Chest Discomfort, PVC's and Stress

Hi.I'm a 42 yo female,non-smoker. About 2 weeks ago I started getting heart flutters and chest discomfort. I went to the ER one night when the pressure in my chest seemed stronger. The EKG showed my heart was normal. They thought it might be Acid Reflux and gave me meds. I told them I had been under an extreme amount of stress (for about the last 10 months or so) and could that be causing symptoms? I followed up with my doctor who had me take a stress test. The stress test showed several PVC's, more at rest than while on the treadmill, but still quite a few. My doctor is concerned because of my family history. My mom had blockage in 4 arteries and had stents put in 2 years ago at age 64 and my brother had a heart attack at age 42 (although he's a heavy smoker). I'm to call Radiology and set up a Nuclear Stress test on Monday. My doctor doesn't want me to wait. I'm starting to get scared. Is the chest discomfort normal with PVC's? Could anxiety cause any of this? I almost went to the ER again last night because the tightness, pressure in my chest was getting strong and I kept trying to take deep breaths to stay calm. Has anyone else experienced the same things? What do you all think? I'd love to hear back from anyone! Thank you.

[NurseKagome]

Hi there,

Do not be scared, you are being evaluated now and will find out the answers to your questions pretty soon. In the mean time, though it's hard, try to relax, that will always make you healthier.

In regards to the pressure and pain, for someone with your history and because your 42 (though your still young) I would go to emerge and get evaluated until they know for sure whats going on. Do you get sweaty or nauseated when that pain and pressure comes in your chest? Is it a tightness all over or to one side?

The good thing is that palps are normal and benign in a lot of people and that can be reassuring, though wait until all of your testing is done to pass off this stuff as anxiety. Better on the safe side. You are doing the right thing getting tested, until then do not treat it as anxiety, get evaluated. Hope this helps.

[slyder13]

I've been dealing with almost the same thing for about 4 months.  I mostly have the PVCs but on high stress days I also experiance some some chest discomfort.  All I can say is get the tests done like I did.  They will probably show your fine and that will be one less stresser to deal with and, if they do find something they can take care of it before it's a big deal.  Good luck to you and try not to worry.

[April2]

Hi! Thanks for commenting! I don't get sweaty or nauseated with the chest discomfort and the tightness does seem to be all over, or the center of my chest. Does that sound more like anxiety? I'm hoping so. Like I said, I've had an awful lot of stress this last year. I've always been pretty healthy. I hardly ever have to go the doctor, so I'm hoping everything checks out fine.
One thing my mom warned me about I thought I'd pass on, when she had her nuclear stress test it showed her heart was normal. She went and had a test to check her calcium deposits and they discovered she did have some blockage. They didn't realize how bad until they did the angiogram. The reason it didn't show up on the nuclear test was because the test checks to see if there's a difference in the two sides of the heart, and since she had even blockage on both sides her heart showed up as looking normal. She said she never got the normal symptoms of sweatiness, etc. She just had been feeling really tired and short of breath for awhile. I know my doctor is just being cautious because of my family history. It just took me by surprise that they even saw something on the EKG. Can anxiety or stress cause the PVC's and chest tightness? I never had a problem with my heart before. Thanks again for writing!