Possible PE or Heart Attack- pls help

[Natasha006]

Hi there, I am new to this forum and I have never posted in one before. I have always suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since I was 16. I am 29 years old now. A couple of weeks ago I started feel generally unwell. I visited the doctors on a routine bases for many symptoms. It started with severe stomach pain and burning in esophagus, I had an CT scan to rule anything out and it came back normal. Then the other symptoms started.
For the past week or so I have been getting a sharp shooting pain that seems to come and go on the left side of my chest, close to my nipple but not quite. It doesn't hurt more or less when I breath and it comes for a split second and disapears. I have been having this pain every single day throughout the day.
I went to emerg for an unrelated issue and had an ECG and a chest Xray both came back normal. I am deathly afraid that this could be a sign of an upcoming heart attack or a pulmonary emoblism that has been misdiagnosed.
The doctors tell me that I am too young to have one and that I dont need to do any further testing, they chalked it up to anxiety and stress however I am afriad that perhaps they are quick to dismiss this. Im really scared im having a heart attack or that im a ticking time bomb and the blood clot is just waiting to kill me. I get elevated heart rate that goes down again but the sharp pain in my chest doesnt seem to want to go away.

Please help, i feel like i have exhausted everything. I keep looking on google to see if I can find something to ease my mind but everything I read pointts in the direction of a heart attack or a PE. Im really scared.

Can anyone tell me if its anxiety to something to be 100% worried about.

Thank you,

[abhaytheone]

try getting your thyroid levels tested.

[Junot]

You're lucky for having had a CT done. I've been going to the ER and seeing tons of different doctors for 8 years now and not even one of them has referred me for CT.

All I can say is that I have been experiencing similar symptoms to yours for years and I'm still here. They tell me it's anxiety and panic, but it's impossible not to worry when experiencing such severe symptoms.

[Natasha006]

The ct was done of my brain and my stomach. I do need one of my heart/chest to take a look at my arteries and make sure that everything is fine w/ no blood clots but they refuse to send me because apparently im too young to be having symptoms of a heart attack or pe. But the reality of it all is, people are misdiagnosed at any age all the time because doctors believe that they are " healthy " and chalk it up to anxiety or panic. No one knows your body more than you do. I think its ridiculous that physical symptoms especially pain in your chest and in your brain are not looked at with closer attention and they prescribe ativan so quickly to get the patient out of the waiting room.
I am not saying that my doctors could be wrong, im saying that it does happen and its the number 1 misdiagnosed symptom in men and woman.

Just ridiculous.Who wants to live their life rushing to emerg all the time when they arent feeling welll, not me.

[Fishmanpa]

Hi Natasha,

This is a great forum for support as many feel as you do.

Concerning your heart... I don't know how old you are but a clear ECG and xray speaks volumes. I'm 55 and have had two heart attacks, triple bypass surgery and stents in the last 7 years. I've had the echos. Most recently one of my carotid arteries due to radiation received from head and neck cancer. All is Ok although the echoes of that and my heart show coronary artery disease. My cardiologist is not concerned as it's not significant but it's there.

An xray and CT would show a serious issue and the ECG would detect abnormalities that would warrant further investigation. Be thankful they don't! I know it's difficult when you get a pang in your chest. I get them too and it's like "Damn! what's that?!". I know my heart is Ok (patched up alike an old pair of jeans but ok ;) )but it still makes you go "uh oh". You haven't had a heart attack nor, based on what you're saying in your post, are you of the demographic that is even at risk so you have to hold onto that with both hands!

I can tell you that a real heart problem wouldn't come and go nor would it just be a momentary sharp pain. A real heart attack is debilitating and in both cases for me, the pain literally dropped me to my knees. You wouldn't be on an anxiety forum asking if it were real if it were. Makes sense right?

Anxiety causes real physical symptoms. There are just as real as a heart attack or any serious illness, they're just not caused by a physical anomaly.
Take a look at the symptoms (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms) page and you'll see a plethora of real physical symptoms. Look into getting help with your anxiety as well. Treating the real issue treats the physical effects of it.

Positive thoughts

[Natasha006]

Thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read and respond. My ECG came back abdnormal the firs two times that I had it done at a clinic. Something about a conduction delay that was greater than 90 degrees. This to me sounds like PE. However the doctors werent worried about it. I feel like sometimes they are quick to dismiss pain associated with your chest and chalk it up to being anxiety.
Im 28 years old. And I am quite positive that panic attacks in female mimic that of an anxiety attack vice versa. I do know that an ECG isnt always correct. One day your ECG will say everything is normal and the next day you could have a massive heart attack.
I think its about getting my anxiety under control. And i am working on it! But I feel like something is causing m anxiety and not the other way around.
I have pretty much had my panic attacks under control for over 10 years now. Why all the sudden a change? It doesnt make sense to me.

I am completed sympathetic to the fact that you had two heart attacks. ITs a terrible for thing for anyone to go through and hearing stories of people that have actually had to go through aneurysms and heart issues etc make me feel like i shouldnt be complaining at all. It makes me sad that there are people out there that are far worse than i am.

I do appreciate your comment. I hope that you are healthy and that everything is working out perfect for you. :)

[Fishmanpa]

Thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read and respond. My ECG came back abdnormal the firs two times that I had it done at a clinic. Something about a conduction delay that was greater than 90 degrees. This to me sounds like PE. However the doctors werent worried about it. I feel like sometimes they are quick to dismiss pain associated with your chest and chalk it up to being anxiety.
Im 28 years old. And I am quite positive that panic attacks in female mimic that of an anxiety attack vice versa. I do know that an ECG isnt always correct. One day your ECG will say everything is normal and the next day you could have a massive heart attack.
I think its about getting my anxiety under control. And i am working on it! But I feel like something is causing m anxiety and not the other way around.
I have pretty much had my panic attacks under control for over 10 years now. Why all the sudden a change? It doesnt make sense to me.

I am completed sympathetic to the fact that you had two heart attacks. ITs a terrible for thing for anyone to go through and hearing stories of people that have actually had to go through aneurysms and heart issues etc make me feel like i shouldnt be complaining at all. It makes me sad that there are people out there that are far worse than i am.

I do appreciate your comment. I hope that you are healthy and that everything is working out perfect for you. :)

Don't feel bad for worrying. It's natural to do so... to a degree. It's when it begins to interfere with your life, as it appears here, that it's a real issue. I've had abnormal ECGs and most are due to a lead being quirky and such. A couple of adjustments and all is well. That's probably the case with you and why the docs aren't worried. Look, they do this for a living and see hundreds if not thousands with symptoms and know when there's a red flag.

Just like physical health can change quickly, mental health can do so as well. For whatever reason, your body is reacting to a situation your mind, consciously or unconsciously perceives as a threat. At least that's my take on it. There's a free download here for CBT in the panic attacks section. It's a sticky at the top of the page. It contains a very comprehensive explanation about how our minds react to certain situations and how the body responds. A lot of what anxiety attacks are is based on some primitive responses of our ancestors... Fight or Flight, the need to evacuate (pee or poo) etc.

When I began to understand the reasons why my body felt a certain way, it helped me cope with the thoughts. Mind you, I don't have HA, but I do have some GAD and depression that I've dealt with. My daughter suffers from anxiety and depression (she's 21) and she's gotten help in the form of meds and therapy and is doing great. I was there when she wasn't and it's not pretty but you can heal.

I hope you feel better! This site is a great resource. There are many links and articles that can help. Take advantage of it. There are also many here that have gone through exactly what you're going through are doing well. Their advice is invaluable.

Positive thoughts

[jonjones]

Hi Natasha, I have just made a post about this! See below!

Where your heart may feel like it is pounding, fluttering or beating irregularly. It is caused by a surge of adrenaline into the blood stream which is released by you feeling nervous, anxious, or even excited.
Also you may experience some soreness or pain in the heart region. Don´t worry this is due to tension from adrenaline being released into muscles in area.
Sensitization of the nervous system exaggerrates the heart beat. If its been checked by the doctor and nothing was found to be wrong then have faith that it is just caused by adrenaline!
Your heart can tolerate up to 200 beats a minute for days without any bad effect. Yet in panic attacks the highest it gets to is around 160. The heart is a very powerful organ so have peace of mind that it can cope with the extra work.
It is made worse by caffeine, alcohol, recreational drugs and a lack of sleep.
Don´t try to control it, or make it better, instead just practise accepting it! Take deep breaths, exhale slowly and sag your body. The palpitations will improve in their own time!

Best,

Jon