Everyone else has given you very sound advice on the only course of action you should take ie: going to see your doctor (and also giving up smoking). Lou is right, age does not come into the equation. I was a nurse in a Regional Coronary Care Unit in a big city in the UK. Whilst working there I looked after several young men who had seemed to be fit and well but who smoked and had had a myocardial infarction (heart attack). I would just add three things.
Firstly, you should take this very seriously indeed, declare yourself sick and go straight to see your doctor.
The second is to take a few minutes to wind down whenever you feel particularly stressed and after each shift. Once you have reached your car spend a few minutes just sitting relaxing and listening to some gentle, soothing music before you even consider driving off. Perhaps you could take a personal cd player with you on board the aircraft and have similar music playing during the turn round. You don't have to make a conscious effort to stop and listen, just having it playing quietly in the background will help. A little time taken to sort things out now may save lots of upset later.
Thirdly, if you drink a lot of coffee cut it down but wean yourself off it gradually. Don't try to just stop as the effects of doing so can be quite nasty. Try doing it over a couple of weeks by replacing one or two cups a day with decaffeinated coffee or fruit juice or water and increase the number of cups replaced every few days. Good luck, I hope this is just a scare which helps you to sort yourself out.
Last edited by DX Wombat; 7th Feb 2005 at 09:17.