worried about heart attack/brain aneurysm/ PE someone please reply!

[Natasha006]

hi everyone, im going to try and make this really short.
i suffer from health anxiety..
ive been having chest pains for over a month now, different ones
they are to the left of my chest, and sharp shooting, hurts when i take a deep breath, then it will go away, then ill get a different type of pain, still on the left side but lower and in my back, sharp pain again/ i am worried that i have a pe and that its just going undetected. I get clammy with this pain.
i have had numerous ecgs, i have had an echo and a stress test, i did a u/s for dvt and i also did a d dimer which came back negative but i cant help but think that its still possible i could be having a PE and if not a PE than a heart attack.
Today I have upper jaw pain on both sides, its a dull aching pain. Near my tmj. It started on the left and then ill sometimes feel it on my right side. IS this a heart attack? I heard that heart attack symptoms are different in woman than men. Im trying not to freak out 100% and give myself a panic attack but im worried.
How long can you have a PE or a heart attack before you know it?

On top of that ive had weird sensations in my head that makes me worried of a aneurysm.
I dont know what to do. I feel like the hospitals dont take me seriously because of my age. Im 28. But could it be possible that my jaw pain and could now be related to a heart problem that has been manifesting for months?

[Fishmanpa]

Hi Natasha,

Boris here (you gotta be old to get that reference ~lol~)

Anyway... based on your age, the fact that all tests were negative and no one has gone from point A to point B with the symptoms you described of the thousands of similar posts on the forum, leads me to believe you're just fine and your anxiety is getting the better of you. Best to speak to your doctor about treating that.

Positive thoughts

[Natasha006]

Thank you for your reply. I am talking to a doctor about hopefully treating my health anxiety, but I do think that there is some associating between the symptoms that I am having and a heart attack. I find it very odd that all these symptoms are just caused by my anxiety.
I read that woman will have feelings of fatigue, chest pain, jaw pain weeks even months before a heart attack. And an ECG can be fine one day and not normal the next.
I dont want to keep going back and forth from emerg to my doctor etc.

I am hoping that someone could at least give me some indication of whether or not this is caused from another reason or if i should be concerned.

I just find it odd that i have all these symptoms that point to yes yet the answer is no. I am wondering if people didnt know that I was anxious if they would also chalk it up to anxiety.

I have tried looking for threads similar to mine and i cant find any w/ chest pains and jaw pain

[Fishmanpa]

OK... I'm 55. I've had two heart attacks, bypass surgery and stents. I assure you if you were having real heart attack or heart disease symptoms, you wouldn't be posting on an "anxiety" forum waiting for answers. Concerning whether someone would attribute this to anxiety without prior knowledge?... Go to the ER if you're that afraid. All tests will show nothing physical and it will be attributed to anxiety or acid reflux (an anxiety related ailment) regardless of prior knowledge.

From a link here on the site:

Heart palpitations, chest pain, irregular beats, flutters, skipped beats

What you feel:

One of the most worrying symptoms is chest pains or a tight feeling in your chest. The immediate thought is "heart attack" or "stroke" and this only worries you more. You may also notice that your heartbeat is incredibly fast or irregular at times having palpitations and again this leads to the worry that you will have a heart attack.

Often the chest muscles may feel very tight, and sometimes they can become painful if they are tight enough to spasm. Because the individual may become concerned that they may be having a heart attack, their fear will add to the stress biology which can not only worsen the pain, but can produce other symptoms similar to a heart attack such as profuse sweating, light-headedness and numbness in the arms, feet or face.

These increased symptoms can also cause more fear which then can turn into a panic attack

Your heart feels like it skips a beat or flops in your chest. It sometimes may feel like a tickle in your chest that makes you cough. If you take your pulse, you'll notice that sometimes the beats are unevenly spaced.

You may experience a tightness or pressure in the chest. Sometimes you may feel shooting pains, or muscle twitches, or just an uneasiness or fullness in the chest area which causes you concern

There is no evidence that panic and anxiety has any adverse effect on the heart and the pains are easily explained.

What causes this:

Stress biology causes the heart rate to increase. It does this so that the body is ready to take action. It's like in drag racing, drivers get their RPM's up prior to the green light so that they can hit the light with maximum torque. Since the stimulant hormone adrenaline, the body's super fuel, is produced when danger is perceived, the heart rate is naturally increased.

Once the stimulant is used and eliminated from the body, the heart rate will return to its normal range.

Moderate regular exercise helps to regulate this symptom.

When you start panicking the whole of your body becomes tense and this includes your muscles.

The chest pains you experience are due to the constricting of the chest wall muscles and the muscles between your ribs and not due to any actual muscles in your heart and the best cure is to start stretching these muscles gently to relieve the pain. Although you may not feel like doing any exercise whilst getting these pains, try stretching your arms above and behind your head, out to the sides and bending over gently to relieve the pain.

Naturally most people are dreadfully worried about their hearts but if your G.P. has given you the all clear cardiac wise – then do not be alarmed if the chest pains and palpitations come back and last for more than a day. If it is related to panic, although it is painful and worrying, the pains will subside if you try gentle exercise and ignore them.

Regular exercise and deep relaxation help to minimize this symptom. Also, staying away from artificial stimulants such as caffeine, chocolate, high doses of raw sugar (such as pastries, sweets, cookies, etc.) and smoking help to keep this symptom in check.

[Natasha006]

You are right that it may be anxiety and the fact that I'm posting on an anxiety forum looking for answers is probably not the best way to go about this.
I don't think I'm having a heart attack at this very moment. I'm thinking that the symptoms I'm having could be a heart attack waiting to happen. Like a ticking time bomb. I can't really think of another logical reason as to why I would be having chest pains for so long and then all the sudden start having jaw pain. Too on the left side.
I just feel like maybe my body keeps giving me warning signs and I'm chalking it up to anxiety.
I know that I won't and can't get diagnosed on these sites.. . they do help my anxiety though and reassurance is always welcome.
I just don't know how else to deal with something that seems to be pointing to one direction.
Why am I having all these symptoms associated with a heart attack .... Ugh
Its not easy living like this and I wish I could control my brain. But I can't II'm better at giving advice towards ppl that are having panic attacks than I am at taking it :(

[amadragonfly]

From what I have researched, because I have my own fair share of chest pains, is that pain from a heart attack will build, last consistently longer than 5 minutes but not as long as 30 minutes. It's not typically localized, so it would feel more radiating than being able to pinpoint the location of the pain. Also, it's the lower jaw that is usually affected. I believe a lot of our body pains are from the amount of tension we carry as anxious people, and mostly created by our minds. You are very young. A heart attack at your age is pretty unheard of.

[Natasha006]

I think I am more worried about a PE than I am of a heart attack.
I feel like the doctors missed something otherwise I wouldnt still be having the same pain a month later. AFter doing some reading I noticed that alot of ppl that have been misdiagnosed have had the same symptoms I am having where the doctors said it was just anxiety.

I dont want to wake up one day and not be able to breathe or die.
I have done a d-dimer, an echo, an u/s a stress test and some ecgs, everything came back normal but im worried that its a small one thats just sitting in my lungs that is being missed.

A month ago i wouldnt even be worried about this pain if my doctor didnt suggest that i may have a clot..now im worried every single day of a misdiagnosis. This is really hard for me. Doctors wont do a ct because they said there is no reason for one but I know thats the best way to see.

I dont know.. maybe it is anxiety but its scary to sit around and wait for something bad to happen when a simple ct will solve the issue. What if at the moment of my d-dimer test there wasnt one, or it went undetected because it hadnt fully developed yet.

---------- Post added at 21:44 ---------- Previous post was at 19:48 ----------

Also. If it was a PE would my symptoms be worse and better than worse than better. Sometimes I have sharp stabbing chest pains and elevated heart rate shivers trouble breathing and dizzinessbut when I try breathing exercises my heart goes back to normal even though my chest pains are still there.

Would my condition be getting progressively worse instead of coming on and off like this.

[amadragonfly]

Just looked up PE last night bc I was having leg pain in my calf that would come and go. Everything said PE does not come and go, it remains super painful.

[dac0273]

Hi Natasha
Your initial post I could have written myself I am exactly thd same , I to find it hard to believe it's anxiety convinced it's my heart . I even get throbbing gums , and yes I read women have these symptoms months before one ��, I'm with you on this one we are going through the same , today I had a headache though brain annyeurism , it's terrible we just need to be there for for one another through this forum it should help

[Natasha006]

I absolutely agree with u. I think panic attack and anxiety induced symptoms are the worst because it can mimic the very things we are afraid of. I'm super thankful I found this forum as we are all able to help each other.