This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I've had high blood pressure for a few years now, systolic around 135 while resting. For the last couple of weeks I've been getting a burning or cramping feeling in my chest. An 81 mg baby aspirin seems to help but it doesn't last a full 24 hours. Is it ok to take two of these per day on a long term basis?

Thanks, Arthur

Arthur - in my opinion, no it is not safe to take two pills long term without the advice of your doctor.

Two baby aspirins a day is for most people quite safe BUT I must agree with DougL in that you should be checked out by your doctor. Chest pains are nothing to take lightly.

Thank you both for the replies. What a long strange trip it's been. After a visit to my local clinic where they took an EKG which they claimed was abnormal, they suggested that I go to the ER to get my blood tested for cardiac enzymes. Eight hours in the ER, another EKG, two blood tests later (both of which were negative), the ER doc says that I should be admitted to the hospital overnight for cardiac monitoring, a heart stress test and an echo sonogram. Due to noise in the hospital from both the hospital staff and a very ill roommate combined with interruptions from having my blood pressure taken every couple of hours, I was not able to sleep at all (one nurse even walked into the room between 5 and 6 am, turned on the light over the sink, checked her eyebrow, makeup or whatever, turned off the light and then left the room). That morning a different doc from the one who checked me in says that I don't need the tests and that my heart is fine. What??? Seriously, the doc said I could go home and get follow-up care from my primary care doc. Apparently all the blood tests were negative, my blood pressure dropped over night to around 116/70 even though I did not sleep, and he stated that the EKG and monitoring showed that I had a "very regular" heart beat and that my problems were probably musco-skeletal related. He also states that I should not start taking the lisinopril prescription the local clinic gave me. Oh, let's not forget the chest x-rays that showed that my heart appeared normal. Now I'm at home. My chest still has a burning sensation and my pulse varies between 80 and 100 at rest. I spoke with a family member that has a friend at her church who used to work as a cardiac nurse. He suggested that my symptoms were common with MS patients and that MS can affect the diaphragm. I immediately thought, oh, the MS hug. So, has anyone experienced elevated heart rate and chest burning with the dreaded MS hug? If so, what has proven to be helpful for it? If my problems are indeed MS hug related, this has been my first experience with it. What a strange trip indeed!

Thanks, Arthur


PS - I'm very annoyed that after seeing 3 doctors and multiple nurses, all of whom knew I have MS, none of them suggested that my symptoms could be MS related. What the hell is up with these people!?!? I can forgive the local clinic's physicians assistant due to his lack of training and experience, but it seems that the ER doc and the other docs at the hospital should have known better.