Home » Misc » Anxiety chest pains relief

Anxiety chest pains relief


What It Feels Like, Causes, and Remedies

Feeling worried, fearful, or nervous from time to time is quite normal for most people. These are typical reactions to atypical moments in everyday life.

Some people experience anxiety frequently. Symptoms can move beyond feelings of concern or worry to other physical reactions. Occasionally, these symptoms are mistakenly associated with other conditions.

As an example, chest pain is sometimes a symptom of anxiety. Often the result of a panic attack or heightened reaction, chest pain is a concern because of the possible connection to heart attacks and other heart conditions.

If you experience frequent anxiety, learning to understand your chest pain can help you find symptom relief and identify when you need additional medical help.

Anxiety symptoms are rarely the same from person to person. Some days, symptoms aren’t even the same for the same person. Anxiety presents itself in a variety of ways, and that makes detecting or understanding symptoms difficult.

Chest pain associated with anxiety feels different for each person. Some people may experience chest pain on a gradual basis. For others, the pain may be sudden and unexpected. Anxiety chest pain can be described as:

  • sharp, shooting pain
  • persistent chest aching
  • an unusual muscle twitch or spasm in your chest
  • burning, numbness, or a dull ache
  • stabbing pressure
  • chest tension or tightness

If you don’t have a history of chest pain with anxiety, you may be alarmed. Many people assume they’re having a heart attack and go to the hospital’s emergency department for treatment.

An estimated 25 to 50 percent of patients who come to the emergency department with low risk chest pain (chest pain not related to a heart attack) experience moderate to severe anxiety, according to 2018 research.

If you visit a hospital emergency room and the doctors don’t find a specific cause for your chest pain, consider consulting with your doctor about other possible causes, including anxiety.

Chest pain is a concerning symptom, and it’s usually best to seek emergency medical attention if you’re experiencing it. Even if the chest pain cause is anxiety, it’s better to know than to risk missing valuable time if you’re having a heart attack.

People describe chest pain in a number of ways when they’re having a heart attack. Some examples include:

  • chest pain that radiates to other parts of your body, such as down your arms or up to your jaw
  • chest pain that worsens with exertion
  • nausea along with chest pain
  • pressure in the chest, as if someone has put something heavy on your chest
  • rapid heart rate
  • shortness of breath
  • squeezing sensation in the chest

An estimated 30 percent of patients who are having a heart attack don’t have chest pain, according to 2020 research. Some people report symptoms like back pain and fatigue as part of their heart attack symptoms.

While doctors know there is a connection between anxiety and chest pain, you still shouldn’t ignore your symptoms and seek medical attention.

Call your local emergency services if you’re having chest pain. Don’t attempt to drive yourself to the hospital. Emergency personnel can evaluate you and determine whether you’re having a cardiac event or if there’s another reason for your chest pain.

When you’re anxious, your body can and often does produce physical reactions like sweating or shortness of breath.

When you become anxious, your brain and body set off an immediate stress response. This includes a physiological change. Your body may tighten up or grow tense.

A stress response can also include a psychological or emotional response. You may become aggressive or upset more easily. These responses are referred to as the fight-or-flight response. When you become stressed or anxious, your body prepares to fight back or run away.

If you experience this fight-or-flight stress reaction infrequently, your body should fully recover within 30 minutes. But if you experience it frequently, your body can’t recover as quickly. This can lead to increased muscle tension, and this tension may become painful in your chest.

Likewise, in an even more stressful moment, your heart rate may increase, and the force of your heartbeats can grow stronger. That combined with tight chest muscles can make you feel unusual pain.

If you feel anxious, there are some simple techniques you can try. These techniques may not work every time, but they’re a great starting point when you need help managing your anxiety.

Practice deep breathing

Focused, deep breaths can calm both your mind and your body. Find a quiet room or area, and inhale for a count of 10. Hold for a second, and then exhale for a count of 10. Repeat this several times as you feel your heart rate fall.

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 can’t control? Are you fearful of an outcome that’s unlikely? Are you dreading a situation you can’t control the outcome of? Talk your way through your feelings to find the source, and then work to put them into perspective.

Picture a beautiful scene

If you’re feeling anxious, try visualizing a place that instantly calms you. This can be especially helpful if you’re feeling anxious while in a situation you can’t avoid, like a stressful meeting. Practice deep breathing while you envision this location.

Use a relaxation app

Smartphone apps for anxiety can walk you through stress reduction techniques and exercises. There are also meditation apps that may help you quiet your mind when you’re feeling anxious. Many of these apps are free, so you can try out several to find one that works for you.

Be proactive about your physical health

Are you taking good care of your body? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating well? Taking good care of your body is also taking good care of your mind. While this won’t help treat anxiety chest pain, it may help you reduce your risk for anxiety and subsequent chest pain in the future.

If your anxiety and chest pain are severe or chronic, you may need to consult with a therapist. They can talk you through situations that cause anxiety and share coping techniques.

These techniques may not come naturally to you if you’re often anxious. This is where a healthcare professional can help.

A therapist or doctor may be able to teach you coping techniques that help you feel in control and secure. When you begin to regain a sense of calm, your symptoms, including chest pain, will subside.

If coaching techniques or mental exercises aren’t successful, you may need to consider a prescription. Anti-anxiety medications have side effects and risks. But using them as a stopgap while you learn how to cope with symptoms can be helpful.

Chest pain shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re experiencing it, seek medical attention to rule out a heart condition. If your chest pain is found to be related to anxiety, then you can work with a therapist or doctor to learn coping techniques or determine the best treatment for you.

Identifying anxiety as the cause of your chest pain is an important step in treating your condition. As you learn to manage the side effects of anxiety, you’ll also learn to manage unintended complications like chest pain.

While you can’t know for sure if or when you’ll experience anxiety chest pain again, preparing yourself with coping techniques and practices will help you feel more prepared and in control.

Read this article in Spanish.

Anxiety Chest Pain: Signs, Symptoms & How to Treat

If you’re one of the 40 million Americans who live with an anxiety disorder, chances are you’ve experienced not just mental and emotional symptoms, but physical symptoms—especially 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 chest—a 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, it’s 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, you’ll learn why anxiety chest pain happens, what it feels like, how long it lasts, how to make it stop, and more.

You’ll 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. 

Talk to a Doctor Now

Whether from anxiety or other causes, chest pain can be scary. You don’t have to go through it alone. Talk to a doctor now.

  • Fast: Chat with a doctor in minutes
  • Easy: On your phone, on your schedule
  • Reliable: Advice, prescriptions, and referrals

Get Started

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 there’s a reason for this uncomfortable symptom: It’s your brain and body trying to protect you from a real or perceived stressor.  

Anxiety Chest Pain Symptoms

Anxiety chest pain can feel different to different people. Symptoms in the chest area can be described as:

  • Sharp, shooting, or stabbing pain
  • Persistent, dull aching
  • Tightness, tension, or pressure
  • A burning sensation 
  • Numbness in certain areas
  • Twitching or spasms

These uncomfortable feelings can come on gradually, or all at once.

It is more typical, however, for chest pain to present itself during panic or anxiety attacks that come on quickly, and for the sufferer to already feel anxious before the chest pain starts. 

Why Does Anxiety Cause Chest Pain?

Anxiety is the body’s response to a real or perceived stressor, and anxiety and panic attacks can produce a number of physical symptoms in addition to mental turmoil.

When you’re anxious, your body enters what’s typically referred to as a “fight or flight” state, preparing to help you battle against (or flee from) something that could hurt you.

Your body does this in many ways, including increasing your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure, and by triggering the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Many of these “fight or flight” responses can cause chest pain. Common causes for chest pain include: 

  • Muscle tension: This is typically a result of stress and can manifest itself as tightness in the muscles in the chest. 
  • Increased heart rate: This can lead to feelings of pounding in the chest, heart palpitations, and coronary artery spasms.
  • Hyperventilation: This is a result of shortness of breath, and can cause changes to the level of carbon dioxide in the blood.
  • Increased blood pressure: This can increase oxygen demand in the heart and put a strain on the smaller blood vessels due to increased blood flow.

How Long Does Anxiety Chest Pain Last?

Though it can feel alarming, anxiety chest pain is fleeting. Pain typically lasts around 10 minutes, though other anxiety or panic attack symptoms (like dizziness, shortness of breath, or nausea) may last longer.

If your symptoms continue, are getting worse, or are just concerning, call your doctor, visit an urgent care center, or be evaluated through a telehealth appointment as soon as possible.

Some panic or anxiety attack sufferers may also feel soreness in the chest area for a few hours after the attack, due to the intense muscle contractions in the wall of the chest that took place during the attack.

How to Stop Anxiety Chest Pain

In order to stop anxiety chest pain, you have to go straight to the source: your anxiety.

Luckily, there are simple techniques you can use and lifestyle changes you can implement to help manage your anxiety or panic, many of which are free and easy to do. 

Deep breathing

Breathing deeply from your diaphragm is an effective way to reduce anxiety by slowing the heart and breathing rate, and can even stop a panic or anxiety attack in its tracks.

Though you can find many different types of breathing exercises online, a simple but effective exercise is as follows: Put one hand on your belly, and your other hand on your chest.

Take a slow, deep breath through your nose and allow your belly to push out the hand on your belly. The hand on your chest should not move. Exhale your breath through pursed lips and allow the hand on your belly to move inwards again, pushing all the air out. Repeat this 10 times. 

Meditation

Meditation and other relaxation exercises (like journaling, counting, and visualizing) can be effective tools in calming the brain and slowing anxious thoughts.

Meditation is a practice that has been used for thousands of years, and even a few minutes can help wipe away stress and restore inner peace. Many web sites (including YouTube) offer free guided meditations, and no equipment is needed.

Exercise

Getting up and getting active is one of the best ways to help reduce your anxiety—and regular exercise is a great way to keep generalized anxiety in check.

Not only can it act as a welcome distraction from racing thoughts, but exercise can also decrease muscle tension and increase serotonin and other anti-anxiety neurochemicals. 

Limit alcohol, caffeine, and smoking

While smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol and caffeine can feel like they’re helping quell your anxiety, studies show that all three can actually make it worse.

If you don’t want to quit any of them completely, take note of which you have consumed before you feel anxious to try to pinpoint which may be negatively impacting you, and limit your intake accordingly. 

Sleep

While sleep may be the last thing on your mind in the middle of an anxiety or panic attack, getting enough sleep is important for keeping your anxiety in check.

Sleep deficiency has been linked to anxiety, depression, and other forms of illness. Adults should aim for seven to nine hours a night for healthy functioning and wellness.

Anxiety Chest Pain vs. Heart Attack

Anxiety chest pain is so alarming because we associate chest pain with heart attacks. And it’s fair to feel concerned—about 735,000 people in the U.S. have heart attacks each year, and chest pain is one of the common symptoms.  

But studies show that 80% of people who go to the emergency room with chest pain are not having a heart attack, and 58% of that group suffer from moderate to severe anxiety. 

Though pain related to a heart attack and anxiety chest pain can feel similar, there are several differences between the two that can help you determine which you may be experiencing. 

For example, while anxiety chest pain can feel different from person to person, it tends to limit itself to just the chest.

Most people experiencing heart attack chest pain, on the other hand, explain it as a squeezing, heavy, and/or aching pain that radiates outwards from the chest to the arms, shoulders, and jaw (also known as angina).  

There are also differences when it comes to when the pain starts, and how long it lasts.

Anxiety chest pain tends to start when the body is at rest, and, as previously mentioned, lasts for approximately 10 minutes (this can vary, though).

Conversely, heart attack chest pain typically starts slowly when the body is active, and the pain gradually increases in intensity. Chest pain during a heart attack also tends to get worse with exertion and lasts longer than pain related to anxiety.

Interestingly, 30% of people experiencing a heart attack do not report chest pain. Other heart attack symptoms may include nausea, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, back pain, and exhaustion.

If you think you are experiencing a heart attack, seek medical attention as soon as possible. 

Feeling anxious?

You shouldn’t have to live with anxiety. Get high-quality, affordable, and confidential mental health care with K Health. Take our free assessment to see if you have anxiety and what treatments might be right for you.

Take free assessment

When to See a Doctor

Even if you suffer from anxiety, chest pain shouldn’t be ignored.

If you are experiencing persistent chest pain, seek medical advice to pinpoint the cause and rule out a heart problem, like coronary artery disease.

It may just be anxiety-related chest pain, but it’s always better to be sure. Both anxiety-related chest pain and heart conditions are treatable with the proper healthcare.

If anxiety and its symptoms are impacting your quality of life, a therapist and/or doctor can suggest therapy (like cognitive behavioral therapy) or prescribe medication to help get your anxiety under control.

This medical care can be life-changing by helping get symptoms—including chest pain—to subside. 

How K Health Can Help

Stress and anxiety are among the most under-reported and under-treated diseases in America. Nearly 20% of adults in the US suffer from mental health illness and fewer than half receive treatment. Our mission is to increase access to treatment for those suffering in silence.

Want mental health support?

K Health offers anxiety medication for the right candidates.

Get connected to care in minutes.

K Therapy offers free smart chats, which are dynamic, pre-written conversations designed by experts that cover a number of common mental health topics such as depression, anxiety, stress, relationships, and more. Access them for free by downloading the K Therapy app.

Online therapists are also available in select states for individualized care.

Connect with a licensed mental health therapist for unlimited asynchronous text-based therapy. Therapists respond Monday through Friday between 9am-5pm, within 24-hours.

.

K Health articles are all written and reviewed by MDs, PhDs, NPs, or PharmDs and are for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute and should not be relied on for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment.

K Health has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references.

  • Facts and Statistics. (n.d.).
    https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics

  • What is Anxiety and Depression? (n. d.)
    https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety

  • Panic Disorder and Chest Pain: Mechanisms, Morbidity, and Management. (2002).
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181226/

  • Heart attack. (n.d.).
    https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/heart_attack.htm

  • Tips to manage anxiety and stress. (n.d.).
    https://adaa.org/tips-manage-anxiety-and-stress

  • Chest pain and its importance in patients with panic disorder. (2008).
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629063/

  • Anxiety Associated With Increased Risk for Emergency Department Recidivism in Patients With Low-Risk Chest Pain. (2018).
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30086878/

  • A test of the effects of acute sleep deprivation on general and specific self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms: an experimental extension. (2010).
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20231014/

  • Can exercise help treat anxiety? (2019).
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-exercise-help-treat-anxiety-2019102418096

  • Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation. (2020).
    https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/uz2255

  • Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress. (2020).
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858

  • Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – At-a-Glance. (2014).
    https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_470704.pdf

  • A review of the affects of worry and generalized anxiety disorder upon cardiovascular health and coronary heart disease. (2012).
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13548506.2012.749355

  • Treatment of anxiety disorders. (2017).
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573566/

Tactics of behavior in case of chest pain and risk factors for myocardial infarction - Prevention of diseases and healthy lifestyle - Budgetary institution of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra

The most common cause of chest pain is angina pectoris or "angina pectoris".

Angina pectoris is a form of coronary heart disease (CHD), the obvious signs of which are considered to be pain in the heart and shortness of breath. This pathology occurs against the background of a violation of the supply of the heart with a sufficient amount of blood, which is a consequence of the defeat of the coronary arteries by atherosclerosis.

Since this pathology is one of the forms of coronary artery disease, if it is present, there is an obstruction in one or both coronary arteries, which prevents the blood from circulating normally. This condition is accompanied by attacks of myocardial ischemia, that is, a lack of oxygen in the heart muscle.

The most obvious sign indicating the development of angina pectoris is considered to be the so-called imbalance between the need of the heart muscle for oxygen and the supply of oxygen to the region of the heart. To put it simply, the patient's heart receives much less amount of blood than he needs.

Lack of oxygen makes itself felt at the moment of physical activity - that is why in patients with this pathology attacks develop during physical work or under the influence of a stressful situation.

Painful sensations resemble seizures. Pain during such attacks is simply unbearable - it seems to burn, press and compress, it arises in the area behind the sternum and radiates to the left shoulder or to the whole arm. Very common pain is also accompanied by strong anxiety, and fear : a person is trying to find a place for himself, he is holding on to his left chest and cannot fully understand what is happening.

In the case of the initial forms of the development of the disease, pain recedes within one to five minutes after taking the drug. If the pain does not disappear after this period of time, then this is a signal that the disease has acquired a more severe course, and, therefore, the chances of developing a myocardial infarction are high.

In most cases, just one tablet of Nitroglycerin helps to forget about the pain. If one tablet is not enough to get rid of pain, it means that the risk of developing myocardial infarction is increased.

At the first manifestations of retrosternal pain, you should immediately consult a doctor. It should not be thought that young age excludes the possibility of angina pectoris, or that burning behind the sternum when running or walking quickly uphill cannot be a sign of "angina pectoris" in a person involved in sports.

During an attack, the following measures are recommended for immediate relief of pain:

  • create physical and psycho-emotional rest for the patient: lie down, sit down, or stop if chest pains appear during exercise;
  • urgently needs to take 1 tablet of nitroglycerin under the tongue. The analgesic effect of nitroglycerin usually occurs within 1-5 minutes. To stop an attack, 1-2 tablets of nitroglycerin are enough.
  • if the attack is prolonged (lasts 15-20 minutes) and repeated doses of nitroglycerin are ineffective, you should immediately call an ambulance.

Do not self-medicate. If you do not promptly consult a doctor and do not start the prescribed treatment, the disease progresses.

Under conditions of "oxygen starvation" in case of pain, myocardial cells can live for 20-30 minutes . Then they die. This is a heart attack, a site of necrosis in the tissue of the heart. A scar remains on the affected area.

There are risk factors for myocardial infarction , the elimination of which significantly reduces the risk of its development: smoking, high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hypercholesterolemia, arterial hypertension.

For the first time chest pain or shortness of breath on previously well tolerated exertion, an urgent need to consult a cardiologist. The District Cardiological Dispensary has the whole range of diagnostic procedures necessary in this case: all currently known methods for diagnosing coronary heart disease, both performed on an outpatient basis and in a hospital.

Experienced cardiologists of the District Cardiology Dispensary evaluate the patient's condition and decide where to conduct examinations. In some cases of severe manifestation of the disease or ineffectiveness of medical treatment, cardiologists organize the hospitalization of patients in a specialized department, also located in the cardio center. Thus, patients receive the whole range of diagnostic and therapeutic measures in one center, which is an exclusive offer in the city of Surgut.

A.A. Seitov, cardiologist, head of the emergency cardiology department of the KhMAO-Yugra OKD “CD and SSH”

How to relieve chest pain from PMS?

Komsomolskaya Pravda

HealthNews of MedicineBUSINESS PRESS

April 12, 2018 1:00

Almost all female representatives are familiar with the unpleasant and uncomfortable manifestations of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which significantly worsen the quality of life

One of the most common symptoms of PMS, chest pain, occurs in almost every 5th woman*. Sometimes, even from a light touch to the mammary glands, a woman can feel severe pain.

Pain is caused by the hormone prolactin produced by the pituitary gland. When prolactin levels are elevated, women feel chest pain. The main task of this hormone is to ensure lactation. It prepares the mammary glands for milk production. Thus, the ducts of the breast expand, as a result of which it increases. This is what causes discomfort and pain.

Herbal medicine may be helpful for breast pain. Since ancient times, the sacred vitex plant (prutnyak) has been used to treat and prevent various female diseases. Vitex, due to its ability to reduce prolactin levels and regulate the balance of progesterone and estrogen, greatly alleviates the condition of women experiencing pain in the mammary glands during PMS.

Importantly, Sacred Vitex does not contain hormones, but can affect hormonal balance by stimulating the pituitary gland, which increases the production of luteinizing hormone. Prutnyak also helps to maintain a normal menstrual cycle. Therefore, today Sacred Vitex is clinically used for mastodynia, mastalgia, PMS, as it has a positive effect in many pathological conditions, has an analgesic effect**.

You can get all the beneficial substances that are contained in vitex, together with the non-hormonal drug Mastofit from Evalar, which helps maintain the health of the mammary gland from the inside. The Mastofit formula is enhanced by other equally useful components - bubbly fucus extract and broccoli concentrate. Fucus is a natural source of easily digestible organic iodine, which prevents the formation of seals in the mammary gland, and broccoli contains a powerful antioxidant indole-3-carbinol. All substances that are part of the tablets enhance the effect of each other. The remedy, like sacred vitex, does not contain hormones, therefore it does not violate the natural hormonal background in the body.

In addition to the tablets, the pharmaceutical company Evalar has developed Mastofit cream for external use, which helps to normalize metabolic processes, nourish and moisturize the skin, and improve the shape of the breast. The simultaneous use of both forms of Mastofit release provides an integrated approach to maintaining the health of the mammary glands. Tablets and cream work together and enhance each other's action, delivering beneficial substances directly to their destination.

The quality of Mastofit natural*** products is guaranteed by the international GMP**** standard.

Even today Mastofit and other natural *** Altai products can be ordered from anywhere in Russia on the website of the online pharmacy Apteka.ru with free delivery to the nearest pharmacy.

* Kedrova A.G., & Levakov S.A. (2017). Phytopreparations in the treatment of gynecological patients with severe mastalgia. Tumors of the female reproductive system, 13(4), 63-70.

** Prilepskaya V.N., & Dovletkhanova E.R. (2017). Premenstrual syndrome and women's quality of life. The effectiveness of herbal medicines. To help the practical doctor. Medical Council, (13), 15-19.

*** The definition of naturalness is given by the active ingredients in the composition.

**** GMP Certificate No. С0170889 - 03, NSF International (USA).

Learn more