What could be wong?

[philip314]

For months now I have been getting episodes of chest pain, shortness of breath and dizziness that lasts several hours. I have been to the ER several times and the doctors did a echocardiogram, chest x ray and a stress test, which where normal. Last night I got it again and it lasted from 6pm until I went to bed at 11pm. Then when I woke up in the morning the symptoms returned but went away after an hour. I also feel tired and short of breath most of the time. Could there still be something wrong with my heart? What is the most likely anwser? I am really worried about this , any information would be helpful. I am 16 years old

[grendslori]

Do you have problems with anxiety or panic attacks? Have you been evaluated by a pediatric or adolescent cardiologist? The symptoms you describe can be heart related; however, you would have to have pretty severe heart disease to have true heart related chest pain. Most chest pain in young people is actually muscle related, not heart related. If you had heart disease they would have picked that up on the tests that you have had done.

[philip314]

I was seen by a pediatrician and he diagnosed me with anxiety because he couldn't find anything wrong. I just don't see how it can cause all my sypmtoms.

[grendslori]

Philip, the reason anxiety can cause all of those symptoms is because the adrenal glands, which in affect give us all our 'fight or flight reaction', causes catecholamines to be released into the bloodstream. The effect from that is the fast heart rates, shortness of breath, sweating etc. Anxiety can certainly cause an unplesant feeling in the boby. Try and not worry so much about this and you will find it will stop being a problem for you. Being 16 you are well aware of the signs and symptoms of heart disease and therefore it is the first thing you consider with the symptoms you are having. Children and teens who have enough heart disease causing the symptoms that you describe, live with what you are describing on a daily basis, it never goes away. As a teen you would never be able to even keep up with your friends and more than not, they would be leaving you behind if you were having the symptoms as you describe. At your age, my daughter was already talking to a heart transplant team. Try and enjoy your life; you are only young once and once that is gone, you are forever more an adult with all of the responsibilities that go along with that.