Hope you folks don't mind my jumping in. I have, sadly, lots of experience with weight...both gaining and losing...and with blood pressure, chest pain, and well...lots of stuff.
Shortness of breath accompanied by pain isn't just because you are heavy and you said you "suddenly" developed high blood pressure. I don't know why your doctors aren't more concerned. That sounds very serious. I have a heart arrhythmia and have had episodes where it felt like someone was sitting on my chest...not pain, but pressure. They did a stress test (which, luckily showed that my arrhythmia evens out with exertion rather than getting worse) and then followed up with a cardiac cath, but all was fine in the end. Better safe than sorry. Have they done a stress test? A 24 hour holter monitor?
With your description of pain in your arms...is it possible that you have spinal issues? I have in my upper back...right between the shoulder blades...and it causes pain to radiate down both arms and in the shoulders. They'll actually crack and pop...but there's nothing wrong with the shoulders, it's in the back. It can also cause chest pain. Just a thought.
Weight Watchers is great, but the flaw is you have to do it forever. Ladies, I don't admit this often, but I am classed as "morbidly obese" (isn't that a horrible term?). At 5'10", at my highest I weighed 328 lbs. So I know what I'm talking about with weight problems. I did WW and lost 100 lbs! I was so excited. Still at 228 but it down to a size 14/16 and I just felt so good! But it was like a little man in my head said, "You're done!" and flipped a switch. A few McDonald's and Krispy Kreme trips later and I was back to 295. Which is where I am today. I didn't' regain the whole thing, but what took me two full years to lose was back in about 8 months. (I did maintain for a year or so.)
CB, it looks like you are about 10 years younger than me. You have time to get healthier...but medical issues do need to come first and foremost. Take care of those and everything else will follow. Wish I had done it 10 years ago. I agree with everyone else...eat a heart-healthy diet and wait to see what the doctors say before going crazy with exercise. Try Yoga or other gentle exercise until then to keep you motivated.
Lil, me too, I am overweight. I was "thin" most of my life but within the last five years, I gained over 100 pounds. I am not approaching 230. I recently been diagnosed with HP and it's scary. I never had to lose this much weight before and feel like I have totally given up.