A little scared, can someone give me some advice?

Question

Okay, last year my dad passed away from a heart attack and since then I've gotten really bad anxiety attacks. They mostly stem from me thinking I'm having a heart attack. I sometimes get these pains in my chest and it scares me a lot.

So, I went to the doctor (several times) to check my heart and get tests. They did blood work on me 3 seperate times (most of the times I went in, it was to the e.r. because I thought I was having a heart attack) I've had 4 EKG's, numerous chest x-rays, and an ultrasound of my heart. After my u/s my doctor told me I had a very minor case of MVP, and she made me think that is was really nothing to worry about. Anyways tonight, I started having these "chest pains" and I keep freaking out about it, I always think I'm gonna die. I really do feel these pains, but if they did all those tests on me, they couldn't have missed something bad could they? And even if they didn't miss anything, could my heart deteriorate in less than a year (the last check up I had was in November of 07) I'm only 20 and I just had my daughter in March, so I still have about 10 more pounds to lose until I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight. Could someone give me some advice

Answer 1

You seem ok from a medical standpoint if you have been checked out thoroughly.  (although I am not a doctor so I can't really comment on this)

I had  a stroke which was pretty scary and afterwards i had these "flashbacks" where I literally felt the symptoms of a stroke.  I know that I wasn't having more strokes, but the symptoms seemed just as real as when I really had a stroke.  I'm sure you are very scared of having a heart attack, and sometimes that can manifest in phantom symptoms.

I learned to ignore, or at least not get too worked up about my "flashbacks" but if this doesn't work for you, you may want to talk to a therapist, or at least to your doctor.  If you do this and stay up on your health you should be fine.

Good luck :0)

Answer 2

You would probably benefit from seeing someone for anxiety. All of your symptoms may very well be related to anxiety. Discuss this with your doctor. Between therapy and meds you maybe able to nip this in the bud. Good luck.

Answer 3

Your dad dying because of a heart attack probably had a big effect on you.  What you are having sounds like panic attacks.

I would recommend taking Prozac for a while and seeing how that goes.  I took them and they worked great!

The chest pains you're having are normal.  I used to have severe panic attacks and my chest hurt and I thought I was going to die! Literally! I formed a fear of sleeping because I thought I wouldn't wake up but I got over it when i started telling myself I was okay and i wasn't going to die.

You've also just had a daughter which is also a big challenge and is likely to increase the stress in your life.  You can get depressed, anxious, and have panic attacks.

Yet, panic attacks and anxiety are not harmful to your body. Neither is depression, besides taking things in to your own hands and hurting yourself.  

You are 20 years old! you won't be even close to worrying about heart attacks until you're 50s!

Just eat healthy, exercise and quit worrying!  

Answer 4

Try taking some anxiety meds like Xanax to help u out. Also, try not to think about your heart or being worried about it. The more u think something is wrong the more bad u feel.  

Answer 5

As a worker in a heart cath lab i always recommend that you never play around with chest pain.  since you have had all the pains before and all these tests recently i would seriously doubt that you are having a heart attack.  anxiety attacks like heart attacks can also cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and several of the same symptoms.  however, if you are scared i wouldn't hesitate to go get checked again.  i doubt you are having heart troubles.  i would recommend some anxiety meds and some counceling.  you are probably grieving.  everyone does it differently and this is the mechanism your body is choosing.  good luck and i hope everything works out for you.