Biggest Fear - Heart Attack - Please help me

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misskittyred

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I can totally understand this fear. I have been dealing with this myself for about 8 months. I think the only thing we can do is to try to understand that uncertainty is a part of life. Noone knows when their time will come, but we have to live life as best as we can. Saying that though, I know anytime I have chest pains or back pain, I get anxious. My sister had a heart attack at 33 and her main symptom was back pain, not chest pain. Women often present very different symptoms than men, so it is best to get checked out by a cardiologist. And an EKG/ECG is not as accurate for women - you need an echocardiagram instead. I have a long family history with heart disease and heart attacks. Most on my father's side died between the ages of 32 - 45. Getting checked out by several doctors and knowing my risks and what I can do preventatively has really helped. I think it's also very important to get the anxiety and panic under control because the symptoms are so similiar to a heart attack. Medication might help, but having a therapist is immensely helpful too. Just give yourself time to work through. It does get easier to deal with, I promise! Good luck to you.
 
Alot of the problem is that every where you look and everything you hear says that a woman has different symptoms of a heart attack than men do. It drives me crazy to see health issues everytime I open a magazine or a book.
 
My fear of having a heart attack is beginning to control my life. I have back on the meRAB for 6 weeks but still keep having panic attacks that I am having a heart attack. I think I have been so stressed for so long that my back has been killing me. Whenever my back hurts my first thought is that I must be hving a heart attack. I even ended up at the hospital yesterday and now I am having the same problem.

Does anyone else have this? and what should I do and the feeling happens I take paxil 25cr each morning and 1/2 of a .25 mg xanex each morning.

Please help
 
You have the most classic sign of anxiety and panic disorder. Fear of the Heart Attack. I am the same way. I recently had a Cardiac CT Scan which came up good. It is the gold standard of heart tests. Definitely made me feel better. I still get phantom chest pains and try very hard to ignore them. About 2 weeks ago I also went to the ER with chest pains at 10 PM. I checked out alright. Its all in the mind. It is amazing the power of the mind to control your negative thoughts and obsessions. The mind even has the power to make you physically feel pain. If you belive you are having a heart attack your mind can actually trigger symptoms. I actually went to 3 different cardiologists to interpret all the heart tests I took. I am only 40-years old with no history of heart problems in the family. I dont know your age, medical condition but my advice is to eat well and do a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate cardio work-out (walk fast, jog, treadmill, bike) each day to ease your mind. Also take Omega-3 Fish Oil pills daily and eat salmon 2-3 times a week. B-Complex vitamin also daily. These are all things that YOU are in control of. This is a matter of control. Do what you can do and the rest is out of your control. That is where the anxiety begins!
 
have you had an EKG? was it normal? if so maybe you could speak with your doctor about increasing the dosage on your medications to help control the panic attacks?
 
Are you seeing a pschycologist you can make appointment with?

A pschycologist may be able to help you overcome these fears.

When fears begin to control your life this can be very serious.

You could feel so much better speaking with a specialists.

Wish you well
BeHappy2
 
I have been to two doctors and they both have told me everything is ok. The ER on Friday and they said muscle spasms (no EKG or anything) and then my regular doctor on Monday and he said muscles in my back also. They said because the press on pressure points and it hurts its the muscles in my back - no my heart. How can I be sure?????
 
Back pain is not a symptom of heart attack, so having back pain should remind you that you are NOT having a heart attack. I agree, that you should address this issue with your doctor.
 
Well pain between the shoulders is a sign. Honestly, I am surprised that most people are not terrified of having a heart attack. It constantly haunts me, and makes me anxious anytime I feel any kind of sensation in my chest.

The medical community offers me little reassurance because most of the tests like EKG only tell you if you've already had a heart attack. The fact that we have no idea if our arteries are clogged or not, and could drop dead anytime is so frightening.
 
I wish I could help, but it is my fear too.

I have anxiety, and a lousy family history for heart attacks (my dad died at 49 waiting for a transplant). Anxiety attacks totally freak me out because I'm terrified that one day I'll really be having a heart attack but will just say "oh...it's anxiety".

*sigh*

The docs aren't particularly reassuring either. It seems like this heart attack of panic attack problem is something we have to resign ourselves too...and that quite frankly SUCKS! *frown*
 
I glad for you that you were able to get two doctors' opinions on this. I have read more books on the heart than I care to admit, but from what I've read, if you are able to bring about the pain with applied pressure, then that is usually a good indication that it's muscle related. Most chest and back pains are not are heart related, but it's definitely good that you got checked out. I know from experience that the hard part now is trusting the doctors. Just try to have faith that all is ok. Take care!
 
I am 27. I first got this horrible pain in my chest this past monday 08/31/09. I was rushed to the hospital. Ran test CT scan chest/heart/head. Stress test. Blood work all came back looking great. Did an overnight ekg tests. Nothing.

I was too suprised that the chest pains could be phantoms. I am still so confused. I wish you luck. I will be on the board here regularly if you want to stay in touch.

I had another attack thursday. Also through the day today I've been fight of the begining. They are so crippling.

Take Care
 
I do understand. Since I've had issues with sinus tach, palps and this odd back pain and chest wall pain.. each day I live in fear that I'm about to die. I've been to the ER about 7 times.. and had every darn test in the book that pretty much covers my entire body..lol I have a family heart history, but with no one ever passing on from a heart related issue Anyway. I freakin smoke and have had trouble quitting becuase I've been so anxious. I've been on a low dose of xanax 3 times per day for over 1 year now. I'm just 40 and should not be feeling this way!!! To afraid to try and anti-d's... and really all my primary doc has done is try to force meRAB on me. I guess I just cope each day the best I can. I excercise, take yoga, drink lots of water and pray that one day soon I can give up these darn cigs for good.. becuase they only add to my fear.. and that's rational.
 
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