chest pain in my 20's

[renee b]

im a 24 female in previous good health. my symptoms began last may with lack of energy, then i ended up with a stomach virus,then i began having palpitations with chest pain, rapid hr, dizziness,and severe sob. i work in a hospital and ended up in the er where i was told that it was all just a pulled muscle and anxiety. my symptoms persisted and i ended up back in the er, i had an ekg,upper gi,cardiac enzymes, cxr and cbc which all came back normal. my blood pressure was up and my hr-130 to 140's. i then saw my family dr who ordered an echo,holter monitor,chest x-ray,ekg and gave me toprol-xl for blood pressure. i was also given some xanax for my anxiety which i am not currntly taking.all tests came back ok. the palpitations are a lot better and the sob. but i have began having more dizziness and left arm numbness along with mild chest discomfort.occasionally i will wake up in the night or it may happen in the middle of the day with very rapid hr,dizziness and then become chilled with the shakes. . also my cholestrol is 157 and my glucose was good at 101. my blood pressure is now under control and my doctor is trying to wean me off of it. my doctor has ordered a stress test. but i really dont know what do do next and i think my doctor is unable to figure all this out. i didnt know if some knid of viral infection could be the cause of all this or if it possibly could be nerves.thank you very much for your time.

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Dear Renee,

Sorry to heart about your chest discomfort. You are 24 years old and describe symptoms of chest tightness, dizziness and a rapid heart rate. You have had an ECG, echocardiogram, and holter monitor all of which have revealed normal results. I think it is unlikely that your symptoms represent a significant heart problem. If you have been diagnosed with anxiety, this may be the cause of  your symptoms.  I would suggest seeing a professional to control the symptoms related to your anxiety. The stress test your doctor ordered is not a bad idea and maybe repeating the holter monitor would be useful. Again, given all of the normal studies you have had thus far, I don't think your symptoms represent a significant problem with your heart.

Thanks for your question,

CCF-MD-KE

[stevebu]

Since all of your tests have come back normal, and you have had a lot of them, your symptoms may be caused by an anxiety disorder. Did your symptoms decrease when you took medication for anxiety? Did your doctor make a referral to someone qualified to determine if you have an anxiety disorder?

It is EXTREMELY unlikely that all of these tests would have missed a significant heart problem.

Good luck to you.

[shubunkin]

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THE XANAX!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went to the ER with what I thought was heart problems and turned out to be anxiety. Had all the same tests. Heart was fine.Thr er gave me the Xanax and I did not ask any questions and they did not tell me anything about the addicting powers of this drug. That was almost a year ago and to this day I still take it and have tried to WEAN off several times with no sucess. As far as I am concerned it is the devil! So think hard about it. Take care. Danielle

[garyr]

How much are you taking an how often?

Xanax has proven to be a godsend to many when taken in moderation.

The only downside I see when I take it on occasion is a short term memory problem, some cognitive dissonance. I began in 1999 when I had a bout ot Congestive heart failure, and my heart valve was going to be replaced.

Don't know how I could have gotten any sleep without xanax, but I never exceeded 1-3 per week, many  times taking only half of a ten.

[shubunkin]

I am taking .5 mg 3 times a day. I am not saying that it does not work, it helped me tremendously. But I think people should very VERY aware of it highly addictive nature. And if possible avoid it.

[Luvbug9956]

I too am a young person experiencing similar problems.  It started as a trip to the ER with sob, palpitations, and muscle twitching in my legs.  I was diagnosed with a PE, but later results showed that I do not have one.  Thus, for the past 5 weeks now my heart rate is at a constant 90bpm and I still have some trouble breathing.  I have been diagnosed with mono, but I don;t think that would cause the fast heart.  It is scary to be so young and having problems.  I believe mine is anxiety due to the hospital stay I had, but I'm not sure.  I just wish it would all go away!

[AnxietyQueen]

I also experience Rapid Heart Beats sometimes with SOB. fortunately after many tests, Echo, Stress test, Halter, EKG all that has been found is Mitral Valve prolapse. These are anxiety symptoms and I also get left arm tingling and numbness. It is quite scary. I currently am on proprananol and Xanax and Paxil for the anxiety. I also am in therapy to help with the causes of my anxiety. It is heard to believe that it is not your heart but it is not seek help for anxiety, As for the Xanax it can be habit forming but I had a bottle of 90 pills in my bag for 1 year and never had a issue with addiction, I guess its because I hate taking pills and only take medicine when I have no other choice. Believe me there are many of us that have the same problems, seek the proper medical help and it will be ok

[Lonestar]

I have had and continue to have similar experiences.  As a matter of fact, I had an episode earlier today.  I'm a 35 yr. old male and I have an advertising sales position.  I'm also obsessive compulsive and have general anxiety which is obviously due to stress.  I had all the heart tests done after visiting the ER a couple of years ago thinking I was having a heart attack.  Since then, I've had palipitations (very randomly) not on a daily basis and ranging in severity.  Actually, sometimes I'll have them on a daily basis for like three days in a row.  Then none for a week, etc.  Sometimes I have very forceful ones and to this day (after two years of them) it scares the hell out of me.  Earlier today I was just relaxing watching TV after eating some pizza and my chest started to feel tight and I had pain in my left arm.  I just took some Alka Selzer which has asprin in it and laid down.  Woke up about 45 mins. later and felt fine.  I've been told it's just anxiety or stress so I'm sick of thinking I'm dying each time I have it.  The ER can get expensive.  My fear is that one of these times I'll actually be having a heart attack and then just blow it off.  Anyway, I just want to say that I completely sympathize with you.

[sk_uae]

First accept my sincere thanks for putting up a wonderful informative site like this.

I am 32 years old. Around 3 months backs, I had severe pain in left chest and was admitted to the hospital. The following tests were peformed. ECG, ECHO, Blood Tests, CK-MB, Trponin - I, Thyroid tests, Chest X-Ray etc. My pulse rate was 163. The cholestrol level was - overall 240 mg/dl, Tryglycerides - 150 mg/dl, HDL - 46 and LDL 164 mg/dl., The CK-MB was 2.5ng/ml and Tronin - I was negative. The Creatine Phosphokinase Serum (CPK) was at 235 U/L. The doctor informed that this is not a cardiac related one. Its only SINUS TACHYCARDIA. He precribed Tenormin 50 mg/day. However the pain continued and twice I had pain on my left arm, Left shoulder blades and back. Besides I had pain in the jaws for almost 2 months.I also had the feeling of numbness on left fingers and left leg for around 1 week. Besides I had severe headaches and at times felt dizziness and fatigue. The doctor told that there is nothing abnormal. The pain normally occurs twice a day and lasts for more than 2 hours. The pain in the chest continued at different places in the chest region. The pain mostly occurs near the left armpit and below the left nipple and exactly below the middle region of the breast bone. The pain normally increases with the increase in heart beat. At times while working in the computer or while standing, I get the pain. This was informed to the doctor. He said nothing to worry and prescribed the CPK test once again last week. The CPK levels was 235 U/L.The pain is now in both the sides of the chest. The pain can felt while pressing with fingers in the region. Pressing with fingers will bring some comfort from the pain. Besides at times I feel that the breast region is chocked and feels taking antacids. Yesterday also, the middle portion of my chest was choked as if gas formation. I tried antacids,water, milk, soda to get rid of the chocking. But nothing worked and after around 3-4 hours the gas came out giving a bit of relief.The Doctor kept on telling that this is only SINUS TACHYCARDIA and nothing to worry and asked me to continue with TENORMIN 25 Mg/day (reduced to 25 mg/day). However of late I am having severe heartburns ocassionally which is not releived by taking antacids. The pain will continue for around 3-4 hours and feels life some lump is present below the middle region of the breast bone. At times I have dierheas and my stool is loose and colouish , mostly like muroon colour. Of late the stool looks tarish and black. Doctor please let me know what exactly is my desease?? I did GI endoscopy and it was found that I have severe Deuodenitis & antral gastricis with multipile bleeding spots & non erosive mild oesophagaitis.

Is it Sinus tachcardia or gastritis or cardiac problem. Is the digonse by my doctor is correct?? Is there anybody experiencing similar syptoms (symptoms)??

Thanks & Regards

SK_uae

[mel24]

In regards to heart problems...
I am 24 also and when i was 20 i went thru exactly the same thing.  Take comfort in the fact that anxiety/panic disorders are more common than most people think yet unrecognized a lot of the time.  I read a book called 'Don't Panic' at the height of my anxiety problem and it saved my sanity.  At the time i didn't have any medical insurance and was too embarrassed to see anyone professionally about my 'heart' conditions.  I was all alone and no one understood that I really thought i was DYING.  I was sure that i had a heart condition that would end me sooner or later but after reading the first couple chapters of the book, I learned that my imagination was getting the better of me.  That's exactly what this disorder does, it plays with your mind.  Your mind will actually produce symptoms of impending doom only to make you freak out more.  There is a list of symptoms in that book 2 pages long, everything from heart palpitations and chest pain, to gastro-intestinal symptoms.  That book saved me and I remcommend it to anyone with these problems.  I have even bought copies and given them to friends and family with similar problems.  I never needed depression medication but like alcoholism, it will stay with you forever and I do still struggle with it occasionally.  Just remember, all reality exists only in your own mind and it's up to you to take control.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[cash21]

I am also 24 and have been experiencing similiar symptoms, SOB, chest pain, dizziness, and numbness in my face, arms, and legs.  I have been seeing a doctor about this since last November (a little over a year now).  I was referred to a neurologist who, after revieing my MRI, insisted that I was a migraine sufferer.  At that point, I had never had a migraine in my entire life, so I took his advice pretty lightly and continued to use the meclizine that was prescribed to me by an ER physician to help with the dizziness.  A few months after my first visit, I got my first ever migraine, I came home from working out and upon entering my apartment, just became weak and numb.  When I tried to call for help, even the light on my phone caused a sharp pain in my eye and head, it hurt my head to even move.  

Now, I've been treated for migraines for almost a year, my doctor tells me that for women my age, the feeling as if you are going to have a stroke (numbness on an entire side of yuor body, chest pains, and SOB) is completely "normal".  So, this is great, I still have no real answers as to the cause and potential fix for my condition - the medicines I am on, only seem to mask the symptons - I AM 24 YEARS OLD AND AM CONFINED TO MY BED MOST NIGHTS BECASUE OF THESE SYMPTONS.

I too, have been treated for anxiety and am currently on an antidepressent medication.  After having spoken with my prescribing doctor, he agreed that my symptons are likely not stress related becasue this has not in the past been my normal reaction to stress.  Alhthough, working 12 hour days ceratinly does not help anything.  My neurologist obviously agrees, otherwise I don't think he would be still wasting his time with me.

That's about it, I've been managing these things for over a year, and have learned to just sort of change my lifestyle around it.  My symptoms seem to come in what my doc calls "Cycles" where I'll go for three months feeling fine, then, maybe have a week of dizziness and another week of migraines, my last "cycle" lasted for 5 weeeks (four of which I had a constant migraine).

I realize this is a "heart" website, but I felt my response might help some of you who are also having similair health trouble at such a young age - maybe you should present the migraine possibilty to your doctors.  In the meantime, if anyone feels thay can help me, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know.

It has been a VERY frustrating ordeal and it is affecting my work life and social life.  And I am sick of taking medicines that don't seem to help in the long-run.

Thanks for listening - :)