chest pains

Holly J · Post by **Holly J** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:51 am

Iv been getting weird chest pains lately and they scare me to death and ill wake up thinking that im having a heart attack or on he middle of the day think i am. sometimes its under my left breast and most times its in the center of my chest and if i get anxious its like it flares up and THAT is what sets me to panic. My friend says that its probably heartburn/acid reflux. I tend to burp alot. i get feelings like i cant swallow too. . i have not been eating much lately (lost 8 pounds) )-: alot of things make me nauseous and i my stomach does feel hungry and empty which makes my stomach hurt but I dont feel hungry at all. but sometimes force a cracker to eat cause my stomach hurts. i mostly get the chest pains when i am anxious. i got an ekg and the dr said it was surprisingly at a slower rate than average but that alot of thin athletic type have a slower heart rate but i think we were both shocked because i was so panicy. . but my heart was beating normal. but now im like is a slow heart rate bad??? stupid panic disorder makes me think that! has anyone experienced this before??. . . i also sometimes get lower abdominal pain too

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:12 am

Hello Holly.I've never posted on this site before,but I've been reading it for some time now and I wanted to reply to this one...hope you don't mind!I've been dealing with panic attacks for awhile now,and having a heart attack has been on the top of my list of worries.I'm 31 and have had almost every possible test there is for my heart and thank God,all has came back normal,just anxiety(go figure,lol.I had been having chest pains for a few months,in the center,hurting under my left breast,belching a lot,and some pain in my upper abdomen.I went,once again,to the doctors and they did a couple chest x-rays.Come to find out I have,in the doctor's words,a pretty significant hiatal hernia.That explained all of the physical symptoms I was having,that mimic a heart problem.I'm not saying that thats what you may have,but it probably wouldn't hurt to get it checked out.Severe heartburn alone can cause chest pains.They just gave me a prescription for Prilosec(it's cheaper for me to get it through my insurance than over the counter).I hope you're able to get some peace of mind from your anxiety soon,and again,hope you didn't mind me replying and I'll keep you and every one else in this forum in my prayers!

NinjaFrodo · Post by **NinjaFrodo** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:13 am

Holly, your symptoms sound a lot like me when I was about 26. Turns out I had acid reflux. For years I was okay if I took an antacid and watched what I ate. Alcohol, caffeine, tomato paste, salad, raw vegetable, etc. Stress and anxiety definitely make it worse.
A year or so back, my Doctor suggested Prevacid. It helped a ton. It can make you feel tired, but it can heal the damage done to your esophagus and then you can stop the Prevacid. Now, I just take an antacid if I get some raw feelings. I still watch what I eat but I can eat so many things now I was afraid of before. Best wishes.

cjean · Post by **cjean** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:15 am

P.S. the official term one Dr. used was hiatal hernia. My mom had problems too, but many years before the current meds we have.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:21 am

Holly,

Your post is like something I could have (and HAVE) written in this forum. My biggest phobia is a heart attack - I fear it 24/7. I've had more EKGs and chest x-rays than any 30 year old should have had already, and they always come back perfectly fine. Nonetheless, I can't get it out of my head that there's something wrong with my heart. The pain, tightness and pressure that I get is just so strong sometimes that it's hard for me to believe there's not anything wrong with my heart. Since 6am this morning I have been dealing with this overwhelming fear of mine, and it has pretty much ruined my entire day.

I just wish that one of these times a doctor would suggest a heart scan of some sort that would show me that my arteries are NOT, in fact, blocked, and maybe I could find some peace of mind.

I also get the feeling of not being able to swallow. I have been told a couple times, as well, that this is acid reflux or GERD or whatever. It annoys me when I'm told that because I truly don't believe it is and I wish that doctors would just trust the fact that I know my body better than they do, and I think something's not right.

And that's my little rant. Just wanted to let you know that I can relate.

~Lisa~

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:01 pm

Wow, someone who also shares my fears. I am 39 and fear a heart attack as well. My anxiety started six years ago and my symptoms were heart related and I haven't been able to shake this fear since then. I had the full work up then and a few ekgs and an additional ultra sound of the heart since, but nothing in the past two years and I cannot shake the fear either. It consumes me every second of my day sometimes, especially if I get the heart skips/pauses.

Then I can go days, maybe weeks without thinking of it and I'm fine.

I hate anything that makes my heart race (exercise, etc.) as it makes me very aware of my heart, something I hate.

Anytime I hear about someone having a heart attack on the news or on a TV show, I spiral down again even further.

I can definitely relate. Maybe someone who has been through this can help.

I even have fears of my husband having a heart attack.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:02 pm

Hello Holly. I totally understand what you are going through. I have asthma and GERD related issues. I get a lot of chest pain and sometimes I wonder if it is actually the asthma, GERD, or just the anxiety. Some days it is really bad. I worry about having a heart attack, esp blood clots. My sister is 27 years old and was just in the hospital for a blood clot. My sister is the perfect image of health, but got the clot swimming; her muscle got caught on her vein right next to her heart. I also had a scenario a couple months back where I had laser hair removal done on my chin area and caused me to swallow funny and aspirate liquid into my lungs. To this day I fear swallowing and aspirating. I wish we could just get over all these fears and be HAPPY! Hang in there!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:06 pm

I just looked this up for my grandma today. They said acid reflux can cause difficulty swalling with the other symptoms you mentioned. A prilosec type med was suggested once a day with a tums like med for acute attacks. And of course, several small meals a day.
P.S. Mu ex husband is a very slim runner with a pretty low heart rate. The docs checked him out and sais it wasn't unusual.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:07 pm

wow thanks all for sharing. We all share this in common!! my heart palpitates alot but now that doeasnt bother me so much, especially getting the program. . but the chest tightness and waking me up in the middle of the night is awful. I used to chew on a lot of peppermint enzymes and it says that peppermint is so bad for acid reflux. . . so I don't know. . im sure that didnt help but i loved the taste.I just hate that feeling of having a heart attack. my mother has heart problems but now thinking, maybe what she has is anxiety and didnt know ot and that made her think she was having an actual heart attack?? though, my granpa died at 50 of a heart attack so thats scary to me. but i am a vegetarian, dont smoke, drink or do drugs so im fairly healthy though i feel like an 80 yr old 23 yr old alot!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:06 am

This is the exact thing that is happing to me...It starts with a little pain (whatever it is from) and then my mind starts running a million miles per second thinking about all the possibilities. I have had an EKG and other test done, I’m all good. I try and tell myself that I'm fine but it doesn’t go away. eventually I have a panic attack...I can go days or even weeks without feeling this but then once it comes back I can be very on edge for days or weeks.

My main symptoms are check pain in middle/left side...tightness in shoulders and neck..lump in throat or trouble swallowing...I do burp a lot…hands shaking=panic attack! My dr. said it was acid reflux and that I was fine…

This really sucks and I don’t know how to get this junk out of my mind. I haven’t tried any meds or treatments-- I think that I’m a pretty strong minded person--I was a college athlete and have had a lot of success in my professional life. I think reading other people symptoms and struggles has helped me a lot in knowing that I’m not alone and all my symptoms are in my head....