Thank you both for responding
Peg, that must've been a scary experience. MY BIL had chest pains for awhile because he was under a lot of stress. Then he complained of chest pain that radiated up to his left side, jaw and arm. It was happening also in the mornings during working out at the gym.
He went to his doc and was sent for a stress test (treadmill), which was fine and echocardiogram and a few other tests that were all okay. his HDL (good cholesterol was low). His doc told him that he was fine and nothing was wrong with his heart. Thank goodness he was persistent and insisted something was wrong. He was sent to a cardiologist and they decided to to angioplasty. From there he was taken to a nearby hospital for open heart surgery. 90% of his artery to his heart was clogged. Other arteries were too. It was a 5-way bypass. His doctor said it was just a matter of time until he had a heart attack and was one of the luckiest patients he's had.
He's 56 years old, and his wife has been begging him for years to quit smoking. His doc thinks this was a big contributor and was VERY ANGRY to hear that he was a smoker. but now he says he never wants to see a cigarette ever again.