Hi Jan, it's nice to meet you here.

When I read your thread title, I came thinking I was going to tell you to get to the doctor immediately, but since reading the rest of your post, I see you've had this problem for a very long time and have obviously had it checked more recently. ?

Have you ever had any problems in your upper spine?

A lot of what you describe is concerning, esp. shoulder pain, face numbness, throat problem, pain on exertion, heavy feeling in chest etc.. Have you been back to your regular doctor lately about all this happening? I can certainly understand why you thought you were having a heart attack with those symptoms. I suggest getting a check-up asap just to make sure. Might ease your mind to be able to find out the cause of all this.