heart twinges

[jamie1]

More and more recently I've started getting what I can only describe as 'twinges' in my heart area... I guess they're not painful as such but it feels sharp... sorry I can't describe it. When I first started having panic attacks a few weeks back I had an ECG and was told my heart was fine but I still think I have something wrong with my heart and can't explain these twinges. It actually woke me up the other morning... This is my main worry at the moment. I haven't had a full blown panic attack in ages now but I'm constantly on edge and often get sharp headaches in my temple. Is this just part of anxiety?

[jodie]

hi jamie

i am not sure if this is the same thing i get what my doc calls eptopic heart beats they feel like a flutter in my chest or a thud i am very scared of them they are my main worry to but i have been told so much they are normal and dont hurt you if it is these that you get lots of people get them and there are lots of posts on them .
i have had them for six years started by anxiety lots of it
im sure you will be fine they are just not nice .

jodie xx

[marie ross]

Hi Jamie, I would'nt worry about these 'twinges' i get them nearly daily, especially at night because i've been so anxious and panicky all day. I have also been sent for an ECG and that was normal, but i was still worrying that i was having a heart attack or that my heart would just stop beating!!! Now after having these twinges for so long and i'm still on this planet alive and well i've just accepted that its nothing to worry about (although you can't help it!!!) I'm sure its just anxiety and if your ECG was fine i would'nt worry about it (easier said than done!!!) You'll be fine. Take care
Marie XX

[sophieunderscore]

Jamie!

I think I understand what you mean!I've been getting twinges in my chest and they got so bad i had to go to the doctor about them.

The doctor said that it was probobly something called tietze's syndrome. This is a NON DANGEROUS syndrome which is basically caused by inflamation and spasms in the muscles in your ribs. The pains can also radiate to your arm and can be so severe you can confuse it with a heart attack!

I thought I was the only person who got these kind of pains, but its VERY common and guess what... brought on by stress! x

[jackie]

sounds like things we all get that are hard to explain, and very frighening. ive ahd chest pains for over four years and every time it gets bad i sooo freak out. its hard to accept but ive been told it is anxiety related

try to be reassured although i know how hard this is

take care

jackie

[april tones]

Hi i have had this too! like a muscle twitch, suppose heart is muscle
I have thought its wind,anxiety and my fibro, it isnt nice tho xx

fibrochat) http://apriltones.proboards54.com

[Two heads]

Hi!
I can relate to what sophie was saying.I have been getting what i can only describe as a stinging twinge by my heart ,and cardio saids its probarly adrenaline causeing it.I dont no weather to believe that!But i have had very bad ribs for over a year now and have complained many a time.And pain goes threw my write arm.
Your ECG was fine hun so please dont worry yourself.And ive been told just last week that anixety does cause headaches.xxxxx

[dorabella]

There is a nerve that runs parallel with the oesophagus and passes close by the main cardiac muscles (sorry I can't rememebr the exact name and location of this nerve). If it sparks - usually when you're wound up and agitated, it can imitate heart pain and discomfort.

I think a lot of anxious people experience this chest pain and mistake it for something more ghastly. Can anyone enlighten on thyis subject.

[Kep]

Hi
i am new to this board and came across it while searching for some answers / reasons why i keep getting pain in the left side of my chest - about 2" down from my collar bone. Its not a constant pain, comes on i would say every 10 mins or so - so upp to now i have simply put it down to muscle strain.

However today i have also experienced a similar recurring pain just under my left shoulder blade and the top area of my left arm - about where you would have a flu injection.

I am on blood pressure tablets which is being monitored, acid reflux also monitored and i am feeling a little under pressure but nothing major.

I think maybe its similar to most peoples pain and is it really just stress or panic attacks?

Cheers

[Robbo2112]

I have been getting these for the last month, prior to this I have always has palpitations, I was thinking this was a step up and started to worry. However it is probably nothing serious as when I run I don't get out of breath. I also do Yoga to help relax and want to develop the breathing strategies. Read Thich Nhat Hahn as the Buddhist monk has some good breathing strategies to help allieviate stress and panic. Hope this helps.

[shotokansho]

I have this every single day, for most of the day. I have been having it for a long time. I have had 3 ECG's and a 24 hour monitor and it came back normal apart from a few skipped beats. I also saw a heart specialist and he told me he couldn't see anything worrying and that the skipped beats were normal and nothing to worry about.
Having said that it doesn't take the worry away from me, I think it is something I will always worry about and when I have a bad bout of them I really crap myself. It's hard to see reason so I understand how everyone else feels.

[alistair]

It was a great relief for me to find this thread. I started suffering with panic attacks a few years ago. Since then I've been free from attacks (CBT books and talking to a friend suffering from the same problems helped me) but I have suffered on and off from the symptoms mentioned in this thread - occasional twinges and sharp pains around the left-hand side of my chest (front and back), feeling like my heart has skipped (usually makes me want to cough) or has beat with a real thud - particularly when I'm an anxious or stressed. Anyway, recently I've been feeling anxious, stressed and panicky again and I've had a couple of attacks and the pains in my chest/heart are activated easily.

When out and about recently I suffered from the feeling that my heart had skipped or thudded, followed by increased heart rate which then made me really worried (becomes a bit of a self-sustaining loop) which brought me very close to passing out - an ambulance was eventually required but by that time (over an hour later) I was feeling somewhat better and my heart rate was pretty normal when they did their tests.

I've had an ECG in the past after visiting my GP about my first panic attack and it came back completely normal (although I wasn't feeling anxious or stressed at the time of the check!). A few months ago I went back to the GP again but I was pretty much fobbed off by being told "you wouldn't be worried about it wasn't near the area of your heart would you?". Anyway, I'm going back yet again to the GP next week and I'm hoping to get somewhere with it this time - from what I've read it looks like I really need to tackle my general anxiety/stress levels to try and solve the problem.

[xvolatileheart]

Alistair, those describe my symptoms exactly! At first it was the thumps and racing heart that really scared me, but now it's the chest twinges. They feel really sharp, but tend to dissipate quickly. Of course by that point, I'm already in a panic that my heart has stopped working.