question: I'm a male of what has been excellent health my entire life, now turning the corner to 33 years of age. I have been a smoker (pack a day) for 18 years as well. I have had a few instances lately in which I have felt unbearable pain in my chests center and it lasts for well over a minute usually. I do not experience any numbness but it incapacitates me to where I cannot talk and have some issues breathing correctly. After a few minutes things seem to clear up and I can resume daily tasks pretty much normally. Are there any phenomenons outside of heart attack that could be occuring?