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Can Stress And Anxiety Cause Pain In Chest?

Posted on Fri, 19 Sep 2014

Question: Hi there. About 3 days ago I started having shocking shooting pain in the right side of my chest. Now its spreading to the left side of my chest and toward the middle. Its just like little shocks of pain for about 30 seconds. Should I be worried? My blood pressure is a little high. Not too high but a bit. Could it be due to stress or anxiety ? Thanks. :)

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Further investigations are needed...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

The pain you experienced is atypical for cardiac problems. However, I highly recommend to run further cardiac tests to determine the right diagnosis:
- ECG
- cardiac echo
- stress test
and :
- chest X-ray
- upper endoscopy to rule out pulmonary and stomach problems.

If everything is ok, then, it might be due to stress/anxiety or due to using caffeinated drinks.

Hope it helped!
Dr.Benard

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj

Follow up: Dr. Benard Shehu (41 minutes later)

I had an ECG done about 3 months ago and they checked for blood clots. should i still get one done ?

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
No need to repeat ECG if it was normal....

Detailed Answer:
Hi back,

You only had an ECG. I'd advise to run other tests to exclude cardiac, and pulmonary problems.

If everything is ok, then, it might be just an acute inflammation of skeletal muscles.

Anti-inflammatory drugs can help.

Dr.Benard

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Benard Shehu (2 hours later)

Wait is the pulmonary test where they test your heart for clots, and everywhere else? They also did a test to see if my heart was sending out signals if it was in trouble..not sure what thats called

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Can send test reports...

Detailed Answer:
Hi back,

No the pulmonary test has nothing to do with heart and they are done to exclude pulmonary problems that can explain your concerns.

You mention that you have done a test but you don't remember it's name. Can you send the tests reports, so I can analyze them myself.

I'm waiting for the test results.
Dr. Benard shehu

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari