me too. i thought i was about to die.
Costochondritis-inflammation of the junction between the ribs and the breastbone
This has been a very helpful topic to me. I just found it this evening. I thought I'd share my experiences.
I'm 69, male, retired for 3 years, married, no children.
For over 15 years, I have had pressure in my chest area, about the size of a fist, just above my breastbone. The boundaries of this pressure has not been well defined; rather, a vague pressure which sometimes is absent, sometimes is present a little, sometimes a lot.
I often had episodes of tachycardia, which began suddenly, lasted from 10 seconds to 5 minutes, and then ended just as suddenly.
In 2005 I was diagnosed with bradycardia, which I had never heard of. I lost consciousness at home, my breathing ceased for a few seconds, and then I "auto-resuscitated". This happened twice more in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. A week later I got a pacemaker, which prevents my heart from beating too slowly. After the pacemaker, my blood pressure went up, and I was put on a statin, calcium channel blocker, and others. (beta blockers caused sudden drop in blood pressure). I saw a cardiologist twice a year. He assured me that my heart was sound.
Recently I began to feel short of breath. It got so that I couldn't walk to the mailbox and back without not only being breathless but also feeling just crummy for several hours. Couldn't walk the dog. Pressure was still there sometimes, sometimes not.
In mid March 2012, while at the computer, I felt a sharp pain...not pressure...pain, unlike anything I had ever felt, about the size of a half dollar, in the middle of my breastbone. I went downstairs and it happened twice more. Went to the ER, had standard EKG, enzyme tests, negative, but they admitted me and next day did a nuclear stress test. Negative. The attending cardiologist advised that he was going to discharge me.
My wife and I pressed for an angiogram, and based on the shortness of breath I described, one was performed the next day. One coronary artery was 95% blocked, and so an angioplasty was performed (stent).
I believe the cardiologists who saw me were very well qualified. This is not meant to impugn them in any way whatsoever. It merely illustrates, to me at least, that no one knows our body better than ourselves, and sometimes you have to be insistent. In this case, unless I had brought up the shortness of breath, the doctors would have had no justification for a coronary catheter and discovery of the blockage.
The shortness of breath is much better. I still have episodes, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for many hours or days, where I experience the pressure. I have been diagnosed with GERD, but there is no black/white true/false test for this condition. I continue to take omeprazole and ranitidine for the GERD as needed. The pressure may in fact be related to this. I'm not 100% convinced, though. I am convinced that the doctors took an actual look at my heart, found the blockage, and fixed it. And I'm almost certain now that the pressure is not cardiac related. When the pressure begins to get me agitated (nervous), or when my heart starts beating really hard, I find that for ME a .5mg of Ativan helps a lot, although it takes 90 minutes or more to start relaxing me. But it does help an awful lot.
I hope that some of you who are experiencing the chest pressure can get some reassurance from my history. Your doctor is your best ally in this fight. If they aren't taking a genuine interest in your plight, or are dismissing it as anxiety without giving you some choices as to how to overcome it, I'd seriously consider changing doctors. In twenty years I went to some doctors who were almost dismissive, in fact some who seemed slightly irritated by my description of these symptoms, while others were much more interested in helping me to overcome the symptoms.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Good luck!
I'm 69, male, retired for 3 years, married, no children.
For over 15 years, I have had pressure in my chest area, about the size of a fist, just above my breastbone. The boundaries of this pressure has not been well defined; rather, a vague pressure which sometimes is absent, sometimes is present a little, sometimes a lot.
I often had episodes of tachycardia, which began suddenly, lasted from 10 seconds to 5 minutes, and then ended just as suddenly.
In 2005 I was diagnosed with bradycardia, which I had never heard of. I lost consciousness at home, my breathing ceased for a few seconds, and then I "auto-resuscitated". This happened twice more in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. A week later I got a pacemaker, which prevents my heart from beating too slowly. After the pacemaker, my blood pressure went up, and I was put on a statin, calcium channel blocker, and others. (beta blockers caused sudden drop in blood pressure). I saw a cardiologist twice a year. He assured me that my heart was sound.
Recently I began to feel short of breath. It got so that I couldn't walk to the mailbox and back without not only being breathless but also feeling just crummy for several hours. Couldn't walk the dog. Pressure was still there sometimes, sometimes not.
In mid March 2012, while at the computer, I felt a sharp pain...not pressure...pain, unlike anything I had ever felt, about the size of a half dollar, in the middle of my breastbone. I went downstairs and it happened twice more. Went to the ER, had standard EKG, enzyme tests, negative, but they admitted me and next day did a nuclear stress test. Negative. The attending cardiologist advised that he was going to discharge me.
My wife and I pressed for an angiogram, and based on the shortness of breath I described, one was performed the next day. One coronary artery was 95% blocked, and so an angioplasty was performed (stent).
I believe the cardiologists who saw me were very well qualified. This is not meant to impugn them in any way whatsoever. It merely illustrates, to me at least, that no one knows our body better than ourselves, and sometimes you have to be insistent. In this case, unless I had brought up the shortness of breath, the doctors would have had no justification for a coronary catheter and discovery of the blockage.
The shortness of breath is much better. I still have episodes, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for many hours or days, where I experience the pressure. I have been diagnosed with GERD, but there is no black/white true/false test for this condition. I continue to take omeprazole and ranitidine for the GERD as needed. The pressure may in fact be related to this. I'm not 100% convinced, though. I am convinced that the doctors took an actual look at my heart, found the blockage, and fixed it. And I'm almost certain now that the pressure is not cardiac related. When the pressure begins to get me agitated (nervous), or when my heart starts beating really hard, I find that for ME a .5mg of Ativan helps a lot, although it takes 90 minutes or more to start relaxing me. But it does help an awful lot.
I hope that some of you who are experiencing the chest pressure can get some reassurance from my history. Your doctor is your best ally in this fight. If they aren't taking a genuine interest in your plight, or are dismissing it as anxiety without giving you some choices as to how to overcome it, I'd seriously consider changing doctors. In twenty years I went to some doctors who were almost dismissive, in fact some who seemed slightly irritated by my description of these symptoms, while others were much more interested in helping me to overcome the symptoms.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Good luck!
Well it seems i am not crazy. I have this same problem and i am a 21 year old healthy weightlifter.Mine started 3 years ago and my doctor told me to drop caffeine , so i did.It seemed to help but this last year it has returned.Tight feeling in mid to upper chest like someone squeezing my esophagus and a mixture of a "faster" heartbeat and a slower HEAVY pounding heartbeat along with being lightheaded and short of breath.I always explained to my friends that it felt like i were going to die , and now i see people describe it here the same way.I have had a chest x-ray which was normal , 2 ekg's , both normal , bloodwork which was normal , urine test also normal and im going to see a cardiologist next week.I hope i can find out what this is , but seeing so many with the same problem comforts me in a way.Hopefully it is just a muscular issue around the sternum or rib cage , possibly inflammation.
Okay, you see from a Chinese traditional Medicine perspective, this has to do with the pace of the thoughts in the mind. The less thoughts the slower the heart rate. In China's Medicinal prescriptions Body, Mind, emotions AND spirit are interconnected. This leads to the activity of Qigong, which includes and is Meditation. Daily practice of Meditation will help this type of stress.
Also China's most prized herb ginseng in the form of tienchi will help the overall functioning of the body including these heart problems, but of course as with any medicine check with your doctor first; but also remember that China's traditional medicine is at least, if not older than 2,000 years; much older than the Hippocratic School of Medicine, influencing very much so western medicine. Cayenne is a very helpful, from Chinese perspective to put in soups and salads, beans to help keep the circulation of the body heathly.
& remember: Open your heart towards all & feel that how you react to life is the most important. Control your reaction, That is wise.
Heart problems also indicate from our Chinese philosophy, a need in one's life: compassion. take a time to meditate on compassion. Sit on a white linen or cotton blanket (white represent purity very good for meditation; cotton and linen has calming effect on the mind as with all sorts of colors and materials) and begin by remembering some time that you felt compassion. Bring this into the now. Yam. This could be remembering your mother or father or beloved pet. Sit and feel this emotion, and begin to bring this into everything around you right now. Sound the word Yum (this is a sacred word coming from the sanskrita, which helps to open the heart emotionally and physically; spelt YAM sounded YUM) meditate on this emotion and & start with the buddhist prayer OM mon eee Paydmay HUM; (OM MANI PADME HUM). This mean I bow to the jewel in the lotus of heart, for a few minutes or as long as you can for 1 week. After practicing this practice like any practice put this skill into daily interaction: this will yield benefits.
Also research qigong on google find a form you like and practice it everyday for 1 week. This is what came from my heart reading everyone's suffering on this page concering their presious friend the heart, May the buddha, sanghas and the dharma bless all sentient being with their boundless heart compassion! Om Mani Padme Hum OM mai padme hum!
Also China's most prized herb ginseng in the form of tienchi will help the overall functioning of the body including these heart problems, but of course as with any medicine check with your doctor first; but also remember that China's traditional medicine is at least, if not older than 2,000 years; much older than the Hippocratic School of Medicine, influencing very much so western medicine. Cayenne is a very helpful, from Chinese perspective to put in soups and salads, beans to help keep the circulation of the body heathly.
& remember: Open your heart towards all & feel that how you react to life is the most important. Control your reaction, That is wise.
Heart problems also indicate from our Chinese philosophy, a need in one's life: compassion. take a time to meditate on compassion. Sit on a white linen or cotton blanket (white represent purity very good for meditation; cotton and linen has calming effect on the mind as with all sorts of colors and materials) and begin by remembering some time that you felt compassion. Bring this into the now. Yam. This could be remembering your mother or father or beloved pet. Sit and feel this emotion, and begin to bring this into everything around you right now. Sound the word Yum (this is a sacred word coming from the sanskrita, which helps to open the heart emotionally and physically; spelt YAM sounded YUM) meditate on this emotion and & start with the buddhist prayer OM mon eee Paydmay HUM; (OM MANI PADME HUM). This mean I bow to the jewel in the lotus of heart, for a few minutes or as long as you can for 1 week. After practicing this practice like any practice put this skill into daily interaction: this will yield benefits.
Also research qigong on google find a form you like and practice it everyday for 1 week. This is what came from my heart reading everyone's suffering on this page concering their presious friend the heart, May the buddha, sanghas and the dharma bless all sentient being with their boundless heart compassion! Om Mani Padme Hum OM mai padme hum!
be careful all symptoms on here look like anxiety. benzos and other drugs can make things worse unless you have a mental illness not just anxiety and depression but a severe mental health problem.i was on benzos addicted to them for 30 years and once off them which is a nightmare to do i felt much better, find other ways to deal with anxiety much better in long run
i am freaking out i am 13 and the past 4 days or so ive been laying down adn trying to calm down but my chest is tight adn completly covered by oressure and my parens think im crazy and got mad when i said it to them im soo scared...
thanks for all these posts. I have had the same problems for about 4 years. all the symptoms the same. tonight I had an "episode". tightens in my chest followed by a few seconds of pounding heart beats, then all fine. had all heart tests done after nine months of worrying I was dying everyday they found a hiatal hyernia. I notice my "episodes" usually happen after I eat or sometimes in the middle of the night. and I agree with the one post about yawning. after I feel the symptoms I usually continuously yawn for quite awhile after. but I have to say seeing other people post has made me calmer about my problems. I am a mother of 3 young ones and I want to be here for them as they are growing up.
I have had the same issues for the last three years. I went to the Dr. and after three ekg's and him telling me that its normal and maybe Im having anxity I finally said thats enough. I went to a heart specialist who made me were a holter monitar for 24hr where he finally saw that I had pre-mature heart beats and a leaky heart Valve (sounds worse then it is) however it causes pressure and thumping in the chest. I feel it more when I lay down because my body is relaxing and the heart is trying to slow down. Maybe you should look into the halter for a day.
I am a 46yr old white male almost 6 ft tall and weighing about 210lbs that has had leg muscle aches when walking up the stairs for about ten years. A few years ago when climbing a hill I had to stop half way due to being out of breath, losing color from my lips as well. Since then no problems but the leg aches when climbing stairs.
Until one month ago I noticed I was getting out of breath every time I climbed a flight of stairs.
A few days later I would get out of breath when doing much of anything.
Then the chest pains started.
Saw the family doctor who ordered the Stress Test, and the Pulmonary Function Test.
The stress test was a couple of weeks ago and I did really good according to the doctor there with me. He also did an Ultrasound as well.
Monday of this week was the Pulmonary function test, that sucked. Had claustrophobia issues with the mouth piece.
From the tech could tell me, most of the tests came out good. A couple of them might be showing something but I am waiting for the official results.
Right around the time of the Tread Mill stress test my chest pain and pressure went away.
Still out of breath when exerting myself too much.
But then last night right before bed and all day today the chest pain and felling of short of breath came back.
UGH.
Until one month ago I noticed I was getting out of breath every time I climbed a flight of stairs.
A few days later I would get out of breath when doing much of anything.
Then the chest pains started.
Saw the family doctor who ordered the Stress Test, and the Pulmonary Function Test.
The stress test was a couple of weeks ago and I did really good according to the doctor there with me. He also did an Ultrasound as well.
Monday of this week was the Pulmonary function test, that sucked. Had claustrophobia issues with the mouth piece.
From the tech could tell me, most of the tests came out good. A couple of them might be showing something but I am waiting for the official results.
Right around the time of the Tread Mill stress test my chest pain and pressure went away.
Still out of breath when exerting myself too much.
But then last night right before bed and all day today the chest pain and felling of short of breath came back.
UGH.
Many People do not get enough sleep. Like only 3-6 hours of sleep a night. Try to get a good 8-9 hours of sleep that night and first see it that doesn't work.
Sometimes sufficient amount of sleep deprivation causes chest tightness and loss of appetite. Get caught up on sleep and maybe this will help alot. If not, then yes, consult your doctor.
I once ended up in ER because I was having such a hard time breathing, I got dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. It was anxiety.
Also, notice if you feel them when you're distracted with something, like attending a meeting, having a conversation or watching a movie. Anything that takes your mind off of yourself. I would find myself feeling normal during those distractions, but as soon as the distraction was over, the symptoms would hit again.
Docs may hesitate to prescribe anxiety meds, but you can try asking him only for a week's worth. Sometimes that's all it takes to calm you back down and break the cycle.
(I break the anxiety meds into halves or even quarters, because a full pill makes me too drowsy).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000164.htm
I search chest pressure on google and this is what looked like the most likely cause of my chest pain, i just got back from vacation so the bed in the cabin might have just messed with things a little
I dealt with this before and went to many different doctors to find that I had nothing wrong with my heart, at all. I then starting having stomach pains to go along with all of the pressure in my chest. I went to many doctors again, went through many different procedures to find that again, nothing was wrong with me. My stomach doctor decided to put me on Amitriptyline which is a type of antidepressant that is now used more for people with stomach problems. I was on the medication for about 3 months and have been able to come off of it completely. I no longer have chest pains, my stomach is back to normal, and I am just as I was before. Many people deny that they are stressed or anxious when really they are. I know that's what was wrong with me when all of these problems were happening and my body was just reacting to it more severly than ever before. If your doctor suggests some sort of antidepressant or anxiety pill then just give it a try. It helped me and hopefully it can help you too!
I also have chest pressures. I noticed that I get them when I am hungry. After I eat they go away for a while. And no doctors can tell what's going on, they keep telling me it's heart burn, even though it's not...