Sinking feeling in chest

[dtt]

every so often ive been getting a weird sinking feeling in my chest, it only lasts for  a second or two, the most recent one i had was about five minutes ago, which was the strongest most intense one i have felt yet, this was followed by a raise in my bpm and i cant shake the anxiety that always follows.

ive been to the hospital emergency room several times in the past month with panic attacks, and have been assured that i have a healty heart, so whats causing these sinking feelings? they scare the hell  out of me when they happen, anyone feeling similar sensation or can explain the cause of this...? plz help

[Melin122]

I get a sinking in my chest when I lay on my back. I would lay on my bed, and 10-15 minutes later, I feel my chest is getting tight and a little painful; like there is a bowling ball sitting on my chest and makes it hard for me to breath. I then start to feel heart burn. It's not until I roll over to my side; I start to feel some relief and gasping for more air. I'm a 33 year old woman and I work in the field of IT in corporate America in NY. I do not smoke but only drink occasionally. I am extremely stressful and have anxiety almost everyday. I have never heard of PVC but will read more about it and attempt to go see the doctor to see why I am having these chest pain (with a sinking feeling in my heart when I lay on my back). What I do to relieve these symptoms is exercise, drink calming tea, go to the theater to watch comedy movies by myself, and go to the spa a lot!!! I was reading the comments above mine, and couldn't really get a detailed description of someone's experience. So I truly hope this helped somebody.

[MusicHelps]

I have no idea what it is either but my panic attacks always start with the the exact same sensation, my heart feeling like its dropping then I immediately start feeling like Im being watched, i just stop whatever im doing and go be by myself so that I dont feel like anyones judging me.

[nic1815]

I get the same sinking feeling in my chest when my boyfriend is mad at me, or anytime he doesn't reply because he has seizures every so often and thinks it's okay to not tell me when they happen. I get so nervous. I googled it to see what was wrong with me, but I still don't know. I have had past experiences with Anxiety but this is worse.

[Chugirl14]

I'm a 31 year old female. Formerly depressed w/3 nervous breakdowns in my early to mid 20s, medicated and tapered off to half a 37.5 Effexor per day. I'm relatively successful and genuinely happy these days and I've just started to go through the same thing. Had a few episodes where my heart starts beating fast out of no where... No anxiety or panic before. Also noticed that sometimes I'd try to swallow food and it kinda gets stuck halfway and I have to consciously swallow again or drink something. Most recently, I've been awoken out of my sleep to a sinking feeling on my chest, rapid heart beat, and sometimes cold sweats on my chest, hands and feet to follow. Seems like a full on panic attack. I breathe through it but on some nights, I have several and have to elevate my upper body and not lay flat. Laying sideways sometimes helps as well. I called the paramedics one night last week and they said my heart was 'textbook'... meaning everything was okay. Why then, do I have these issues? He asked me if I was on any medication. I do take .25 of Ativan as needed for panic (maybe 6-10x per year). I almost hate revealing to paramedics that I suffer(ed) from anxiety/depression. They're always quick to judgment. Couldn't believe he then told me, "do you wanna take one of your Ativans and just chill?"...so I did, annoyedly, and was basically knocked out through the night. I don't want to be this reliant on the Ativan. I am about 70lbs overweight as well. I'm going to restart - keep an excercise regimen and eat a healthy diet. I feel if I eliminate some factors, I can listen to my own body and find out what's really going on.

[nimco123]

Hi I have the same sinking feeling in my chest and I feel like something bad is going to happen. Mine lasts for hours at a time.

[leesmith2000]

I get this all the time, I think it Is just emotional and stuffs but it's feels really quite scary. I'm 14 and have a healthy heart so there's not much else it can be x'DDDD

[Mikethemonkey]

I just had 7 of these yesterday morning. I usually have it around once per 2 months, so yesterday it scared the BEjesus out of me, went to a cardiologist, had EKG tests, ultrasound everything was normal. but he said these types of heart problem (if i do have them) only present itself when it wants to. He said the tests can be so good now, cause i'm only 27 but it can happen again. and he said it might be PVC too.no clear answer was given, even after $300 dollars worth of tests. damn my insurance, wont cover it because i wasnt admitted to the hospital... ???

[manowar13]

Same here, but the thing is I'm 21 years old, no such issues in family history, I never smoke, I socially drink, only thing is my parents had diabetes problems but I don't and I work out a lot (weight lifting, biking) and am very fit.  I used to have occasional chest pains, almost like a light pinch to the chest but I just ignored it because I've felt it forever.  Just starting yesterday as I was driving to work (nothing special), I was in the car and felt the rollercoaster sensation in my chest, and just now I physically felt a quivering in my chest in the area where my heart is, so I'm thinking it may be the same thing but I don't have health insurance, I barely started my new full-time job and don't have money saved up, so not sure what to do...

[sandybottoms69]

i lost a friend whom ASSUMED it was a pvc - everyone should go to the Doc FIRST before tehy assume

[Maineofmac]

I'm sorry for your lost. Do you know the reason to your friends passing? Surrellll

[frostfreak]

Wow I think I am having this feeling too. I've been really stressed lately...but mozartgirl thanks for that response and words of encouragement!  I am going to try and accept and overcome this as well!

[Mozartcowgirl]

i get that as well.. .. it might be a pvc.. premature ventricular contraction.  you feel like you are on a roller coaster.. where you are all the sudden swooshing down down down.. then .. you are ok ..i get them alot when i get anxious..

everyone has pvc's// alot of people do not feel them.. or.. they dont pay attention to them.. its normal.. they can become worse when aggravated by certainover the counter meds... by certain foods that you might be allergic too.... strress... anxiety.. lots of stuff.. the raise in your beats per minute.. could be your automatic response to the feeling you are having...
the important thing.. is dont freak out.... if they become sorry worrying to you that you find yourself in such a state of panic that you can no longer funtion.. make an appointment with your doc.... or better yet.. since it seems like you are already worried about it.. make an appointment.. just to ease your mind.....you have already been to the er many times..

you have to remember.. your heart.. is another organ .. just like other organs.. its amazing how resilant our bodies are... we get kidnet infections.. bladder infections... colds.. coughs...digestive problems... etc et c.. it only goes to reason.. that our hearts are going to be affected by stress.. anxiety... ect etc/.... is scares us because we have always been taught.. that our heart.. well.. its what keeps us going.. and without it..well.. we would not be here... just last weekend.. i my thyroid brand was switched by a pharmisist... bad move.. it caused me 3-4 days of the scariest pvc storm i have ever had.. i had to lie on the floor.. because it felt like i was constantly falling.

i deep breathed.. i tried my best to calm myself down.  i allowed .. i accepted.. i overcame. you can too.   accept that its going to happen.  you cannot stop them.. but you will make it worse if you freak out about it... i know its hard not too freak out.. its such a foreign feeling.. just try.. take baby steps..

go over what you are eating.. what meds you are on... etc etc.. know that alot of people feel the same way you do.... i hope this helps!!

[suzi-q]

I get that too....I guess it is part of the anxiety.  Many of us here get these weird chest "pains" or "beats" or whatever.....I am sure someone will post with more info on it.  Hope you feel better!