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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
anxiety or heart problem?
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests
anxiety or heart problem?
by stevea, Jan 08, 2002 12:00AM
hello,
Vitals: Male 34 years old 5'11 185lbs. No prior history of heart problems. On 11/25 I had a disturbing experience while working out (which I did regularly) While my heart rate was at its' exercise max I felt a very sharp pain in the left side of my chest. My heart rate proceeded to remain very high (palpitation-like) for 15-20 minutes afterward and finally slowed down. This experience was very frightening for me as I had had no prior problems with my heart. My wife and I went to the emergency room as a precaution. I was given an ECG/Chest X-Ray/Blood Tests, all of which showed no evidence of heart attack/damage. Subsiquently, I have experienced infrequent palpitations which catch me quite off guard as they come at totally random times. I have also been experiencing left sided chest pain in the form of a sharp stabbing pain, as well as a general dull ache in my chest (sometimes on the left side, sometimes on the right), randomized shortness of breath, random aches in right/left arms and armpits. I must admit that the whole experience has also raised my anxiety level about 1000%. As a result of this episode I have also quit smoking (smoked about a pack a week for about 10 years) My question is, with this continued chest pain and discomfort, is a trip to a cardiologist warranted? Why would I continue to experience these symptoms? Could anxiety over the whole thing manifest itself in the physical symptoms I am having? Thanks for you time and consideration on this matter!
Vitals: Male 34 years old 5'11 185lbs. No prior history of heart problems. On 11/25 I had a disturbing experience while working out (which I did regularly) While my heart rate was at its' exercise max I felt a very sharp pain in the left side of my chest. My heart rate proceeded to remain very high (palpitation-like) for 15-20 minutes afterward and finally slowed down. This experience was very frightening for me as I had had no prior problems with my heart. My wife and I went to the emergency room as a precaution. I was given an ECG/Chest X-Ray/Blood Tests, all of which showed no evidence of heart attack/damage. Subsiquently, I have experienced infrequent palpitations which catch me quite off guard as they come at totally random times. I have also been experiencing left sided chest pain in the form of a sharp stabbing pain, as well as a general dull ache in my chest (sometimes on the left side, sometimes on the right), randomized shortness of breath, random aches in right/left arms and armpits. I must admit that the whole experience has also raised my anxiety level about 1000%. As a result of this episode I have also quit smoking (smoked about a pack a week for about 10 years) My question is, with this continued chest pain and discomfort, is a trip to a cardiologist warranted? Why would I continue to experience these symptoms? Could anxiety over the whole thing manifest itself in the physical symptoms I am having? Thanks for you time and consideration on this matter!
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-CRC, Jan 08, 2002 12:00AM
Dear stevea,
There are many causes of chest pain. The one that doctors worry about the most is cardiac because it has the potential to be life-threatening. Once this is ruled out the work-up can proceed at a more leisurely pace. Congratulations on quiting smoking as this is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your health.
Amongst the cardiac causes of chest pain are: ischemia (due to blockages - including both stable and unstable angina and acute heart attack and coronary artery spasm), pericarditis (inflammation of the sack around the heart), myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), cardiomyopathy (heart failure) and rarer causes such as coronary artery dissection, acute rupture of the heart and valves and infections of the pericardium.
Gastrointestinal causes of chest pain include reflux (acid from the stomach washing back into the esophagus), gallstones, esophageal spasm, esophageal rupture, varicose veins of the esophagus, strictures of the esophagus, tumors of the esophagus and other less common GI problems.
Pulmonary (lung) causes include pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, pneumothorax, pleuritis and bleb rupture.
Other potential causes are aortic dissection, back and spine problems and musculoskeletal (muscle strain, rib fracture, etc.).
Psychological causes of chest pain are common and include panic attacks, anxiety, stress and mental duress.
As you can see the list of potential causes in long and may take a little bit of time to determine the precise cause. A good Internal Medicine doctor should be able to work through the potential causes of your symptoms. If necessary he/she can refer you to a cardiologist.
There are many causes of chest pain. The one that doctors worry about the most is cardiac because it has the potential to be life-threatening. Once this is ruled out the work-up can proceed at a more leisurely pace. Congratulations on quiting smoking as this is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your health.
Amongst the cardiac causes of chest pain are: ischemia (due to blockages - including both stable and unstable angina and acute heart attack and coronary artery spasm), pericarditis (inflammation of the sack around the heart), myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), cardiomyopathy (heart failure) and rarer causes such as coronary artery dissection, acute rupture of the heart and valves and infections of the pericardium.
Gastrointestinal causes of chest pain include reflux (acid from the stomach washing back into the esophagus), gallstones, esophageal spasm, esophageal rupture, varicose veins of the esophagus, strictures of the esophagus, tumors of the esophagus and other less common GI problems.
Pulmonary (lung) causes include pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, pneumothorax, pleuritis and bleb rupture.
Other potential causes are aortic dissection, back and spine problems and musculoskeletal (muscle strain, rib fracture, etc.).
Psychological causes of chest pain are common and include panic attacks, anxiety, stress and mental duress.
As you can see the list of potential causes in long and may take a little bit of time to determine the precise cause. A good Internal Medicine doctor should be able to work through the potential causes of your symptoms. If necessary he/she can refer you to a cardiologist.
Member Comments (7)
by Shelly02, Jan 08, 2002 12:00AM
Well it's sounds like a combination of stress and maybe smoking did come into play. It sounds like you had a panic/anxiety attack because you seemed to display some of the symptoms. For example: shortness of breath, increased heart rate,chest pains(feeling like you're gonna have a heart attack) etc. Other symptoms you may experience are feeling that you are going to die, paranoia, dizziness, and others that i can't think of off the top of my head. i experienced my first attack when i was 17 and if it continues you can see your doctor, but the best thing to do is to learn how to control them because they can hit you out of no where. Hope that helps to reduce that 1000% stress level.
by DSteinitz, Jan 20, 2002 12:00AM
My name is Don Steinitz. I have enjoyed reading all the earlier posts which does afford some comfort knowing other people are in the same boat. This is my story: I have a history of panic attacks. A also had complained of PVC's as a bi-product of being nervous. My internest put me on Toprol which was given to me to calm my nerves and reduce the PVC's. It worked for several years. After awhile I noticed I was get