I think about the only real way to know 100% is catheterization and coronary angiography. They inject some dye into your blood and take lots of neat pictures and videos.
http://www.americanheart.org/present...dentifier=4491
And hey, if they find any blockage(s) they can balloon it/them open, and like in my case, insert stent(s).
It seriously is not painful. In my case they went in through the right groin/leg, and up into the chest. There are no nerve endings in the chest so no pain at all, and they numb your groin locally so you just lie still and chat while they work. They even have a collagen like "plug" they use these days to close the artery, so you can stand and walk within a few hours. In the old days they applied pressure for 20 minutes and you lay immobile for 8 hours or so before you could even sit up.
Quit smoking, get exercise and eat right (portion control when all else fails).
poketkangaroo, one of my brothers had a similar thing to you. He thought he was having heart troubles but it turned out to be severe acid reflux. Thats why when I first felt the pain, I drank a glass of milk thinking if it was acid, it'd neutralize it somewhat. Not everyone feels the same symptoms, especially women. They dont often feel the left arm pains for example at all.. some people throw up, or sweat, or get chills. You simply cant fuck around when your chest hurts, or if you feel irregular heartbeats.
As to the costs, well I have no doubt whatsoever that the hospital stay itself is going to be quite a crushing bill... While I was laying in the bed I was figuring a crazy $100,000 grand total when all is said and done. We'll see though. So far so good.