CC
Victor Macrinici
Class of 2019
CC: “heart twinges as if twisting”
22-year old female with previous heart replacement
and a history of heart break presents
with heart pain which was first noticed two days
ago when she was saying goodbye
to her home of four years.
The pain is constant and severe, rated a 10 out of 10
with associated symptoms of gloomy thoughts and
loss of lacrimal control when going through old
Facebook photos as her friends pack up and go.
The pain radiates from the tricuspid to the aortic valve.
There are no relieving factors.
Factors include looking at the textbooks she half-read
because they remind her of the friends she’s met
in study groups and the pizza runs they made.
Associated symptoms include repetitive thoughts
of past relationships and wondering why
this and that didn’t work out and why people
waited as if time would last forever.
She does not take medications.
She does not smoke and drinks three drinks
a week to set others at ease. She is concerned
she may have heart disease given that
this is the third or fourth time this has happened.
Of note, patient has no known history of
coronary artery disease or hypercholesterolemia.
Body Electric / Spring 2016 13