is it anxiety or is there really something wrong?

[mark2345]

i am a 20 year old male and have being having some extremley worrying symptoms for a while now. i get a lot af central chest pain that comes and goes all day, sometimes it spreads 2 my left arm neck and back, i get shortness of breath, palpatations, irregulur heart beat and pvcs, i also go light headed an dizzy sometimes and get really hot and sweaty, sometimes pins and needles, but not often. i have been to the a&e numerous times convinced i was having a heart attack, but every time they did the ecg they sed it was fine, they also did another test which is like an ecg but they stick the wires around the heart for a more accurate test and that was fine to, they told me its anxiety and panic disorder, the thing is these symptoms feel so real and are very scarey, i get them more when im resting rather than excersizing, infact i dont usually get them whilst excersizing. i am just wondering if it is anxiety or if there actually is something wrong with my heart or mabey blocked arteries and need some different tests for it to show a problem. looking forward to your feedback, it would really help, thankyou

[mark2345]

thanks, what is an echocardiogram? if its an ecg ive had them done a few times and have all been not to worry about, ill see my doctor about a 24 hour monitor, cheers.

[Darcy Green Conaway, MD]

At 20 years of age the likelihood of having blockages in the arteries is close to 0. The only suggestion I would have is an echocardiogram to ensure the heart is structurally normal, and consider a 24 hour event monitor to ensure there are no concerning arrhythmias. Often I make sure there are normal thyroid studies done as well.

[Rob2008]

and certainly a chest Xray as well, which I'm sure you've already had

[Rob2008]

What do you mean by "wires around the heart"?      An ECG has 10 or 12 leads, there is no "super ECG" that I'm aware of.     Also, you should certainly have an echocardiogram