Chest pain and palpitations

I'm a 22, female and don't smoke, drink or take drugs.

For the last month I have been having chest tightness, lightheadedness, tingling/aches in my left arm and a sudden racing heartbeat.  Sometimes I'll get a "fluttery" feeling in my chest, and the pain can spread to my back and to the area where my collarbones meet.  It's usually a dull pain, like a weight has been placed on the affected areas.  It comes on at any time.  Some days it can be on and off all day, some days it's quite mild.  Each episode lasts between 30 minutes and an hour and it ALWAYS comes on when I'm having a good time with my friends or when I'm chilling out at home.

I have been to the hospital twice, they have done blood tests (including D-dimer), urine tests, ECGs and chest X-rays.  Nothing has been found, though it seemed to me that they were only really checking for a clot.  The second time I went in to hospital, somehow the subject of my pulse came up.  It can be irregular, and has been for a very long time, but it often reverts back to a regular rhythm.  When irregular, the intervals between each beat can vary, as well as the strength.  Because of this, the doctor recommended I have a 24 hour holter monitor.

The next day I went to see my local doctor, and she laughed and said it was very unlikely that I had heart problems because of my age.  Instead I had thyroid tests done, but those have come back normal too.  I have since seen another doctor and immediately she insisted that I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
This, to me, seems like I am being fobbed off.  I am a happy person, with no reason to be anxious.  I doubt the counselling she offered would even go further than one session as there isn't much to say.  I'm doing well at university, I have a job that is physically demanding, but fun.  I'm also in a happy relationship.  And I have no trouble getting to sleep.  It's almost too easy for me.  It's affecting my day to day activities and I just want it treated.

Any suggestions?

[vienna13]

Well first, all good that what they did so far came back “nothing wrong with you”…but as you said that is not true. If I was you, would get another doctor immediately. What an ignorant to say you are too young, even if it is partly true, but many kids and young people have some kind of heart condition.
Even if the answer is: stress, or some food you are eating and you should sleep more etc. I am not saying if it is the case or any of those, but you need a new doctor who will take you as a ‘partner’ to talk to and figure it all out together, what other test you need etc…
Best to you

[ireneo]

Do go ahead with the heart monitor. If young people never had heart problems then we'd never need pediatric cardiologists. I know a young girl who had arrhythmias in her early teens. She ended up having an ablation and is doing fine. Another friend of mine in her early 30's passed out at the wheel of her car. They discovered she had heart failure and she is now the proud owner of an ICD. So stuff happens.

If your heart only acts up once a week or so, a 24 hour monitor may not catch it. It might be better to wear an event monitor that you wear for 2-4 weeks. When an episode occurs, you just push a button to record it. Some event monitors can sense and record on their own. I hope someone takes you seriously and finds out why your heart is so erratic for such long periods of time.