fast resting heart beat and cramp like pains in the chest - is that due to stress?

[Gopzz]

hi...im 19 years old female. since a few months back i began to have what people call a racing heart. it started out of the blue and kept beating so hard and fast. i would be relaxing and watching tv or reading and suddenly it flares up. there would also be this burning feeling in my chest. my pulse rate shoots to 120bpm or more at the time. it occurs at least twice a day now. i feel shortness of breath around the same time. i began to have chest pains around the same time. its kind of a muscle cramp like pain but while usual muscle cramps tend to get better by proper positioning, these doesn't. i have to wait it out. sometimes it wouldn't be more than 10 sec but other times it would be as long as 2 min. the pain is sometimes severe and other times bearable. the pain was usually around the upper left side of my chest, but now it also feels in the lower side.
i admit that i have been feeling a lot of - like a hell lot of stress constantly for like the past two years from everywhere. so could this problem be because of the stress? what should i do?

[Gopzz]

no... i know its stupid not to see a doc about this. but its mostly because of my personal and family issues... it all started 2 years back... my father suicided due to money problems. he wanted to start a new business and he gave the money to his brother asking to help him start it. his brother said he would help him buy the materials in whole sale with the money. but he cheated. the thing is i was the one asked my father to start a new one because the other wasnt working out. the first and the last "wish" i ever asked  him. he worked abroad with my mom. but that month my mom was with me back in india. people say they heard him yelling and crying on the phone saying that he couldnt do the one thing his daughter asked him. it took two days after his death before people got suspicious and broke into his office and found his body. i was completely broken those days. i believed it was my fault.. if only i hadnt asked him to do so.... i couldnt even mourn or cry over his death because i was scared that if my mom sees me crying it would break her heart even more.
i now know its not my fault but, i still cant erase the regret. its a sob story, i know... but its also the biggest scar of my life.
that was the begining of the road downhill for me. everytime i try do something..... anything.... all i can think is what if i make a fool of myself? what would everyone think of me? im not good enough... and then i would end up holed inside my hostel room. i dont want to talk to anyone about it because i dont trust them.... not to my friends because they would pity me, not to my relatives because they would pity me again, and not to my mom because it would break her heart. i started having back pains and headaches about an year ago. now its turned into chest pains... my heart would suddenly begin to work up all of a sudden and then i begin to have this aching tightness all over my left and right side of the chest. it would only be for a few minutes but its hell. my heart wasnt just beating hard and fast, it was like it was dancing all over inside my chest. i know its anxiety working up.i stopped taking drinks with caffeine after i read about it, but its not much help. i want to get better. i want a normal carefree life but i dont know what to do... im just too scared to even face my problems.

[AnxiousNoMore]

You can't self-diagnose a heart problem so no matter how many times you mention it or think about it, that means ZERO. If a heart problem lasted more that a day or so it would likely kill you, depending on what it is. Therefore likely there is nothing wrong except panic making you sweat and tense up and you think your heart has a problem. See a doc for a check of your heart but odds are it is just fear.

Also you might need a psychologist as paxiled said, but the first thing to do is find if you have any real health problems because odds are you don't so that would relieve a lot of your anxiety immediately if you discover and accept the diagnosis.

[Paxiled]

Two years of stress and you don't know why suggests it's time to find out.  Ever gone to a psychologist to see if you can figure it out?

[AnxiousNoMore]

The more you over-analyze your body the more frightened you get so you start putting the "clues" together and it becomes a vicious cycle. It isn't easy for everyone to ignore the worry, but if you can the symptoms will disappear. Lots here have worked themselves up and ended in ER where they find out there is no physical problem, so bear that in mind next time the fear starts that it might just be your sweating and tensing up that makes these symptoms into a vicious circle.

If you can't get relief after you try to accept the above, then see your doctor to be sure it is just your fear, and because one on one is a better way to understand it and deal with it.