Chest pains, at A&E, handhold please

[WilsonMilson]

Posted about a week ago regarding heart palpitations. Been having them almost a month, daily and really hundreds of missed beats, thuds, weird rhythms etc every day. Tachycardia at times too. I’m mid forties.

Had an ECG and bloods done at GP, on Monday the results of those were ‘normal’. Typically at the time of ECG, my heart was behaving itself, but I don’t really know if that’s meaningful or not. Due to get a 24 hour holter monitor fitted in 2 weeks time.

Anyway, the last 2 days I’ve been having left arm pain, upper left chest pain and pain around my heart area. Phoned GP this morning and he has sent me straight to A&E where I’m now sitting. I’ve had a blood test and ECG here and now waiting to see a doctor, don’t have any more info at present.

Shitting myself. Keep worrying about my DS and DH, if anything happened to me I don’t think they would cope and I feel like I’m more worried about that than anything else, which is perhaps strange, but I need to be there for them and not dropping dead!

Just posting for a handhold really.

Sorry to hear this. Do you think perhaps this a manifestation of anxiety, and the more anxious you get the worse the symptoms are?

I used to have terrible anxiety and it presented like this, I was convinced I was about to pop off this mortal coil.

Handhold

Hoping you get some reassurance and answers soon @WilsonMilson

@idontlikealdi I wouldn’t rule out anxiety, as I’m certainly anxious, but I feel like I’m anxious because of the pain rather than I’m in pain because I’m anxious. It feels very physical.

I’ve always been an anxious person, especially reading my health, but it’s never manifested in chest pains or heart issues before. In fact, the only other time I’ve been to A&E with a health concern of my own was when I fell down the stairs a couple of years ago. I really hope it is anxiety.

@Isadora2007 thank you so much. X

Hope it's ok - deep breaths!

Anxiety can be very painful. Hopefully they will be able to reassure you at the hospital.

Thanks, I so hope that it is anxiety, it’s hard to believe that I could be feeling like this from anxiety alone, but who bloody knows.

Have now had blood tests, and ECG and a routine covid test, and am back in waiting room waiting to see a doctor. Taking their lack of urgency as a reassuring sign that they don’t believe I’m about to depart the realm of the living.

I have had several visits to A/E with chest pain and I agree that it's bloody frightening.
If your troponin and ECGs are ok they'll probably refer you back to your GP for further investigations.
They kept me on an admissions ward the first time so they could do serial troponins (2 tests 12 hours apart) then discharged me at 9pm. There are lots of other reasons for chest pain that aren't cardiac related aswell - gastric/lungs etc
I was fobbed off with anxiety initially. Yes I was anxious but only because of the symptoms. If you are a middle aged female it tends to be a regular thing
Just try to tell yourself you are in the best place, not easy I know !

Handhold here op. Exactly the same happened to me last week. I was in A&E for about 6 hours, had 2 blood tests and a chest X-ray. Was told it all looked fine. Now, to me, all this means is that I wasn’t having a heart attack last Thursday but no investigation about what it could be. Since then, I’ve had a gp phone appointment and he’s saying probably oesophagitis and has put me on Lansoprasole for a month. I’m still not sure and still have some episodes of chest and arm pain, but obviously have to see how I go. At least I did get my ridiculously high BP spotted and am now on meds for that.
I do hope you get some reassurance. As you said, if they’re just leaving you in the waiting area they are probably not too concerned it’s serious, but I know that doesn’t feel good. I think it’s such a viscous circle getting chest pain/weird heart rhythms, it really triggers my anxiety and that makes the pain worse so maybe it’s the same for you. Anyway, sending an un-Mumsnetty hug and all good wishes 💐 x

If the blood tests and ECG come back normal you might want to ask about POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). I'm not medically trained at all but understand that it can be confused with anxiety. I think the changes in the heart rate happen on sitting or standing. Hope you feel better soon

How are you @WilsonMilson?

I had something very similar a in January. I had been feeling breathlessness and chest pains. I went to a@e and although my ecg was abnormal, they said it was probably anxiety and I am awaiting an echo heart scan. It's really scary and I was convinced I was dying and worried about DH and dc living without me. I'm 33

I’m still here! In a bed in a room in a&e, waiting to speak to cardiology. I’ve been here 8 hours now and I’ve had one cup of tea and that’s it. Now also have a raging headache to add to my woes.

My phone ran out, so DH has dropped off a charger which means at least I can post this.

I’ve had bloods which were ok, 2 x ecg which were ok, just fast pulse but that’s because I’m shitting myself.
My BP is up a bit and my pulse about 105 - again because I’m shitting myself. Gave me nitroglycerin to see if it eased chest pains, but I wasn’t having any at the time they gave it to me, so it’s difficult to say if it had any effect. Have also had a chest X-ray and just waiting to see what they want to do with me.

My anxiety is now through the roof and wearing a mask isn’t helping with attempts of deep breathing.

Will keep you all posted. Thanks for the good wishes.

Hope you feel better soon OP. Like a PP suggest looking at POTS (postural tachycardia syndrome) - can give chest pain and racing heart rate x

Thanks, it’s been more the ectopic beats that have been bothering me than tachycardia - although today pulse high all day given the circumstances.
Will look up POTS and see if it might fit though. Beginning to wonder if they’ve forgotten about me as last thing I had was X-ray about 3pm and obs at 4pm.
Don’t want to harass anyone, but would like to get home or at least know what’s happening at some point. I’ve not eaten since 8am!

My gosh this sounds like me! I’ve had these symptoms for over a year my heart rates above 110 often and I get pains in my chest/arms/sometimes jaw. I put it down to anxiety and have just been dealing with it as that. Even though it panics me I have a long list of depression and anxiety so I wrote it off as that.

Wishing you all the best of luck 🤞 it is anxiety but very glad you did something about it and got checked over- even for peace of mind alone!
Thank you for letting us know how you are getting on and I look forward to a positive update :)

Sending a handhold and hoping you are okay and will be seen to quickly. X

Still waiting for a cardiologist to turn up. Found a nurse and apparently cardiology did come down, but couldn’t find me as were looking in the wrong place, so they went away again. Nurse has said they are coming back. Seems a bit shambolic.

I read your previous thread too 💐

It is bloody scary & that doesn't help!

Try to focus on the fact that you suffer from anxiety and it can manifest itself in this way snd the pain is real!! It's real but it doesn't mean it's a heart problem.

How old is your DS?

Did you tell the nurse you haven't eaten all day? That won't be helping either.

Hope the team comes to see you soon!!

DS is 15, so he’s ok with DH at home. Apparently they’ve had Dominos - at least someone’s eaten!
DH wants to come back up, he dropped off a charger for me, but he won’t be allowed in due to covid,

Might try and catch another nurse and see if I can get another cup of tea or something . Really wishing I’d taken the toast they offered at 5pm.

Oh hope the team come and find you soon!

I empathise as have daily ectopics and they are anxiety inducing 😔

Have they done a chest X-ray?

Sounds so similar to me, I was stuck from morning until 9:15pm after seeing the cardiologist. As soon as cardiologist told
Me I was okay and it was probably
Anxiety I felt fine, literally skipped out of a&e, but after a couple of days it returned. Anxiety really is awful

I get all of this. I have a bout of it all at least once every year or two, it lasts for a few months then disappears. Constant skipped beats, to the point where it’s every other beat. The GP didn’t catch any on their ECG so a brought a Kardia device (best thing I have ever brought) and caught them on there to show my GP and cardiologist. They weren’t at all worried, even though they were constant.
I was getting chest pains and tightness, pins and needles in my arms, shortness of breath, feeling of doom, racing heart (especially when I woke up). It was all feeding off each other, turns out just to be anxiety. Never anything serious. I’m sure you’ll be totally fine.
I had a tumour removed from my bladder two years ago. And not one part of that experience was more real or scary than the general anxiety and it’s symptoms I have had in the past, it’s a horror physically and mentally.

I’ve landed up in A&E with it on two Occassions prior to getting the Kardia, you aren’t on your own :)

Cardiac patient here...

Whilst we’re all different, neither my heart attack, angina or unstable angina were what I would call painful. I’ve had way worse periods. More a feeling of heaviness, you need to sit upright or even lean forward and you just feel bloody ill. Vomiting or diarrhoea (I always favour the latter!) and it is generally quite a diffuse-all-chest-area-central burny feeling.

The troop in doesn’t lie, and even if it isn’t a nice honest STEMI like mine (an artery completely blocked and shows as a big old bulge on the ecg where there shouldn’t be one) even angina can show on an ecg, as the bit of the heart that isn’t getting enough oxygen doesn’t conduct the electrical signals across the heart quite the same.

There is other stuff such as SVT/AF but again, they show on an ecg. And troponin leaks from damaged heart tissue.

Whilst it might be anxiety, that doesn’t make it easy for you. Hospitals are no fun, unwell or otherwise and it’s knackering just sitting in the carnage. Hope you’re home soon x