went to the cardiologist..medicine scaring me

[marilynmonroefan]

hi i hope i can get some help here:)

okay so at the begining of this month i was getting chest pains on my left side of my chest. ..and a couple times numbness on my shoulder and arms.
so like alot of people i thought i was getting a heart attack!! im only 27..
but i got so scared so i went to an emergency center and the ekg said my heart was beating a little fast (sinus taycardia(sp? and so the doctor sent me to the cardiologist...once there he said nothing was wrong with my heart and did not want to do more tests. and it was anxiety. YET gave me atenolol to slow down my heart. but once i got home i was too afriad to take it. usually if a doctor prescribes something i take it no matter what. this is the first time im freaking out! i fear it will slow down my heart too much and i wont get air in! and even if i stay on it for a month..i doubt i would want to stay on it longer..and being a natural worrier or if i drink caffiene..my heart will still act up the same way anyway..what do i do??

my blood pressure is normal
i dont get dizzy ever
i dont have breathing problems
and i dont notice my heart beating outside my chest.

i have extreme anxiety obviously and i was drinking alot of caffiene for a while before all this happened.. i stopped to see if the pain would go away (thinking the caffiene built up in my system..because im sensitive to panic attacks/shaking) but now its the end of the month and its still here. maybe its the chocolate too?? my thyroid? (still need to take that test)

what should i do? if i dont have heart problems and the doctor thinks im normal..can i do without this med.? will xanax help the soar feeling i have in my chest or an antidepressant of anxiety? if anxiety caused it?

i noticed if im busy i dont feel it too much or if i take a hot shower it feels better for a bit.

one more THING..is the soar muscle feeling in my chest from the faster heart rate working harder? thats freaking me out now the most. i mean what happened to the old heavy chest feeling i used to feel when getting a panic attack..that was so different.:huh: this ones lingering.

because well..cardiologists seem to throw around beta blockers alot. and i dont know if its right for anxiety chest pains.. your opinion?

[CJH86]

Hi, the Beta blocker doesnt treat the chest pain it just 'dampens' down the nervous system response which causes the heart to race...Atenolol is very commonly used and generally doesnt cause many problems (it has less side effcts than propranolol) it may make you feel a little dizzy for a while though but this will pass...if you are worried go have a word with a pharmacist they can tell you all you need to know about beta blockers!!!:)

Some people (like myself!) are super sensitive to caffiene and chocolate contains caffiene too so obviously can have a similar effect on heart rate. And yeah if you have an overactive thyroid that will certainly cause a racing pulse!!

I wouldnt think the chest pain is to do with the heart pumping faster, more likely due to tension or even subconsious overbreathing related to anxiety (i suffer from pain to do with this in my shoulder). Things like xanax wont help much...yeah they are muscle relaxants but they dont tackle the cause and wont make the pain go any faster, maybe anti-anxiety meds\counselling may be worth discussing with the doc....some of them are helpful