At what point do you go to A&E?

[Estellenoire]

I've been wondering this for a while. When you have a diagnoses of anxiety, at what point are you not going to get brushed off when turning up at A&E with chest pains?

And when would you personally go?

All this week I've been having chest discomfort, and I've been feeling scared. I've wanted to go to A&E a bunch of times but I always think "well, I definitely feel like I could drive there without any trouble", which is what stops me going in. But then if it ever got to the point where I didn't think I could drive myself there, would it already be too late? I had myself checked out by my GP today and my heart rate was mega-slow (in the 40s), and my blood pressure was 80ish/40ish. So tomorrow I have to go for an ECG. Now I'm terrified that I'll die before I get the chance to go, but I'm pretty sure my chest pains at the minute are more to do with being terrified of dying, rather than being in any real danger.

Eugh, anxiety is ruining my life.

[saab]

Only you can decide really, because chest pains vary so much from person to person. On the All experts Cardiology site, one of the cardiologist usually says that if you can make the pain better or worse by pushing on it or moving in a certain way, then it is probably chest wall pain, not your heart.

Certainly anxiety can make your chest feel tight or heavy, but I think it would also depend on how old you are and whether you have other symptoms like breathlessness, dizziness and so on.

I suffer from ectopics every day and I have been paralysed by my anxiety at times, expecting to drop dead any minute. Anxiety can certainly produce lots of unpleasant physical symptoms, but the worse one is the mental symptom that makes you interpret every twinge, ache or tiny feeling of unpleasantness as the start of a major illness. I am so tuned in to my body now that I notice every slight discomfort and worry that it is something serious, instead of just my body doing it's thing.

It's great that you are having an ecg as it will hopefully put your mind at rest a bit.

[scrog80]

I have constant chest pain when I go to the gym and train chest im ready to jump out the window most of the time as my anxiety is so high i am sick of doctors and hospitals telling me im ok i no i am so i ride it out i would say don't worry as I don't as its a daily thing for me because my blood pressure and heart rate goes up and down like a yo yo