Heart Attack or Esophagus Attack?

The following is adapted from Esophagus Attack! by Doug Lake, MD.

Waves of severe chest pain.

Squeezing pain in the middle of my chest lasting three to six seconds.

Is this a heart attack? Should I call 911? Am I going to die?

But no pain radiating into my left arm, or my jaw, though I feel it in my lower neck, for sure.

Tension fills my shoulders, and I wipe my clammy hands on the napkin in my lap. I’ve never had pain like this before. Is there aspirin around?

Another wave of tearing pain hits my chest. I hunch forward slightly in my chair, and my legs push me back from the table. Deep exhale.

No, really, am I dying?

Stop. I ran a 5K in nineteen minutes this morning, and I’m a twenty-six-year-old medical student. This can’t be a heart attack.

Then what the hell causes waves of chest pain? Why do I feel like someone grabbed a lemon squeezer from the kitchen and squeezed the middle of my chest?

Aortic dissection? Is my aorta rupturing in my chest?

Stop. It happened right after I ate that piece of the turkey thigh. It must be that. I hope it is that. Could food stuck in my esophagus feel like a vise gripping my chest?

Is this reflux?

No way. I’ve only eaten a protein bar and Gatorade, and that was after the 5K, almost six hours ago. I’m starving — I could eat a horse. There’s nothing in my stomach. It’s not reflux.

What is this?

Oh, no — does cancer do this?

What if this is cancer?

I had my first esophagus attack eighteen years ago when I was a third-year medical student. Even with my medical training, I was unable to identify, much less solve the problem of having food stuck in my esophagus. Since then, I have studied this problem extensively, from both a personal and a professional perspective. I have diagnosed and supported thousands of patients with this dilemma.

Experiencing esophagus attacks — the way I think of them when they happen to me, if not when I’m in my doctor role — are not only physically painful but also come with a significant emotional load as well. You must eat to live. If you can’t eat food, you slowly die. Doctors can put tubes into parts of your body to help. Some need this, but the natural process of chewing and swallowing food is best. Eating represents a critical social gathering point around the world. Learning my steps to eating more comfortably and confidently solves the problem for most people. (Though if food does get stuck, you must see a medical professional).

I will teach an easy 3-step process to help you eat more safely and confidently. I’ll write about my approach to getting food unstuck and help you decide if you need to go to the emergency room. You will learn about other esophagus problems where the 3-step process helps.

In my own life, I eventually sought medical help, but I put it off longer than you might think. Perhaps the best part about swallowing — ha! — my pride and consulting a colleague was being able to put the worst fears out of my mind. No, this wasn’t about my heart. No, I wasn’t going to choke. No, this wasn’t cancer.

Getting some basic answers from an expert lowered my stress level and allowed me to focus on doing what I could to understand and manage the way my body was working (and sometimes, not working so well).

Why learn from me? I’m the rare physician who has studied and treated a condition for eighteen years — and has it. I’ve helped thousands of patients. It’s possible some others may know more than I do — I’m always learning. But I struggle with a problem you battle. I’ve had my own esophagus attacks. I want to help you manage, and even better, avoid them.

Step out of your fear cave. Want to embark on a journey to improve eating and stamp out fear? You must learn more! Let’s go to Dr. Lake’s version of medical school for the esophagus!

To learn more about esophagus attacks and how to avoid them, Esophagus Attack! is available on Amazon.

Dr. Doug Lake practices radiology at the McFarland Clinic PC in Ames, Iowa, and maintains a part-time Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor position in Radiology at Stanford.

He holds degrees from Loyola University Chicago and the University of Kansas, and he was a Chief Radiology Resident at the Medical University of South Carolina and a clinical MRI fellow at Stanford.

Dr. Lake is passionate about public health, and he has spoken at the White House as an advocate for better insurance options. Dr. Lake and his wife, Maleia, also founded the Home for Hope, a housing choice for families with children with pulmonary vein stenosis.