Chest pains-just stress?

I've been having these chest pains and short-ness of breathe since last thursday-a very stressful day-and they still havent gone away-despite subsequent not so stressful days. Is it just an effect of stress? if so, how much longer does it last?

Reply 1

dh00001

16

could be, could be something else such as panic attacks / anxiety. should really go and see a gp :smile:

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

but im not having panic attacks? and am not really an anxious person..
yes i read a site that said u should go see a GP if it persists for 3-5 days, but it appears my GP is on holiday at the moment...

Reply 3

Jonquil

10

i would definitely suggest you go to the gp, otherwise an out of hours centre somewhere. although it could be just something to do with stress, it could also be something more serious. im sorry if im worrying you, but you never know. chest pains is also quite a broad term...is your chest tight, or do you get a sharp pain?

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

OP

Jonquil

i would definitely suggest you go to the gp, otherwise an out of hours centre somewhere. although it could be just something to do with stress, it could also be something more serious. im sorry if im worrying you, but you never know. chest pains is also quite a broad term...is your chest tight, or do you get a sharp pain?

its just become a dull constant pain in the area where my heart is.
I think at my age i shouldnt really be worried about heart problems..im not overweight or a smoker or alcoholic..
i was just wondering whether other people had experienced similar problems during exams and thus whether its not so rare..

Reply 5

Brownie_89

I some times get a tight pain in my chest but I think it is due to asthma.

Reply 6

Vampyrcorn

14

Maybe someone made a voodoo doll of you and is sticking pins in it. :frown:

Reply 7

lucho22

13

I'm currently wearing a cardiac 24 hour holter monitor and since december I've been suffering from on and off episodes of tachycardia and high blood pressure mixed in with a plethora of other symptoms. They discounted it as stress.. - but the symptoms continued and I've had an MRI scan of my brain, Doppler Echocardiography, several ECG's, a 7 day even recorder, and 3 UrCat tests (testing for Pheochromocytoma). All of these tests have come back negative or inconclusive. I'm currently seeing a specialist in arrythmias and he has made the preliminary diagnosis of Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia, a dysautonomia of the autonomic nervous system.
I'd suggest getting it checked out.. it'll at least set your mind at rest..

Reply 8

Anonymous #1

OP

lucho22

I'm currently wearing a cardiac 24 hour holter monitor and since december I've been suffering from on and off episodes of tachycardia and high blood pressure mixed in with a plethora of other symptoms. They discounted it as stress.. - but the symptoms continued and I've had an MRI scan of my brain, Doppler Echocardiography, several ECG's, a 7 day even recorder, and 3 UrCat tests (testing for Pheochromocytoma). All of these tests have come back negative or inconclusive. I'm currently seeing a specialist in arrythmias and he has made the preliminary diagnosis of Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia, a dysautonomia of the autonomic nervous system.
I'd suggest getting it checked out.. it'll at least set your mind at rest..

tomorrow it is then..

Reply 9

Becca-Sarah

19

I get chest pains, they're fairly constant at the mo due it being exam season, but even once my exams are over, I'll have them for another few days/ up to a week or so. It's stress-related, at least it is for me. I do have panic attacks, not regularly, maybe once or twice a month? But they're not definately linked, even though the chest pain is often one of the first indicators that I'm going to have an attack.

Do get it checked out, though. Ignore the NHS direct site for this, it told me I was having a heart attack, because the pain spreads in a similar pattern. It may be nothing, but if it isn't then its better to find out sooner rather than later.

Reply 10

Anonymous #1

OP

Becca-Sarah

I get chest pains, they're fairly constant at the mo due it being exam season, but even once my exams are over, I'll have them for another few days/ up to a week or so. It's stress-related, at least it is for me. I do have panic attacks, not regularly, maybe once or twice a month? But they're not definitely linked, even though the chest pain is often one of the first indicators that I'm going to have an attack.

Do get it checked out, though. Ignore the NHS direct site for this, it told me I was having a heart attack, because the pain spreads in a similar pattern. It may be nothing, but if it isn't then its better to find out sooner rather than later.

does your doctor give you something for them? or do you just have to let it pass? yeah I read some sites but realise its unlikely to be serious heart problems.

Reply 11

lucho22

13

Anonymous

tomorrow it is then..

Haha.. Well tomorrow I hand it in, Wednesday I pick up the electrophysiologist's report and hand it in to the Cardiologist. Then call him on the Friday - find out what his analysis is of the report is and see from there. At least I'm getting somewhere though. I have mangaged to discount adrenal cancer, brain tumours, severe heart defects, multiple sclerosis...(all things which I could have had according to my symptoms) - so hopefully things can only get better from here on in! LOL

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

OP

lucho22

Haha.. Well tomorrow I hand it in, Wednesday I pick up the electrophysiologist's report and hand it in to the Cardiologist. Then call him on the Friday - find out what his analysis is of the report is and see from there. At least I'm getting somewhere though. I have mangaged to discount adrenal cancer, brain tumours, severe heart defects, multiple sclerosis...(all things which I could have had according to my symptoms) - so hopefully things can only get better from here on in! LOL

lol good thing your alevels are done..i dont really want to deal with something like that right now. how is your english so good? are u receiving treatment in argentina? because if so, be glad u dont have to deal with the NHS..my doctors standard response to anything is giving me paracetamol.

Reply 13

swirled_peacat

2

If things get really bad then I'd try ringing NHS direct as they can often give some useful information, I was having very bad panic attacks at 3am on Sunday morning and they were really helpful, espically if you are unable to see your GP straight away.

Reply 14

lucho22

13

Yeh I'm really glad I got my A-levels out of the way and that the symptoms didn't start during my first year at uni - that would have really been catastrophic - really hope it works out for you. My English is so good because I've lived in London all my life. I'm Argentinian by blood on my mother's side - and have argentine nationality as a result - just spending my gap year out here.

I'm being treated by some excellent doctors out here - internationaly recognised experts in Endocrinology and Cardiology (my cardiologist is a professor, the director of cardiology at the best hospital in buenos aires, and the ex president of the argentine cardiological society, and is one of the chief testers and developers of anti-arrythmetic drugs for Bristol-Meyers pharmaceutical company). This level of treatment would be extremely hard to get a hold of in britain - and even though I have BUPA (which in all fairness is extremely efficient - i got appointments within a couple of days of ringing the respective doctors), the doctors don't seem to take half as much interest as they do here - my cardio was a complete twit who's really mucked me about (The Harley Street types are very driven by money, whereas in Argentina medicine is truly a vocation - and the way they treat you is far more frank and uninfluenced by the temptation to order a million useless tests to make easy money).

I know what you mean about the NHS - especially GP's - they're extremely dismissive and tell you to calm down and "do lots of exercise - you're just unfit" - this may be true - but unfit people don't have 160 bpm pulse after light exercise like i've been getting!!! You really have to be at death's door for them to take any notice of you. I've found A&E to be very good though - I went in on Christmas eve with these symptoms and was seen almost immediately - they ordered blood tests and I was looked over by 2 separate doctors.

Reply 15

Becca-Sarah

19

Anonymous

does your doctor give you something for them?

You are kidding right?! Yeah she gave me something, a information sheet on stress that she printed off the same website that I'd used earlier to look up my symptoms! I got the patronising talk, the offer of an X-Ray to rule out any lung issues but some threats about radiation damage :confused:

, and then shuffled out the door again. Admittedly, I did get FBC's, thyroid bloods, and a standard ECG, but that was only when I went with my mum. It seems that because at the time I was too young to be paying tax, I don't get the same treatment.

or do you just have to let it pass? yeah I read some sites but realise its unlikely to be serious heart problems.

The internet is simultaneously the best and the worst thing ever invented in this situation. The symptoms you have always match up with life-threatening conditions :rolleyes:

. I knew the serious problems were unrealistic, but it is reassuring to have someone who (supposedly) knows what they're talking about to tell you that you're okay.

The chest pains do pass, but if they've been really bad, like if I've had an exam or something, it can take ages, and it does come with breathlessness and, really occasionally, that slightly flu-y feeling of being hot and cold. The pains start mid-chest, where my heart is, and then spread to the left side of my chest, up towards my shoulder and jaw, and then the whole chest feels really tight (which I guess contributes towards the breathlessness). Get palpitations and ectopic heart beats sometimes as well, which are scarier but reasonably harmless.

The weirdest bit is when it starts at school, or when I'm out, and your friends are all asking if your ok cos your breathing funny and look in pain, and you just smile and tell them your fine. :smile:

Reply 16

Laursy

10

i keep getting chest pains every day sometimes its just aching, i had meningitus in febuary so i think that might have something to do with it as i was pretty ill and had chest pains for about a month before but none really took must interest just said i was stressed, well i was when i got carted off in an ambulance with no trousers on lol!! embarssing

Reply 17

Becca-Sarah

19

Just had a little look at IST on the web (gotta love google). Lucho, whats your current treatment plan? Sorry to be nosy, I'm hoping to become a doctor one day and I'm fascinated by this. It seems like IST is still a pretty unknown thing, lots of trial-and-error treatments and stuff. And your a guy. That's slightly odd, considering what I read said that it mainly affects young women, but there's got to be some exceptions somewhere. Has sinus node ablation been mentioned? (Cauterising the sinus node). Not proven to work yet, but it could be worth considering (please don't take this as medical advice, I'm just a normal A level student with google). But I suppose the main thing is that IST isn't a cause of death, it's just a condition that can be uncomfortable and distract from your life.

Reply 18

lucho22

13

Becca-Sarah

Just had a little look at IST on the web (gotta love google). Lucho, whats your current treatment plan? Sorry to be nosy, I'm hoping to become a doctor one day and I'm fascinated by this. It seems like IST is still a pretty unknown thing, lots of trial-and-error treatments and stuff. And your a guy. That's slightly odd, considering what I read said that it mainly affects young women, but there's got to be some exceptions somewhere. Has sinus node ablation been mentioned? (Cauterising the sinus node). Not proven to work yet, but it could be worth considering (please don't take this as medical advice, I'm just a normal A level student with google). But I suppose the main thing is that IST isn't a cause of death, it's just a condition that can be uncomfortable and distract from your life.

Hey Becca (or is it Sarah? lol). My cardiologist walked me through it - he personally developed along with Bristol Meyer a beta blocker which is extremely effective in treating this condition - Nadolol. He said Sinus node ablation is not worth the money or the risk as in 85% of cases it is completely unsuccessful, and in most of the other cases it works for a few months and then the tachycardia returns. Indeed it's more common in women, but 20% of cases are in men - so that has to be a certain number even though it's less likely. This was only a preliminary diagnosis based on medical history and current symptoms - he has got me to put on this holter monitor to rule out other arrythmias which can be treated far more successfully with catheter ablation and other treatments. He also wants to see the Doppler Echocardiogram for himself to rule out defects.
Thanks for the interest, but I think I'm on the right path seeing someone who specialises in this sort of cardiac condition.

Reply 19

luap

1

dh00001

could be, could be something else such as panic attacks / anxiety. should really go and see a gp :smile:

I had the pains in my chest due to stress and they lead to anxiety, oh man thought i was having a heart attack, the pains in your chest can go on for sometime its really not good for your health get down the jim, do some running it really helps get rid of it.

Chest pains-just stress?

Related discussions

Articles for you