text: is a frequent dull ache/numbness/little shooting pains in my left arm a sign of heart trouble? i have a high cholesterol/greasy food diet, and i smoked for fifteen years but quit about six months ago.  i took caffeine/ephedra pills pretty regularly for about two years but not for abotu a year now.  there is often a tightness in my chest; i have a small pain in my chest a lot, but i think it's my esophagus; everyone tells me i'm too young to worry about a heart attack (i'm 31) and that i'd know it if i had a real heart attack.  i embarassed myself by goign to the emergency room last year thinking i was having a heart attack and they said i was fine.  they said it was probably gas...i'm not typically a hypochondriac; my left arm is always tingling or dully aching, and sometimes it feels like there's something wrong in the left side of my chest near my heart...  ...i am poor with minimal health coverage, so i can't just "go to the doctor" on a whim.  looking for educated opinions here. typically if your chest pain doesnt go through you it isnt a heart attack, you can check your blood pressure at walmart or most pharmacies,  see what that is,  how much water do you drink,, increase water intake, 8  eight ounce glasses is minimum,  try 1 gram of vitamin c twice a day also