Chest Pain With Anxiety?

leischner · Silver Member Joined: 08 Apr 2000 Posts: 311

I have been experiencing chest pain for over than one month. Sometimes I think that I have a heart attack. I went to my doctor and he told me that I am experiencing chest pain because of my anxiety problems. Can someone tell me why these two things are related?

arvad · Newbie Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

Anxiety or panic attacks are characterized by repeated episodes of intense anxiety and fear. Anxiety can be a normal "alarm system" alerting us to danger. However, sometimes anxiety can be out of control, giving us sense of fear for no apparent reason. Panic attacks occur without warning and generally without an identifiable cause. They are often accompanied by chest pain that is most likely caused by muscle contractions in the chest wall. The pain is usually localized to the chest wall and can be fleeting and sharp. Also, it can be a sharp "catch" that interrupts a breath. The chest wall can remain sore for hours or days after a panic attack and the severity of the chest pain is often magnified by the panic disorder itself. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable and often very disruptive to an individual's life. Patients with diagnosis of anxiety disorder should seek active medical treatment from an understanding doctor because some of the doctors often brush off patients presenting with chest pain who are found to have anxiety disorders.

Guest · Guest

my name is tori, i have been diagnosed wilh ocd about health. ie. if i have a sore leg it could be a blood clot and pain in my cheast is a heart attack.people think im rellly strange when i try to explain,but its far from funny. people wiht ocd about switching off plugs can walk away eventually,i cant! i cant escape my own mind playing tricks.i developed panic attacks last year and its just spiraled out of control my doctor has put me on fluoxatine but im frightened of taking them because of side affects. no one understands does anyone else feel like this???

bodyjewelryoutlet · Newbie Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

I completely understand about the panic attacks and not wanting to take the medicines.They can be very dangerous a lot of the times.I have taken stuff that put me in the emergency room and luckily I didn't die from it and very well could have.There are some that are relativly safe but it is hard to know really.My boyfriend died and I have had a really hard time with panic since.I am doing better now that I tried a breathing technique.I am not cured of course but I am not calling an ambulance anymore.I have a long history of panic disorder that started when I was 18 and I am now 36 and the thing that has helped me the best is breathing techniques.It takes time to learn and get used to it but it works.Also,if you have a family practice doctor that can see you once a week or maybe once a month to tell you you are fine,that you are not dying and that your heart is fine,that helps too.For the breathjing you need to be in a quiet room,not dark though,you might panic.Like I said it takes getting used to but works.Take a deep breath through your nose,if after a second you feel like you took too much let a little out,concentrate on relaxing your muscles whatever muscles you feel need relaxed while holding your breath, hold it until you can't anymore,then slowly let it out through your mouth.Breathe normaly(hard to do)for a few breaths then do it again.Three times is the least you should do it.You will feel your fingers warm up and you will calm down.Like I said,it is hard to do at first.I had problems at first,but don't give up.it works.

mcl333 · Newbie Joined: 17 Nov 2006 Posts: 6

buddha · Newbie Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 2 Location: st. louis

i too have experienced this and it sucks. i constantly felt as if i would die of a heart attack. and the thought of being 27 with a 9 year old son intensified my fear of death making my anxiety worse which in turn made my chest pains worse which only caused more panic attacks . pretty much a never ending cycle resulting in many trips to the e.r. and tens of thousands of dollars(after insurance coverage) of bills that i cannot afford to pay. i dont know how bad your anxiety problem is in comparison to my own but if its close to mine then im sorry and good luck. i suffer everyday and the people around me just say deal with it or its all in your head and my reply is always "no sh*t really?" in a sarcastic tone. its hard to find people that are sympathetic to this illness unless they to suffer from it. one thing i have found to be helpfull is some form of meditation. pot sometimes helps me and sometimes makes it worse. but the #1 thing that ive found that helps to calm this 1 demon of a disorder is to surround yourself with loving, caring, understanding individuals that will show you sympathy (not pity) for your illness. it also helps when you receive commendation for your efforts and encouragement. good luck to you.

PanicNoMore · Newbie Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 8

This is common having chest pain with anxiety. I used meds for a little while, but found that the side effects were horrible and are not a long term solution due to possible dependency.

I was able to use vitamin b12 and used the PanicAway natural method and that has pretty much totally cured my anxiety and I think the techniques could definitely help you defeat your chest pain.

PanicNoMore · Newbie Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 8

Very true!

Guest · Guest

i started having panic attacks 3 years ago and ive had some horrible ones the thing that has helped me is to realize what is happening the attack starts you feel lightheaded, chest pains scared, shaky, short of breath rapid heart beat but if you realize it you can just accept it and let it run its course it will go away in about two minutes it peaks then starts to go away but if the symptoms start and you say to yourself omg im gonna die it gets about ten times worse just breath i have gone through this for the last three years every single day of my life, no one will ever understand what we go through unless its someone that has felt it. the best thing is to breath deeply and say to yourself it will pass it always does

Hey_Baldo! · Newbie Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

The exact same thing has been happening to me for the last month, ever since a very intense and traumatizing LSD trip, the trip went very wrong after I began to experiance terrible chest pains. After two weeks the chest pains were less frequent, although the anxiety still remains. Are the chest contractions mentioned in an earlier post damaging?

Chest Pain With Anxiety?

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