Chest pain.. is it just anxiety?

[Alwaysnamechangingx]

First of all i know what everyone will say.. Chest pains = a&e/111/gp.. trust me i have done all of the above.

I'll start from the beginning ive had health and general anxiety for the past few months. I'm on mirtazapine and propranolol (for physical symptoms). I have been having random chest pains every now and again for the past month or so. Sometimes I'll have 10 in 10 minutes sometimes I'll have 1 a day. Its a quick sharp shooting pain sometimes in centre chest sometimes in random places all over chest, even in armpit and boob. I have been to gp about 4 times with this all different doctors have had 2 ecgs, listened to heart, blood pressure, blood tests ect. Plus one a&e visit last week ecg, chest xray, blood tests. All have said the same thing its either anxiety or muscular. Any opinions are welcome. Im starting to believe it is just anxiety but still not 100% sure.

Just to add i haven't got the chest pains atm. Last time i had them was last night and they went away after 10 minutes. I have no other symptoms when i have the pains apart from anxiety.

I've been in the same boat and if you've been checked over, sounds like you have thoroughly, then it will just be anxiety. I struggled with chest pains for so long and they didn't stop until I accepted it was anxiety after being examined, sounds silly but they just vanished one day it was all in my head. The head is a weird and powerful thing..

I'd been short of breath for days, like I just couldn't get enough air and was starting to panic. Went to the docs convinced something was up, got checked, haven't been short of breath since.

Once you're sure it's anxiety they'll just go and in a few months you'll forget you even had them

So difficult to reason with yourself isn't it.
Weird what the mind does to your physical body. Im so convinced at the time im having a heart attack or something else serious but everytime the doctors are like nope nothing wrong with you. Surely they can't all be right can they? ;)

I was having a racing heart, palpitations and irregular rhythms or so i thought. After visiting Dr several time and eventually having an ecg whilst this was happening onto be be told the trace was normal and regular. When i could feel it wasn't. It was anxiety but it took me a while to believe it. It's mental!! Since that last ecg I've not had it again!

Panic attack symptoms can be similar to heart attack symptoms, until you can do stuff like blood tests and ECGs and so on, to do proper diagnosis.

There's more chance of all those doctors being right than a load of people on the Internet who'very never met you. :-)

It sounds like you have been pretty thoroughly checked out for heart problems. Have you considered CBT for your health anxiety? I did CBT on the NHS and found it really helpful in controlling health anxiety.

Yeah i am currently on waiting list for cbt and im wanting to do an anxiety course when i can find the time. Ive not long had a baby (7 months ago) so my mental health has taken a back seat until now.

It's good that you're going to do CBT and the anxiety course sound good too. It's so hard when you have a young baby to find time for yourself, but so important to do so.

Anxiety is an absolute bastard for causing chest pains in my experience

I had episodes of undiagnosed central chest pain for a few years and underwent every heart test/scan imagineable. I had pulmonary oedema, which is often heart related, and nobody knew why. Nothing ever showed up. It gradually got more severe and the episodes were longer, and I was getting light-headed, sweating and almost fainting. During a particularly long episode my daughter phoned an ambulance. My heart rate was 200 bpm, finally recorded on ECG. They blue lighted me to hospital where I was diagnosed with SVT ( Supraventricular Tachycardia). I must point out though, the central chest pain was a tight, crushing feeling - never a sharp pain like you describe.

Interesting to hear apostropheuse.. i hope you're okay. Whats the treatment? or is it a watch and wait sort of thing? My pulse is often raised but hardly ever over 100. Just one propranolol gets it down to about 60. The pain definetly isn't like that its just a quick sharp stab every now and again

I was having daily episodes, sometimes several times per day, so I take Verapamil 240mg slow release daily. It's a calcium channel blocker. I'm doing fine on them.

Has anyone checked for gallstones?

Agree that anxiety can cause chest pains and other heart related symptoms. It wasn't until I was checked with ECG, Echocardiogram and portable monitor that I accepted there wasn't a physical cause. But yes always be checked properly then you can relax.

If you have been thoroughly checked out which it sounds like you have then I would say it is anxiety. I went through this myself years ago and mine was anxiety, pp is right that once you allow yourself to believe it's anxiety the symptom should lift/ease up because you're not focused on or worried about it anymore because you know there is no physical cause to it.

Thanks everyone. Havent really had the chest pains since i posted this. Im still really anxious but I'll get there slowly.

Hi, google 'precordial catch syndrome' that might fit your chest pain. I'm the same I get chest pain and had lots of ECGS and nothing has come up I have anxiety too. Precordial catch syndrome is a short sharp stabbing pain that comes on and then stops randomly its not dangerous. Also, if you press on your chest and it hurts it could be muscle inflammation particularly in the sternum area.