Hello,

I am an 18 year-old male in my first year of college. Tonight I got a bout of moderate chest pain lasting a little over an hour which kind of worried me.

I am posting in the 'Heart Attack' forum, but I would be very surprised if that were the case. I am not overweight and I don't drink alcohol or smoke or do drugs. The amount of exercise I get has decreased since I started school, but I walk a couple miles around campus every day, and I am generally in good shape.

My family has a limited history of heart problems - my mother's father died of a heart attack in his mid-40s, and my older sister was born with a mitral valve prolapse, but she has not been seriously effected by it. I have no known congenital heart defects.

I got the pain after I ate and drank more than I should have after not having anything the entire day. Contrary to the classic example of freshmen college students, I have actually been eating much less than I usually do, and consequently have lost ~10 pounds in the past couple of months. Also potentially relevant, I have been a fairly strict vegetarian for about five years, but I ate meat tonight.

The pain was on the left side of my chest, and it was the only symptom I noticed - I was not short of breath, lightheaded, disoriented, faint or otherwise outwardly effected. It seemed to be alleviated by bending over, and faded with rest.

Is this something I should be concerned about, or do you think it was just indigestion?

Thank you very much for any responses,

- jamesnc