Help with Chest Pain / AsD Heart Condition / Anxiety

[AlexFlorida]

Hello all. First and foremost thank you for taking the time to read this! Thank you. On May 11th, 2022 I was diagnosed with Atrial septal defect ostium secundum. This is a heart condition that I’ve had since birth & was recently discovered. It is a hole in the heart! Fortunately it looks like this condition hasn’t affected me very much at this time but if not repaired it can lead to very serious heart complications in the future! I’m in the process of getting this repaired through surgery or through a procedure (this alone is very stressful!!!) Ever since I found out about this condition I’ve been physically feeling very bad! I feel dizzy, weak, nervous, anxious but the thing that has really thrown me into panic mode is the pain I feel on my chest/heart. It is a constant pain on my chest that never goes away and actually brings daily scary quick 1 second shocks that increase the pain and feel strange. I’ve gone to ER twice because of this and I’ve seen 2 different Cardiologist. The Doctors say that the pain & discomfort I’m feeling on my chest and the other symptoms are not Heart related. They believe it’s anxiety related along with something else but not heart related! I find it hard to believe that this is only anxiety related but they are the Doctors! I’m I stressed, terrified, scared, anxious etc…. Ow absolutely…. No doubt about it! I’m also seeing a psychiatrist who recently put me on Xanax which has at least helped me sleep some! This week I’m getting a test done by the psychiatrist called Brain Mapping. The Doctor wants to see the results of this test to then medicate me. In the meantime I’m doing a lot of test and seeing the Cardiologist to see when and how I’m going to get my heart condition repaired. What I want to know is if anyone who suffers from anxiety or panic attack or depression etc have this constant pain on the chest area (center and leftside by the heart) that never goes away & actually intensifies at times during the day or night? If so what is it? What do you take for it etc? Or has anyone had ASD and felt these pains?

Thank you.

[Redpanda5]

Hello! Your post caught my attention because my 16yo daughter has described this same pain that you have described. She is formally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, adhd and suffers from panic attacks.

Onset - She began getting what she described as “chest pains” and her “heart hurting” probably a couple of years ago so I took her to a cardiologist at a top children’s hospital in DC where they diagnosed her with Precordial Catch Syndrome. You can Google it but it is a pain felt on the left side of the chest, near the heart, that doesn’t radiate to other part is the body. It is a pinched nerve or muscle spasm brought on by anxiety.

Symptoms - For her, it comes on at random times but mostly seems to be at night. It of course frightened her but the doctor assured her that she is fine and this condition most often affects younger people and/or those with anxiety and may disappear with age.

Diagnosis- The doctor listened to her heart, talked about where she felt the pain, gave her an EKG and performed a heart ultrasound to arrive at this diagnosis.

Treatment - There is no specific treatment. When it comes on, she seeks me, and I help her calm down by gently stroking her back, having her move around to find what position is most comfortable, and talking to her to get her mind off it and eventually it does pass. Do something to get your mind off of it like you would do for a panic attack.

I would ask your doctor about this condition to see if they think this is what you have as it sounds so familiar to what my daughter has experienced, especially since you are suffering from anxiety. I hope you get to the root of this and I wish you the best in the treatment of your heart condition!

Info about Precordial Catch Syndrome:

webmd.com/lung/precordial-c...