Cramping in chest and rib cage

[fightingflower]

Last week I ended up at a hospital because I woke up in a panic attack. I freaked out and ended up arriving at the hospital with a resting heart rate of 140 bpm. Since then, I have been experiencing pain and cramping in my center chest area. Sometimes the pain is a bit on the left side. The pain occasionally shoots out thorugh my rib cage in different directions and occasionally through my back.

I'm so worried this pain is my heart and that there is something wrong (i.e. pulmonary embolism). I keep checking my pulse every few minutes. The pain has only been getting worse. What could this be? Could it all just be anxiety?

[Stecakes]

it most definitely can be just anxiety. and checking your rate every few minutes will only make it worse. sounds like textbook panic attack to me
try taking long deep breaths in your nose, hold a couple of seconds , out your mouth
obviously if the pain becomes extreme or runs up you left side then it's worth seeking medical assistance, but really does sound like panic attack

[Lakme]

Same thing happened to me a couple weeks ago. I've been struggling with digestive problems for the past 3 months so you're not alone. I ended up in the hospital when I woke up at 5 am and I was having heart palpitations or shortness of breath. The first thing I remembered was thinking "this is it. I'm going to die." Then when I got to the ER I imagined myself on the operating table. The only thing I did was sit on a chair for a few minutes while they checked my vital signs. My voice eventually came back, and they sent me to rest for an hour or two. The doctor looked at me like I was crazy as I was telling him about my symptoms. They wrote me up for anxiety and sent me out. It might be hard to believe but sometimes that just happens. There's no symptom in the anxiety book that says "going to the hospital" but sometimes that just happens to us for unknown reasons. I think it happened to me because I took a higher dose of my medication but it might be different for you. The heart is a very anxiety prone organ. Try to relax, and if you keep having problems I would suggest checking with a doctor to sort things out, and if they don't find anything wrong with you, tell them you have anxiety, and they'll help you with that problem.

[NoraB]

Could it all just be anxiety?

Yes it can.