Know The Difference: Anxiety Symptoms Vs Heart Conditions
As mentioned above, anxiety-related chest pain is frequently mistaken for a heart attack or other heart condition. But there are key differences between the two. For example, anxiety-related chest pain usually occurs while you’re not engaged in any physical activity. You may experience anxiety chest pain while working out, for example, but it usually occurs while you’re sitting down or lying in bed.
In contrast, those with a heart condition have chest pain while physically exerting themselves. For example, the symptoms may flare up while you’re running, jogging, or lifting something heavy. Chest pain isn’t the only indicator of something more immediately threatening, like a heart attack. Sometimes, patients have heart attacks without feeling any chest pain ³. Instead, the key indicators of a heart attack include:
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Tightness or shooting pain in your jaw, left arm, or other parts of your body
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Squeezing or heavy pressure in your chest
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Nausea that occurs with chest pain
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Shortness of breath and a rapid heart rate
If you are unsure whether you’re experiencing anxiety or a heart attack, seek treatment immediately. It’s much better to leave the ER with peace of mind than to let a heart attack go untreated. You should be especially careful if you’re at an increased risk of having a heart attack due to your age, family history, or lifestyle.
Impact Of Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks, or panic attacks, are episodes of intense fear and emotional distress. They usually strike suddenly and without warning. And they may last several minutes or up to an hour.
These attacks may have a discrete trigger. Sometimes, though, they occur without a known cause.
Anxiety attacks are often recurrent. They’re distressing to experience and concerning for friends and family who witness them.
When you’ve had panic attacks, it’s common to worry about having more. Attempts to avoid them can lead to extreme lifestyle changes.
You may find yourself avoiding situations or environments that have triggered previous episodes. You may also get in the habit of checking for escape routes you can take should anxiety strike.
Avoidance strategies can become extensive. At the extreme end is people who become housebound or otherwise withdraw from the world. This is called agoraphobia.
Anxiety attacks aren’t just intense fright, though. They can cause physical symptoms including:
- Abdominal cramping
Anxiety Chest Pain Treatment
You may treat anxiety chest pain with pharmacological or psychotherapeutic therapies. Depending on the severity of your anxiety, your doctor may recommend a combination of many treatments. A psychologist may be able to help you discover behavioral and lifestyle changes you can make to reduce anxiety. A psychiatrist might write you a prescription for anxiety medication.
Selective serotonin receptor inhibitors and benzodiazepines are two classes of drugs used to treat panic attacks and anxiety. These drugs are highly effective and are used to provide relief for those who suffer frequent panic attacks. While online doctors may prescribe antidepressants to treat anxiety, benzodiazepines are controlled substances and cannot be prescribed online.
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Can Anxiety Cause Chest Pain
Yes. Many people who experience anxiety also experience chest pain, especially during anxiety or panic attacks.
Though it can be frightening and painful, anxiety sufferers can take some comfort in knowing that theres a reason for this uncomfortable symptom: Its your brain and body trying to protect you from a real or perceived stressor.
How To Manage Anxiety
Anxiety might not be comfortable, but it is a common and sometimes useful response.
While its impossible to avoid anxiety completely , you can become more aware of how its affecting you in order to manage it when its overwhelming.
You might already have methods for relieving anxiety-induced chest pain in the moment. If youre looking for more ideas, you can try:
- engaging in slow, deep breathing by counting to 10
- taking a 5-minute break from anything thats currently causing anxiety, if possible
- getting up to walk around, stretch, or raise your arms above your head to give yourself more room to breathe
Therapy and medication can also be effective for managing anxiety disorders.
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Take Stock Of The Situation
Accept your feelings of anxiety, recognize them, and then work through putting them in perspective.
Are you worried about something you cant control? Are you fearful of an outcome thats unlikely? Are you dreading a situation you cant control the outcome of? Talk your way through your feelings to find the source, and then work to put them into perspective.
Utilization Of Medical Services And Functional Morbidity In Panic Disorder
Patients with PD can have extreme anxiety and frequent somatic symptoms as a result of recurrent panic attacks. These patients frequently visit primary care offices and emergency departments with symptoms of their undiagnosed and untreated PD and have difficulties maintaining employment or relationships given the disabling nature of their symptoms.7582 Low rates of physician recognition and treatment of PD can perpetuate high medical service utilization and result in continued functional disability. At least 35% of patients with PD view their physical and emotional health as fair or poor11 this fact is remarkable given that these patients are frequently young and otherwise healthy.
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When To See A Doctor For Anxiety And Chest Pain
You should seek immediate emergency help if you believe youâre experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. Unlike anxiety chest pain, a heart attack is marked by constant pain in the chest radiating outwards that often begins as a result of physical exertion. For more details, see the above chart about the difference between anxiety and heart attack chest pain.
Feeling anxious is a normal part of everyday life and empowers us to be more alert and attentive during important moments. However, if anxiety inhibits your ability to live happily or complete routine and ordinary tasks, itâs time to seek help.
Thereâs no shame in wanting to improve your mental health, and more than 40 million American adults are also dealing with anxiety disorders. You can get anxiety treatment online by booking an appointment with a top doctor here.
How Do I Relax My Chest Muscles
5 Stretches to Loosen Tight Chest Muscles Floor Chest Roll. Lie on the floor with a large foam roller under your shoulder blades, perpendicular to your body. Doorway Roll. Stand facing a wall to the right of a doorway. Doorway Stretch. Stand in a doorway and extend right arm down and at a 45-degree angle from your legs. Ball Stretch. Corner Stretch.
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How To Tell The Difference Between Anxiety Chest Pain And Cardiac Chest Pain
There’s no guaranteed method of knowing whether or not chest pain is caused by anxiety or by a heart problem. But generally the two differ in their overall experience:
Anxiety Chest Pain
- Is usually more localized to a specific area.
- Closer to the middle of the chest, although not necessarily.
Cardiac Chest Pain
- Tends to radiate all around the shoulder and possibly the jaw.
- Tends to be a duller pain, like the heart is being crushed.
- Lasts longer than 10 minutes or more.
There are a lot of similarities between the two. Both may have lightheadedness or dizziness and feel like the heart is being squeezed. Both can make it harder to breathe . It’s not easy to tell the difference, but the differences are there. Furthermore, once you identify what anxiety chest pain feels like for you, in the moment, you may feel more reassured about what your symptoms are indicating .
Anxiety And Therefore The Development Of Cardiovascular Disease Chest Pain All Day Anxiety
Its my read and my clinical expertise that anxiety disorders will play a significant role in cardiovascular disease, says McCann.
I believe that an extremely careful scrutinize anxiety would reveal the ways that
it will severely impact cardiovascular disease, each as a contributive issue Associate in Nursingd as an obstacle in recovery.
A rapid coronary failure reaction is similar to PTSD: Chest pain all day anxiety
- Your near-death experience may leave you shocked and unwilling to do activities you used to do.
- You may repeatedly replay the life-threatening experience and shun the activity or location.
- anxiety may keep you awake at night.
- Your view on the future may be pretty pessimistic, causing a shorter outlook
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How You Can Tell If You Are Suffering From Anxiety
The easiest way to determine if you are suffering from anxiety-induced chest tightness is by ruling out any cardiac or lung-related disease. Only a physician can rule these out completely.
A few signs can be helpful in determining if your chest tightness is cardiac-related. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. So, when in doubt, please visit your primary care physician. Generally, the following is more likely to be true of anxiety-related chest tightness and/or pressure:
- It is less likely to radiate towards the back, arms, or shoulders.
- It is more likely to occur with other anxiety symptoms.
- It tends to last for less than 10 minutes.
Again, having chest pain that abides by these suggestions does not rule out any cardiac or pulmonary causes. Also, women, diabetics, and the elderly often present with chest pain that is atypical of traditional cardiac chest tightness. So, if you belong to one of these groups and have new-onset chest pressure and/or tightness, it is best to see a physician first.
Anxiety attacks have a peak time, and that tends to be when the chest pressure is at its worst. Cardiac chest pressure, on the other hand, is more likely to last longer than 15 minutes, radiate, not be relieved with the resolution of anxiety, and be associated with shortness of breath etc.
Chest Pain Anxiety Symptoms
Chest pain, such as shooting pain, stabbing pains, persistent pain, chest pressures, fullness, and tension are common anxiety disorder symptoms.
Chest pain symptoms are especially common for higher degree anxieties, such as with anxiety and panic attacks, and chronic and high intensity social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This article explains what the anxiety chest pain symptoms can feel like, why anxiety can cause chest pains, whats required to stop persistent anxiety chest pain, and short-term remedies you can use right away to stop this common anxiety symptom.
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Understanding Anxiety Chest Pain: Is It Normal
For those who have experienced it, chest pain can be, well, anxiety-inducing.
Is it a heart attack? Do you need to call emergency services?? Should you wake up your sleeping partner? Do you just generally panic?
The truth is, according to the Cleveland Clinic, there are many possible causes of chest pain, from scary ones like coronary artery disease to less scary ones like a sprained chest muscle.
In fact, chest pain is reported by the Official Journal of the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry to be experienced by 12 percent to 16 percent of people, with the chances for it continually increasing after age thirty. However, were here to talk about just one cause anxiety.
Lets talk about how anxiety can cause chest pain, what it feels like and what you can do to stop it in its tracks.
What Does Chest Pain From Anxiety Feel Like
When it comes to the symptoms of anxiety, everyone has a different experience, and anxiety chest pain is the same. However, there are some common patterns to how it feels and how long it lasts.
Chest pain from anxiety can include:
- A sharp or stabbing pain that stays in the chest area
- Twitching in the chest
For some people, the anxiety can intensify into a panic attack, causing tight chest pain along with emotional distress.
Anxiety chest pain usually comes on quickly and goes away quickly, Dr Saloojee says. You will typically start to feel better after around 10 minutes. For a while afterwards, some people might feel some soreness or an ache in their chest because of the muscle contractions.
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Anxiety And Anxiety Disorders: What Are The Signs And Symptoms
Anxiety can manifest in a wide variety of different ways, and the symptoms of anxiety may vary from person to person.
Some common signs and symptoms associated with anxiety can include:
- Nervousness, restlessness, or feelings of tension
- Having an overwhelming sense of impending doom or danger
- Having overwhelming feelings of panic
- Increased heart rate or heart palpitations
- Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
- Having difficulty controlling your worries and feeling like you are trapped
- Having the overwhelming urge to avoid anything that triggers anxiety for you
Some Possible Reasons Behind Chest Pain Due To Anxiety Are:
- Tachycardia in patients with panic disorders, tachycardia is seen. Tachycardia results in increased oxygen demands and less blood supply.
- Coronary Artery Disease a certain amount of co-relation was found to exist between panic disorder and coronary artery disease.
Researchers have raised a possibility that sudden attacks of anxiety can result in development of coronary artery disease through its relationship with cardiac risk factors. Asymptomatic Mitral Valve Prolapse in seen in nearly 10-20% patients having chest pain due to anxiety.
It has been observed in a large group of patients having chest pain due to anxiety that they are convinced that they have some major disease. Patients with anxiety disorders having chest pain are reportedly more distressed than patients who actually have a cardiac illness.
The complaint of chest pain compels patients to seek treatment for their anxiety. This is the reason why nearly 9% of patients having anxiety disorders seek cardiologists help for chest pain. Conversely, panic disorder can be noticed in patients having both cardiac and non-cardiac type of chest pain.
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What Causes Chest Tightness
There is no exact explanation of what causes chest tightness in anxiety sufferers. Nevertheless, it is advised to seek a primary care provider immediately for any sudden or worsening chest pain in order to rule out possible cardiac disease.
Do not by any means feel as if you are bothering anyone when you seek help for chest pain. Once serious health conditions are ruled out, you can begin to tackle your anxiety-induced chest pain.
Rest assured that anxiety can commonly cause chest tightness and chest pain for a variety of reasons. These include:
Chest tightness most often occurs right before or during an anxiety attack. It may also present spontaneously with no anxiety at all in what is known as a limited-symptom panic attack.
Rest assured that chest discomfort caused by anxiety is usually harmless.
Anxiety Chest Pain: Signs Symptoms & How To Treat
If youre one of the 40 million Americans who live with an anxiety disorder, chances are youve experienced not just mental and emotional symptoms, but physical symptomsespecially if you have experienced a panic or anxiety attack. The physical symptoms of anxiety can be painful, annoying, and sometimes even scary.
One symptom that can be particularly worrisome is pain in and around the chesta feeling some anxiety sufferers experience regularly, often during anxiety or panic attacks.
Because the chest is home to important organs like the lungs and heart, its understandable that feelings of discomfort in this area may frighten you. Unfortunately, this can lead to even more anxiety.
We created this guide to instead help calm your nerves.
In this article, youll learn why anxiety chest pain happens, what it feels like, how long it lasts, how to make it stop, and more.
Youll also learn the difference between anxiety-related chest pain and heart attack-related chest pain, and when you should seek help from a medical professional.
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Anxiety And Heart Attack Recovery
Anxiety disorders come with a high degree of fear and uncertainty. When this fear and certainty keeps the heart attack or heart disease patient from following the advice and treatment plan of their cardiologist, it can have a major impact on recovery. Anxiety can interfere with:
- Sticking to prescribed exercise regimens
- Taking prescribed medications
- Following through with a healthy diet
- Getting a proper amount of quality sleep
- Reconnecting with friends and family
- Confidently resuming job career and family responsibilities
How To Tell Where Your Chest Pain Is Coming From
Heres a quick cheat sheet with the differences between anxiety chest pain and a heart attack.
- When: Anxiety chest pain happens most often when at rest, and heart attack chest pain often happens during activity. Anxiety chest pain tends to start and end faster. Heart attack chest pain builds up and continues to increase in pain .
- Where: Anxiety chest pain usually stays in the chest, while heart attack chest pain can radiate through to the arms, shoulders, and jaw .
- What: Anxiety chest pain often feels much sharper with reports of a stabbing-like pain, and heart attack chest pain usually feels more heavy, aching, and with squeezing pressure .
- Who: Anxiety disorders, including panic attacks, are more common in women and heart attacks are more common in men .
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Treating Chest Pain Caused By Anxiety
If you have chest pain caused by anxiety, you have several options.
To treat panic attacks, your doctor may suggest cognitive behavioral therapy. This treatment can help you understand fears or situations that may trigger a panic attack.
You doctor may also recommend medication, such as:
- SSRIs or antidepressants, such as sertraline , paroxetine , and fluoxetine
- SNRIs or antidepressants, such as venlafaxine
- Benzodiazepines or sedatives, such as clonazepam and alprazolam
You doctor may also suggest certain lifestyle changes, such as:
- Learning relaxation and stress management techniques
- Avoiding alcohol, drugs, smoking, and caffeine
- Getting enough slee
- Increasing physical activity