? I know Dr. Christopher has a heart tonic that he would give people who literally were having a heart attack, and it would bring them back! Because some of the treatments they talk about on these med. sites are really invasive, and very expensive, and he has no insurance!
He also mentioned to me, that sometiems he gets this back pain at work, and has to sit down and lean his back against one of the water heaters, and that helps somewhat, but doesn't alleviate all the back pain though. But, it eventually, goes away too...only to reoccur some other time. He's 50 yrs. old, he's about 30lbs. overweight, both our parents had diabetes (i don't have it, i've been tested), and my dad had angina,,,BUT ONLY AFTER he had an x-ray done on him back in 1973, when they injected him with this dye stuff, and his heart went nuts, and they had to revive him immediatley, he went into cardiac arrest! Now, AFTER that, he had so many health problems, including angina, he had to go on disability. But he never had any heart problems BEFORE that, so i would imagine then, that that wouldn't really count. We knew it was from that! My mother had no heart problems.
I read that this could also be a hiatal hernia. He doesn't have any chest pain or pressure when laying down either. Since that night, a week ago, when i gave him the two xanax, and he slept those seven hours and woke up with no pressure...he's been able to lift things again, and not have it really bother him, maybe only sometimes.
He can walk a flight of steps, and feel kind of NORMALLY winded, but not out of breath really, or short of breath. But, that didn't used to be the case, he told me that during those last two months when the chest pressure was constant, if he walked a flight of steps, which he COULD do, it would soemtimes get worse,,but not always. I've noticed in this last week, since the chest pressure has gotten better, that his energy level is really low!!! That's another thing that came on suddenly. He has noticed that too.

The thing is, there doesn't seem to be any particular time or reason for this chest pressure, it doesn't really follow a pattern, say for instance, after he eats, or when lifting heavy things, yes, it DID happen when he'd lift something heavy, but then again, it was happening when he was just sitting in front of the computer, or on my couch. He's now figured out that the back pain is positional, and if he moves in a certain way, it either helps or hurts, so he figures he's probably done somethig to his muscles to cause this pain. But, the chest pressure remains a mystery here. He's at work tonight, and i'm worried. I try not to be, but i can't help it. He says he's "fine", but he's not the type of person to admit that anything would be wrong with him in the first place. I just spoke to him o the phone, and he sounded fine, and even mentioned to me that he was feeling "lighter" tonight!

now, does this sound heart related, hernia related, BP related, strained muscles related (becaue he DOES use his pectoral muscles a lot at work!), or what?
he's got an appt. with the VA in 2 weeks, TWO WEEKS! geez, a lot can happen in that period of time! If anyone has any info. for me, please post it! I'm sure there'll be many differing opinions here, and that's fine, i need them all!
I should say as well, that he has been under a lot of emotional stress with his wife, they are having a lot of marital problems, so maybe anxiety related. He told me though, that before two months ago, his work load was lighter, then, when they started adding more PHYSICAL work, about two months ago, this chest pressure happened, so i don't know then if it would be anxiety. But remember as well, his marriage is in trouble! so, i don't know what to think, and his wife really isn't being much of a help! At least he's got the appt. with the VA, but that's still two weeks away! IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP HIM NOW? THANK YOU EVERYONEA!!!