Think I’m having a heart attack 🙄

[Blackbear10]

I used to have quite crippling anxiety but had some therapy, worked really hard and all but got over it. (Obviously some things still throw me a bit and it’s a constant work in progress)

However this morning I woke up with a terrible sharp pain in my chest.
I’m pretty sure is a pulled muscle.
The problem is my anxiety has kicked in and I think I might be about to have a heart attack. I keep checking my pulse and have noticed I feel tired but honestly I really am probably just tired rather than it being heart attack symptoms.

When my anxiety flairs like this it’s pretty useless for me to get over until until tomorrow once I have proven to myself I haven’t died overnight. 🙄

I’m not sure what I’m wanting really other than a bit of a handhold and maybe a good kick up the arse!

I’m not at the age for the typical heart attack person and I’ve survived since waking up this morning, but there is that little anxious niggle that plays in the background!

Maybe call 101 and get their advice?

Take some aspirin? Call your GP? Relaxing bath and some Netflix?

Don’t call 101. Do get some paracetamol and inbuprofen in you.

Stop posting on MN and call 999. Chest pains are not trivial.

I've got a crippling chest condition (Tieze Syndrome) that is essentially inflammation in the rib tissue but it can cause quite sudden and severe pain. My GP has made me go into A & E each and every time I get a flare up for an ECG and bloods because there is always a tiny chance that it could be the heart instead. I've never been made to feel like a timewaster or nuisance.

Anxiety or not, I don't think you should ignore sudden chest pain especially if you are tired too.

Honestly ringing 101 will just make me worse!

I really think it’s a pulled muscle I have no other symptoms but I’m giving myself full blown panic with the ‘what if your wrong and your gonna die’ and ‘what if you have to get an ambulance or go to hospital’

My heartbeat is nice a regular if a little strong but at a normal speed for me, even with an anxiety flair up!

I don't think the non emergency police are going to be too interested.

You need to seek some kind of medical help OP.

If you have chest pain you need to be checked over. Call 111 and follow their advice.

I can’t take myself to the DR I have no car, nobody is at home until after 3:00pm to take me anywhere so it would have to be an ambulance job.

I really don’t want to do that unless absolutely necessary!

Now my anxiety is really bad! Did you really think I need to call 101?

I have had this OP and i really though i was having a heart attack so went to the dr. It was a pulled chest muscle from picking dd up. Have you lifted something recently?

If is it making you overly anxious, go and get it checked.

I felt really silly after i walked out with pain relievers and muscle relaxants but i felt better knowing that I wasnt on my last legs.

Call 111! They will be able to assess the situation better and take control of the situation. They will be used to things like this and will know all the right questions to ask! Hope you are ok!

I can’t take myself to the DR I have no car, nobody is at home until after 3:00pm to take me anywhere so it would have to be an ambulance job

Get a bloody taxi to the GP surgery!

Sharp pains are not really indicative of a heart attack, particularly as you don't mention any other symptoms but you do need to be seen to be sure. Call them and they can have the nurse check you over.

Ok I struggle with going to places on my own so making my way by taxi to the GP will make me feel worse.

My options are wait until 3:00pm, call 999 or 101 and see what they say.

The only symptoms I have are slight chest pain about 2 inches higher than where the middle of your bra would be. If I pull my shoulders forward it hurts more if I sit normally the pain pretty much goes. If I breathe in from my chest ridiculously then it hurts just at the end of my indrawn breath. If I breathe from my stomach it seems fine.

Think heart attack is more of a pressure or crushing feeling.

I have done the exact same thing during a panic attack - googling 'heart attacks in women', convincing myself I was dying, and ended up going downstairs to my bemused OH and crying hysterically. He said I should ring 111 and ask for their advice and I didn't because I knew - deep down - that I was just suffering the physical effects of a bad attack and that eventually I'd be okay. If you're really worried, call them - always, ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry.

But I get it, and I get that it's all encompassing and terrifying to have your body and brain working against you. Hope you feel better soon

Ok I struggle with going to places on my own so making my way by taxi to the GP will make me feel worse.

And if you are having a heart attack you could end up worse!

My options are wait until 3:00pm, call 999 or 101 and see what they say.

Or get a taxi and get checked out. Seriously you don't use 999 because you are anxious about getting a taxi.

Yes call 111, though they gave me crap (and wrong) advice in the past; get yourself to a doc asap; but it is probably a pulled intercostal muscle. I did this myself once and was convinced I was dying of a heart attack.

You know it's likely to be a muscular thing.
It's gone from being a 'terrible sharp pain' to now being barely noticeable only if you contort your body in a certain way.
Why don't you take on a job around the house to get absorbed in. Have you a hotpress, I'm sure that needs tidying.
Just to move away from the internet/Worry/internet cycle and do an activity in the real world. That will take your mind elsewhere. Best of luck with it.

I have health anxiety and OCD. I went through a very long stage of thinking I was having heart issues. I ended up doing a lot of CBT when it got to the stage where I avoided walking and going up the stairs as much as possible because I thought it would kill me.

There were many times I didn't get medical help because I knew it was going to play into my anxiety and seeking reassurance for every minor thing was making it worse. Back then, if I called 111 for every potential heart attack symptom I would have been on the phone all the time.

No one here is going to tell you to not to call 111 though. I am not a medical professional but it does sound more muscular but a call to 111 is the safest option and with the replies you anxiety is going to be high until you speak to a medical professional.

If you want to talk privately to someone who has gone through this awful heart attack phobia feel free to PM me. Just give 111 a call, explain your symptoms and anxiety and go from there.

[ thanks]

I have extreme health anxiety and every panic attack feels like a heart attack to me so I completely get you. A doctor told me that pain that gets worse or improves when you change position wouldn’t be a heart attack. A heart attack will hurt no matter where you sit/lay etc

Sorry I meant 111. Chest pain should not be ignored.

101 is the non emergancy police
111 is who you would need to call, best to get checked over

Just to add I am obviously not qualified to tell you that and anything that seems out of the ordinary for you please call NHS x

OP just call 111 and let them decide what's best for you. I've had an ambulance sent out, they did an ECG which was normal and rang my GP to insist I was seen within 3 hours.

You had a severe pain this morning, that has now eased but is still there. It could be a muscle, it could be anything but it could also be a mild heart attack. I've had loads of tests done in the last 6 months and was told repeatedly that women don't get the same symptoms as men ie the crushing chest/jaw pain, pain down arms etc.

Better safe than sorry.