[Rose76]

For 12 years I've been getting infrequent episodes of pretty intense chest pain that I believe is totally due to anxiety. I went to the energency room the first time, in 2005, and they found nothing wrong with me otherwise. I can go a few months or more in between having one of these "attacks." I have no history of any kind of heart trouble.

I just tell myself that it's all mental and will stop if I relax. It does - in 5 to 25 minutes. The pain is sharp and worsens when I inhale. I can always associate it to something I was worried about. Sometimes it hits when I'm driving the car, and I have to stop and lie down in the back seat.

I'm wondering if there is a med that can stop it immediately? I wonder what others do about chest pain related to anxiety. What brings it on? How often do you get it?

[pegasus]

Rose, please get this checked out properly to rule out a physical cause, I am concerned. I know we can have panic attacks, breathing issues etc but stress can also make us more susceptible to heart attacks, stroke, ulcers etc. So please don't put it down to anxiety, go get it checked out, ok.

Don't know about meds. But anxiety-related chest pains were one of the first things that welcomed me into the world of mental health problems. I've dealt with them since 2008, and I too have gone to ER, multiple times, and been told it's stress.

I have a number of different types that affect me, and one of them has been the sharp pain on the inhale. Mine, however, have been at random, and don't always have a clear emotional root to trace back to. Still, general stress is usually the culprit.

I've actually gotten quite used to it. I used to curl up in a ball and despair, but I guess I've learned over the years that it isn't going to kill me, and I can kind of take it in stride. I can say with utter certainty that the extreme emotional reaction to the pain made it feel a lot worse. At least for me.

This isn't to say you shouldn't have it checked out, of course, since you only had it looked at once, a while ago. But I do get this too.

[eclairparty98]

Hi, Rose76. I've been told the same thing as Bjornen, quite often; that it's stress related. And so most people have suggested that the way to cope with it is breathing exercises or yoga. Sitting up straight and focusing on your breathing. I can't remember how this helps but I think it may be because you're distracting yourself from the chest pain and putting your attention towards breathing. I agree that the emotional response to the pain/discomfort can make it a lot worse so it's best to keep yourself calm.

There are medications which work with your arteries but I think this may be related to heart trouble rather than anxious chest pain but I'm not sure. If you're worried about this, please consider a check up.

Sometimes, overthinking brings on stress or anxiety which causes some irritation/discomfort for me.

I hope it all works out okay and isn't anything to worry about

[Rose76]

Originally Posted by pegasus

Rose, please get this checked out properly to rule out a physical cause, I am concerned. I know we can have panic attacks, breathing issues etc but stress can also make us more susceptible to heart attacks, stroke, ulcers etc. So please don't put it down to anxiety, go get it checked out, ok.

I saw a cardiologist and had a stress test and an echo cardiogram. I am diligent about getting appropriate medical follow up for anything abnormal. I see my PCP at least every 6 months. These episodes of chest pain consistently occur when I've been having a lot of anxiety. I would not describe it as a panic attack. I don't get panicky. I feel calm when it happens, but it's always after a period of worrying. I can even trace it to a specific thing that was on my mind a few hours before.

The thing is the pain is quite sharp, but I can make it go away by relaxing. It used to last 25 minutes. Now I can talk myself out of it a lot quicker. The first time I did go right to the E.R. It's like someone was stepping on my chest. It's never brought on by physical exertion. I never get chest pain from exercise.

[Astrada]

I've experienced it quite a lot when I was younger. Like you, they were quite sharp, and if I concentrated on relaxing, they subsided. But then when I was much older I had a massive chest pain where I could not move. Lasted about 1/2 hour. Very scary at the time. I really didn't know what they were. Take care.

[Rose76]

It is amazing to me that a kind of vague mental cause can result in such a specific, sharp pain in a specific body part. I wonder if there is any theory about how the chest gets such a feeling. I wonder if it's a muscle tightness or what? It's in the chest and it's so severe. Inhaling hurts. But it goes away from just relaxing the mind. I would love to know the linkage. Also, why this symptom at this time of life. Until 2005, anxiety - which I had all my life - never did this? I guess no one knows.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. Seems you know what I'm talking about.

I’ve been checked out twice for chest pains.

The second time cost me an arm and a leg because my doctor’s office did not know how to connect the EKG correctly and the machine said I had an arrhythmia. Just what I needed to hear. I was told it wasn’t bad, but I was having symptoms which then of course got worse.

I took phen/fen, so it is absolutely possible I could have heart problems. That drug combo has killed people (pulmonary hypertension-heart valve problems).

So I went to the top cardiologist in the area, and he ran every test, and nothing is really wrong. Just the slightest arrhythmia, nothing harmful, but they told me to call if I ever faint.

That cost me more than a couple thousand dollars for just my copsys and coinsurance. Sigh.

Anyway, yeah, my chest pain is just anxiety.

[Sunflower123]

My chest gets tight like I can’t breathe but it’s only hurt on the inhale a couple of times. I’m glad you got this checked out to make sure it wasn’t something else.

[Crypts_Of_The_Mind]

I have had bad chest pains n shortness of breath from anxiety in the past.

I calmed myself by walking outside and listening to the sounds of nature, while doing diaphragm breathing and muscle relaxation. Later - I went back inside and inhaled some lavender essential oil.

That was how I dealt. Not saying it will work for you, just letting you know what I did in hopes at least part of it may help. ❤

[Rose76]

I really love nice scents and aromas. I indulge that by buying scented candles. Right now I'm burning pumpkin spice and apple cider. I was thinking of buying a set up to heat essential oils, if you can do that. I happen to not like the smell of lavender. (Reminds me of bug spray.) I do love vanilla and lilac and lits more.

I think exposing myself to a strong, nice scent might possibly speed up me getting rid of chest pain when it happens. That never before occurred to me. Thanks for the idea.

Can you get "essential oils" at Walmart's? or only at specialty stores?

[Keyplayer]

Hi Rose ,

Can you please clarify for me is it real pain you feel or a super fast heart beat ?

I had a chest pain once , and my heart was going like a trip hammer , my jaw hurt , it was hard to breath and I was shoveling snow at the time. But my left arm did not hurt , it felt completely fine.

I went in the house , took some anti anxiety meds that were prescribed , laid on my bad , on my back , and I remembered breathing slowly , although I wanted to breath fast.

As I slowed my breathing I noticed that my heart rate was slowing and my jaw did not hurt anymore , I could breath fine.

I got up and felt ok , but did not go back out to shovel. I called my doctor the next day for an app. and he sent me to the hospital for an EKG , and it showed I had damaged , ever so slightly the outer musculature of my heart , nothing really to worry about as the damage was so slight , non the less , my doctor called me back in and said " what did you do . ? I told him shelving snow " he said perhaps you should let someone else do it for a while.

I did , for a while , but now I am back shoveling snow again . I don`t want to have a heart attack , so I take it easy , and be careful.

If my story sounds anything like yours , my story happened over 20 years ago , I am still here.

I suggest , just to put your mind at ease you either contact your doctor or go to the ER and tell them what happened and they most likely will give you a simple EKG , no dye , no pain , just a few suction cups here and there and a couple of minutes later , you will be on your way home.

Good luck , and take care ,

Keyplayer. 

[Rose76]

For me, it's real pain. It does not involve ne sensing my heartbeat at all. (I've had that pounding heart beat experience a time or two when I got really scared.) This is completely different. It feels just how I would imagine a heart attact or angina to feel. It's like deep inside my chest, right in the heart area, is being squeezed very hard. Or like if someone were standing on my chest. I had contused ribs once from an auto accident. It's kind of like that, only worse. I even tried taking nitroglycerin to see if it helped. It didn't.

Thanks, Keyplayer. I did do all that you recommended. What you describe experiencing sure is the classic description of a true cardiac episode - especially the jaw pain . . . and that it was brought on by shoving snow. (I've never gotten chest pain from any form of exertion.)

Keyplayer, I hope you will get into an exercise program designed for cardiac rehab. You need to have a close relationship with a cardiologist. Every winter a number of people (men, usually) die from over-estimating their snow-shoveling capacity. Please don't be one of them.

"Slight damage to the outer musculature of the heart."??? I'm a nurse, and that explanation sounds odd to me. I've not heard of any damage to heart muscle ever being described as "slight." I'm not doubting your sincerity, but people often mishear what doctors tell them, especially since docs often don't explain well. Do get yourself to a cardiologist.

[Crypts_Of_The_Mind]

Originally Posted by Rose76

I really love nice scents and aromas. I indulge that by buying scented candles. Right now I'm burning pumpkin spice and apple cider. I was thinking of buying a set up to heat essential oils, if you can do that. I happen to not like the smell of lavender. (Reminds me of bug spray.) I do love vanilla and lilac and lits more.

I think exposing myself to a strong, nice scent might possibly speed up me getting rid of chest pain when it happens. That never before occurred to me. Thanks for the idea.

Can you get "essential oils" at Walmart's? or only at specialty stores?

I always get my essential oils through www.bulkapothecary.com but you can get them in a variety of places. The key is to be sure the vial it comes in is a dark glass and says 100% therapeutic grade. Then check the ingredients to be sure all ingredients listed contain no chemicals - but rather only the oil it states n perhaps water.

Do some research online to find out which essential oils will work best for your needs (there are generally more than one option for a specific need) and how to use that oil. Some oils you simply inhale, others require application to your body in differing ways, and others you blend into a tea or etc.

I hope it will help you

Sorry took so long to respond. I stopped receiving notifications on my subscribed threads. I think it was just fixed.