“I'm having some severe chest pain with anxiety. Is this dangerous? What could it be?”
I suffer from anxiety, but recently I noticed it comes with severe and sharp chest pain. Is this normal? What can I do to prevent it?
22 Answers
You need medical evaluation to R/O any coronary artery problems. Do you use any drugs or alcohol? If you developed anxiety by using drugs or alcohol, the problem will not go away, you need to develop coping skills and learn how to live with it.
Rarely
If all the physical particularly heart conditions have been investigated and ruled out then this is not dangerous. However, you will have to treat your anxiety optimally.
Any severe and sharp chest pain requires an evaluation in the nearest ER. Also, consult with your primary care provider to arrange a consultation with a cardiologist for you to make absolutely sure that there is no related heart condition before fully attributing any of the pain to your anxiety. Your doctors can then help you assess the cause more effectively.
Anxiety or panic attacks are very common in people who present to urgent care centers or emergency rooms. In my experience, no actual heart problems are found in the vast majority of cases. However, if your recurrent anxiety symptoms have changed in quality or severity, especially over a short period of time, then the obvious choice is to be evaluated by your primary care provider (or cardiologist, if you have one) as soon as possible.
Jan Fawcett
Psychiatrist
You should see your family doctor as soon as possible - he can rule out anything serious with a few tests and check for muscular causes. If all this is normal, the cause is probably anxiety. There are both medical and psychological treatments for anxiety. A consultation with a psychiatrist or psychologist might well help.
I recommend having your sharp chest pain be evaluated (if you haven't had it checked out yet) by your primary care provider with at least a physical exam and EKG first to ensure that you don't have any underlying cardio-vascular problems that require immediate medical attention. Once it is determined that this is most likely due to panic attacks then the best way to prevent it is managing your stress level, seeking support from friends and family, exercising/yoga/meditation. If they persists, please seek psychiatric consultation and treatment.
It may be something serious such as a heart condition or it may be a panic attack It's best to rule out physical conditions and then treat it as a psychiiatric condition
Hi, this is a very common concern. Chest pain, tightness, shortness of breath can occur with anxiety attacks. These symptoms can also be associated with serious physical issues as well. I'd recommend that if this happens again that you seek medical attention to rule out any physical problem. Don't automatically assume that it's a panic attack although if you are prone to panic this may very well be what's going on but not necessarily. Are you having any numbness/tingling with the chest pain? Any other symptoms like heartburn, reflux? Does it happen around or after meal time? Do you have a history of heart trouble, high blood pressure, or other medical issues? All of these things need to be taken into consideration when trying to determine if chest pain is due solely to a panic attack. I hope this helps but if you have other questions please let me know. Sincerely, Tanya
It is important to obtain a medical evaluation for chest pain, despite the association with anxiety. If a medical doctor obtains a thorough history, physical, and additional studies to rule out a heart condition, it may be more likely that the pain is a symptom of anxiety. Some people suffer from panic attacks which are sudden episodes of intense anxiety that occur without warning and are accompanied by physical symptoms ranging from sweating and shaking to shortness of breath, nausea, lightheadedness, and even chest pain. This condition can be treated with psychotherapy, psychiatric medication, or both. Psychiatrists are especially suited to treat this condition and to screen for conditions that often occur along with panic attacks.
When a person has severe anxiety, they can start experiencing physical symptoms as well. There are treatments available that you can discuss with a psychiatrist.
What you have described could be a panic attack but some of the cardiac events also occur in an atypical fashion so please contact your PCP for a baseline lab work including EKG / cardiac markers. If things are normal then you may choose to follow up with a psychiatrist or therapist.
Anxiety can preset with chest pain but you should not ignore any chest pain and see your primary Doctor (or ER) immediately to rule out a cardiac condition.
Greetings! Chest pain can occur with panic or anxiety attacks. I cannot say it is "normal" to have chest pain because each individual is different. Please seek consultation with your primary care doctor to rule out cardiac disease as the source of the chest pain.
Also, if you are not in treatment for the anxiety disorder, then seek psychiatric treatment.
Also, if you are not in treatment for the anxiety disorder, then seek psychiatric treatment.
Before I can make any diagnosis and comment on your condition I would need some more information. I would like to know if your chest pain is related to a stressful situation, How often do you get the chest pain and for how long does it last.If there are any associated symptoms like increased heart rate,feelings of being smothered and difficulty breathing, tingling in fingers or other parts of the body, feeling dizzy and excessive sweating accompanying the chest pain. The chest pain can be cardiac or non cardiac in nature and need EKG depending on the age and other risk factors like hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol , cardiovascular disorders or history of these disorders in the family. If age is more than 40 yrs with chest pain and no risk factors, then EKG is needed to rule out cardiac cause of chest pain . And age is less than 40 with chest pain plus any of the risk factors mentioned above would need EKG to r/o the cardiac chest pain before declaring it non cardiac and not life threatening in nature. Cardiac chest pain is indicative of heart attack and could be life threatening in nature. Non cardiac chest pain is mostly related to anxiety and could be uncomfortable but not life threatening in nature. I feel that you are having panic attacks but need above mentioned information before labeling your condition. After determining the cause of chest pain to be non cardiac , it can be treated with appropriate anxiolytics and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Though chest discomfort can be a symptom of anxiety, it may be a symptom of a medical issue especially if newly onset. Before saying it is due to anxiety, a medical workup with labs and an EKG would be prudent.
Yes, this may go along with anxiety and panic attacks..However, if not you should have a physical examination and ekg and make sure nothing going on with the heart and make sure it isn't reflux ,,and once all of that is ruled out, then go ahead and pursue more treatments and medications for panic disorder..hope this helps, sincerely, A. Holland, MD
Have the symptom complex examined by your LMD or cardiologist. Anxiety alone is unlikely to precipitate sharp chest pain, although it can accompany, precede or follow cardiopulmonary disease.
It's always safest to have your primary care doctor be certain you don't have cardiac related pain before assuming it is anxiety.
The likelihood is that the pain is do to hyperventilation. Blowing off carbon dioxide actually reduces the intake of oxygen. It can even induce angina.
More likely is that you are swallowing air and these sharp pains are gas pains. Of course it would be wise to check with the internist to rule out any cardiac concerns.
I recommend treatment with SSRI medication and possible cognitive behavioral treatment along with a meditative practice to.have a tool to calm yourself.
More likely is that you are swallowing air and these sharp pains are gas pains. Of course it would be wise to check with the internist to rule out any cardiac concerns.
I recommend treatment with SSRI medication and possible cognitive behavioral treatment along with a meditative practice to.have a tool to calm yourself.
Your chest pain may be a symptom of a panic attack or it could also be angina or other cardiac symptoms Often cardiac symptoms are accompanied by pain down the left shoulder and arm, but because cardiac symptoms are potentially the most life threatening, a medical evaluation would be the safest step to take.
Olga Tchikindas
PRINCETON, NJ
Chest pain could be a sign of a serious problem and that should never be ignored. Since the anxiety is the diagnoses of exclusion, ECG should be done to exclude heart disease. Primary care physician besides ECG will also rule out or rule in lung and esophageal illness.
