Have you ever experienced chest pain? Anybody who has experienced chest pain knows it is a scary experience that might send a person to an emergency room. Many realized they had no heart problem, and some discovered it was due to anxiety.
Chest pain is not always due to heart problems; sometimes, anxiety becomes a culprit. Hence you can say chest pain and anxiety share a close bond, but that doesn’t mean that you can always assume that anxiety is the cause of chest pain.
Do not risk, taking medical attention when you experience pain because it could be because of some underlying heart condition or a heart attack. If you suspect a heart attack, call an emergency to treat cardiovascular diseases. Some differences can help you identify whether the chest pain is due to anxiety or some heart-related symptoms.
Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety is your body’s natural reaction to any threat or uncertainty about your future. You can feel anxious anytime, and your brain automatically sends signals and hormones that will activate a fight or flight kind of response. Irrespective of whether you get stuck in traffic, are worried about your upcoming interview, or face any other upsetting situation. Anxiety will bring a natural reaction to energize your body so that you can deal with the oncoming threat by reacting or escaping the situation. Hence, your body reacts accordingly.
How can anxiety lead to chest pain?
When you become anxious, your brain sends cortisol and adrenaline throughout your body. These hormones trigger and hike your blood pressure and heart rate. As such many people experience sweating, pain, or even difficulty in breathing. Suddenly when there is a rush of adrenaline, it can make the arteries of your heart narrow and attach them to the cells in the heart. If it happens due to stress, you will heal faster because it just weakens the heart muscles leading to abnormal rhythms of nature. As such, you can say that hormone levels can trigger a panic attack and increase the chances of cardiovascular issues.
It is pretty hard to understand the difference between anxiety induced pain in the chest and the pain that is caused by a heart condition as both can cause similar symptoms such as:
- Heart palpitations
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
Everyone experiences these symptoms, whether they have a heart or anxiety problem. A medical practitioner can be the best person to give you an apt answer so that you can accordingly take care of your health.
If you experience chest pain due to a heart attack, it will gradually worsen, while chest pain due to anxiety is a sudden one that will improve gradually. Many people also say that chest pain due to anxiety usually goes away in about, say, 10 minutes; however, other cardiovascular symptoms can continue even if the pain subsides. Hence, you will need medical attention immediately to prevent severe damage.
Anxiety and chest pain share a deep relationship!