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Heart related or panic attack?

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henry24840
henry24840

Hi all,

I am a 31yo male and do regular exercise weekly. 3 months ago I was driving home from work and suddenly I had a crushing chest pain on my upper left chest which then radiate to my back. I then get a sensation that builds up to my head and I felt like I was going to faint, nausea, lightheaded, trembling, palpitation. This lasted for approx 10minutes then it would come back for another 2-3 times but no more chest pain. I went to the e.r and had cardiac blood test, X-ray of the lungs, ecg and all came back normal. This really felt like a heart attack. I went to my gp and he did further investigation with stress echo and a 24hr Holter monitor and ultrasound of the heart which was also normal. For the last few months I have been getting a lot of adrenaline sensation and palpitations. I went to see a cardiologist and manage to do a ct angiogram which came out normal as well. Recently I have been having trouble swallowing and feel like I can’t breath, and still getting panic attacks, adrenaline and palpitations. Can you get radiating chest pain from panic attacks? It has been a long road as all these symptom just started randomly and I don’t feel normal anymore. Is this anxiety or heart related? The crushing chest pain just didn’t feel right. 

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • moon53540
    moon53540 henry24840

    Posted

    Was the CT of your lungs or heart? Or both?
    • moon53540
      moon53540 henry24840

      Posted

      Could you get a CT of your lungs? It is possible you may have a pulmonary embolism.  I had similar problems with my heart racing, crushing and shooting chest pains, breathlessness and trouble taking deep breaths in I had all the checks for my heart and nothing showed up. In the end I arranged to get myself a CT with contrast for my lungs and I had multiple pulmonary emboli. Look up pulmonary embolism symptoms and see if that maybe something you could have. I was convinced I had a heart problem for ages because of the palpitations and shooting chest pain. I also had trouble swallowing.
    • henry24840
      henry24840 moon53540

      Posted

      I only had trouble swallowing about 2 weeks ago which comes and goes and feel like I can’t get air in sometimes. My doctor says my lungs is all clear but he is getting me to do a lung function test. Did you have any coughing with the pulmonary embolism? Are you still getting any symptoms?
    • moon53540
      moon53540 henry24840

      Posted

      I have been on blood thinners since March. I still find it difficult taking in deep breaths and I still get a bit of chest pain, but I am so much better than I was. I did have a bit of a dry cough and my chest felt gravely. I had a chest X-ray and they said my lungs were fine, a chest X-ray will only show up a large PE that has done a lot of damage, my PEs were small but there were a lot of them. There is a blood test called D-dimer, it gives an indication of blood clots ask for one of them. But please don’t wait until Monday go into a&e this weekend, PEs can kill you, it really is better to be safe than sorry. 

    • henry24840
      henry24840 moon53540

      Posted

      Did you have the blood test d-dimer first before getting the full ct scan? 
    • moon53540
      moon53540 henry24840

      Posted

      No but I wish they had given me one. I was in and out of the doctors and hospital and kept being told it was anxiety and musculoskeletal pain. Both of which I have had in the past and I can honestly say feel nothing like PEs. A CT scan with contrast will get a more accurate result, but I had to organise and pay for my own rather than get it on the NHS because no one knows much about PEs where I am. The reason they didn’t think I had anything wrong with my lungs is because that pulse oximeter thing they put on your finger read normal oxygen levels. It isn’t that accurate I have bought one myself since all this has happened and one minute it is 88% change finger and it is 98%! Also when they listened to my chest they couldn’t hear anything. You usually know when something isn’t right and I know doctors don’t always know best. If you think there is something wrong get everything tested because sometimes people miss important things. You may have something completely different like to do with your stomach or digestion, I don’t know, but I wish someone had told me to ask for a D-dimer before I got as ill as I did. I had the PEs for years and if I wasn’t on beta blockers I could have had a heart attack. I have had a very poor quality of life for years after being misdiagnosed with anxiety and made to feel like a time waster.
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