Hi, 48yr old male, not overweight, eat relatively healthy, but due to a back issue, limited exercise. Take no meds other than painkillers from time to time for my back. But wasn't taking them during these episodes.
My issues began a week today exactly. Got up for the loo around 4am, and went back to bed. Around a minute after returning to bed, i began to suffer from shortness of breath. That was my only symptom. I did not feel stressed. An almost suffocating sensation. It passed within 10 mins, then i fell back asleep. Felt fine All Saturday upon waking up.
Sunday - Normal
Monday - I had all but forgotten about that little episode when I was sitting doing something around mid afternoon, and the shortness of breath resurfaced. Again, only last 10 mins again. Around 10pm, it returned, and this time had a very slight sore head. Took about an hour to shift this time
Tuesday - fine up until around 2pm and it happened again. This time lasting around 2 hours
Wednesday - Called the gp, got told i would get an appointment with a nurse to check for asthma, on 03/05/23!!! I was like, ok, but i don't think it's undiagnosed asthma due to it being intermittent (that too runs through my family, but this was nothing like how the rest of my family presented).
Around 11pm on Wednesday, the struggling to breath sensation returned again. This time the headache was more prominent than it had been, and the ringing in the ears appeared. I called 111. Was seen at the out of hours gp dept at the local hospital.
So once there, my blood pressure was 177/107, pulse was 65, and steady and my oxygen was 99%. With those readings, the gp was concerned and booked me into for an emergency appointment for 10am later that morning.
So Thursday, i was seen by both a cardiologist and a respiratory specialist. Both ran a battery of tests. ECG, heart scan, chest xray, a ton of bloods and some other tests. All came back fine. Heart and lungs top notch as were my kidneys. No circulation issues.
My blood pressure was still high, but had dropped slightly. I think it was 169/100. Pulse has always been steady and sat around 60 at rest, and goes to around 75 ish upon normal exertion.
So got told this was panic attacks, stress. I don't feel panicky, i don't feel stressed. I understand stress can manifest in many different ways, but the original gp i saw at the out of hours said stress doesn't usually cause those sort of readings. It can, but it is rare. Nor is my heart racing.
I've to get my pressure taken again on the 3rd of next month because they said doing it too soon, won't give them a clear picture because pressure can supposedly spike for benign reasons and to give it a chance to settle.
Should i be worried here, because everything i have read says these are terrible readings, yet i've just been sent on my way and told i'm stressed. My age too. Had i been 17, I'd have not batted an eyelid, but I'll be 49 this year. One important thing i should mention, i do not get breathless going up stairs or on exertion. Even when the breathlessness hits, it doesn't get worse if i move around. So i suppose that is reassuring. No chest tightness and no chest pains.
Written by
ProfBaw
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Good morning. It's a curious one, isn't it. You know your body and I believe you.
You obviously weren't stressed [before], or stressed about it, because you went to sleep OK and you sound too sane, sensible and logical.
You are right to be wary of being fobbed off with the label "it's all in your head", etc: they are way too keen to say that when there is a genuine problem that just isn't showing up when they are looking.
Shortness of breath can be caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies, particularly iron, but other things such as magnesium, potassium, and vitamin B12 which affect nerve transmission and muscle contraction. In the early stages this can spike and so cause short episodes, which go if you rest. You can get "air hunger" where you can't get enough air and you want to gulp it into you, to get something.
Do you know the results of any blood tests they did? Can you get them?
If your back has issues, it is possible to get trapped nerves which cause a degree of paralysis/spasm of the intercostal muscles between your ribs and you do feel like you are suffocating. Once it passes you are then OK.
However...
I don't know much about blood pressure - mine's always low - but I feel that they are high readings, and are producing a high MAP (mean arterial pressure) which isn't good long term.
This may or may not be the cause of your recent episodes (I'm intrigued that your heart rate continues to match your activity level so suggests it's not responding to the episode and it isn't linked) but I feel they should be doing something about it - at least advising you about high BP, lifestyle changes to make, and probably starting you on something to reduce it.
Bottom line is that something weird is happening, that wasn't before and you sensibly don't like it, although it is not causing health anxiety. You only have one life so it's worth looking after it!
I suggest you try 111 again - especially as it's now weekend and is your available/obvious option. Tell them your BP readings and see what they say.
It's OK to say you don't feel they are understanding the situation and you'd like some more information/reassurance/explanation.
If you are in hospital, get them to write it down for you and put their name on it... That usually concentrates their mind!
Just wondering... Did they test your troponin levels? If they did and they came back low then it's unlikely your heart is being affected/causing the problem.
You are obviously going to have some sort of BP issues and it's probably a good idea to get your own BP monitor if you can.
If you think it is your heart, you have a smart phone and you can afford one, the Kardiamobile ECG gadgets are absolutely brilliant. Well worth getting for an intermittent problem, to record your heart trace when it's actually doing it!
I'm looking forward to hearing what the others here with cardiac knowledge have to say!
It sounds like these episodes are pretty worrying and puzzling for you. But it also seems that you have had a good physical work through looking for any heart issues.
The hospital will have seen many stress episodes, effecting the heart, and recognise what they see. So they could be right……maybe they are right and you are not just being fobbed off!
A simple suggestion, but (unlike many heart problems) you seem to get these episodes when you are at rest, possibly at a time you are sitting turning things over in your mind. Worrying thoughts can make us anxious and HR goes up. It could be when you worry.
I would agree with the advice to buy a cuff BP monitor, the British Heart Foundation's online shop have a selection and you can get one that can flag up arrthymias. I got mine from a local pharmacy. It doesn't identify what type of arrthymia it is, just that there us one.Use it as a tool, taking BP twice a day using an average reading, it can help identify patterns.
I am not a medic and have no medical training so this is from my own experience.
I wouldn't be ready to panic but I wouldn't be satisfied with the diagnoses they have given you.
Back in 2016 I was diagnosed with acid reflux which I knew I didn't have, so went back to a different GP a couple of weeks later and luckily he was someone who had done a rotation at the cardiac unit. This consultation eventually led to a heart bypass.
Fast forward to Oct 21, I was advised to visit the A & E by my GP as I was having the same pains. The initial hospital Dr thought it was unstable angina, which made sense as the pain was the same as my initial angina. During the night on a bed at the back of A & E I saw the night Dr who recommended a dose of Gaviscon which I duly took, she thought it was heartburn, I was admitted and a few days later had 2 stents fitted after drilling.
Sorry this has been so long winded, but wanted to show that you will know if what they are saying is a possibility, if you are not happy then I suggest you insist on a further diagnosis.
If you get another episode then I would present at the A & E dept where hopefully you will get a more accurate result.
It seems that the medical treatment and tests you received were very thorough - our great NHS at its best.
When I was first diagnosed with asthma, I was in my 40s and started waking in the night with shortness of breath for short periods - so it can present this way for some people. It's good that you have an appointment to test for it.
I don't think your BP reading was in the medical emergency category, if it was, the hospital would have taken action to bring it down. It is (was) in the 'may need long term treatment' category - if it remains high.
The first time I had a high BP reading at my doctor's surgery, they monitored me every 4 weeks or so over a 3 month period before suggesting medication to bring it down.
BP can be temporarily high for lots of reasons - this could include during breathlessness or going through various tests. Even though my BP is now controlled by medication, it's always higher when taken at the surgery than my home readings - and I don't consciously feel stressed at the surgery.
I hope you find your answers and appropriate treatment sooner rather than later If you have any new symptoms in the meantime, get them checked out via your GP or 111.
A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time out to respond. It is very much appreciated, and a lot of advice to take from experiences posted within.
Touching upon the "fobbed off" remark i made, and something Kristin picked up on. I get what you're saying, and i agree entirely with everything you said. However, i think where that feeling/thought stems from, is from the out of hours appointment i had at the hospital during the night/into the morning hours. The gp stated i would probably be given meds, as it needed to be brought down, but she would leave that to those specialists she was referring me onto later that morning. In all, it was quite a dire picture that was being painted during that initial appointment. Nothing between that appointment and the one later on correlates. Out of hours - kinda dire, proper appointment - oh, it's just stress.
Granted, all the out of hours had at hand was the blood pressure machine and a urine test. With the urine test coming back normal. Whereas at the appointment later that morning, i got the full works.
As for getting numbers on other tests, i can't access them as i live in Scotland, and unlike England, i can't access my records via the NHS app. It was mentioned the blood tests showed there was zero damage to my lungs, heart, kidneys, liver or pancreas. So I'm assuming the heart damage bloods were taken. But I can't deny or confirm that as i have no idea. I just know they took about 6 vials of blood. It was mentioned i would need a cholesterol test done at my gp's, so I know that wasn't done.
@Engineer46 has already given you the link for getting your records in Scotland. I got mine from my health board with no problem at all. I've never asked for GP records, but you will get them if you ask. When applying to the health board, ask for everything it holds on you. That will get you blood test results, X-Rays, scans, letters to GP, and nursing notes, etc.
Best wishes for getting further investigation and/or consultation and advice which you feel happy with.
The difference between BP of 177/107 and 169/100 is within the normal range of difference that you often get with a series of BP measurements taken within a short period of time. It's also common for BP measurements taken in a clinical situation to be higher than those taken at home ("White Coat Syndrome").
Having said that, those figures are quite high and need investigation, which you are having. However, you don't come across as someone who gets easily stressed or panicked, so I wouldn't see that as a very likely cause of the high BP, especially as a panic attack is often associated with a racing heartbeat, which you didn't have.
Do you know what your blood pressure was before you started experiencing the breathlessness? If it has been measured in the recent past, I'm sure that you would know if it had been high, so we can probably assume that it wasn't, unless it hasn't previously been measured of course. It it has previously been measured by your GP, you should ask for the data.
Even though you may not be able to access your health records through the NHS app in Scotland, you still have the right to access your records by writing to your GP Practice Manager. See:
I would endorse the comments of a previous respondent about measuring your blood pressure at home. As well as the ubiquitous upper arm cuff devices, there is also a Braun wrist cuff machine that is easier to use and that uploads its data to a smartphone using Bluetooth, giving you a permanent record that will show trends. It measures BP and HR and also indicates any arrhythmia
The following NHS web page deals with hypertension, its causes, effects and treatments. Apologies if you've already seen this:
I agree that your symptoms seem baffling. I also am not a medical doctor so I can only speak from my experiences.
When I had my HA in March 2022, I was not having chest pain, arm pain, or other pain. What I did notice was a rapid heart rate that continued to increase and stayed rapid. When I called the ambulance service, they checked my blood pressure and the systolic (top number) was over 200 and I can’t recall the rest. I also was having difficulty breathing so I headed to the emergency room. Blood tests showed increased and increasing troponin levels. I was having a HA
I do have high blood pressure, but I try to control it with medication Yesterday, I went into hospital to have a colonoscopy. At check-in, my blood pressure was 198 over 107 I was then scared to death with those BP numbers. The nurse kept telling me not to worry, but I have anxiety disorder so I worry about everything. After the procedure, my numbers were at 117/58–much better. Of course, I had not had solid food for two days, no BP medicine that morning and no sleep the night before
It sounds like you might have high blood pressure . As others have said, you may want to buy an arm BP cuff and keep a diary of your BP each morning and evening for a few weeks Talk with your doctor about your BP as a possible cause of what you are experiencing.
You might also want to have your lungs checked. when I had a chest x-ray during the HA, they noted a 4 mm nodule on one lung, and suggested that it be rechecked within 6 months Now, one year later, I am scheduled for a chest CT scan to check the nodule and my lungs as I am still having issues with breathlessness.
The breathlessness issue becomes confusing because I do have CAD, a nodule on my lungs, and anxiety disorder. All of those can cause breathing issues. Plus, my GP in looking over that report again (one year later) noted something else in my lungs that may show an additional issue with my heart I guess that we will find out next month when I have the CT scan.
As others have stated, have everything checked out. What you are experiencing is not normal. Good luck with getting it all sorted. .
Hi, Smitty. I had a chest xray, and numerous other lung tests from the respiratory specialist and everything was clear. Full lung capacity, and clear xrays. I did that blowing test also that asthmatics get, and i got the maximum reading. No nodules, no COPD and no narrowing of airways.
As i stated in my last post, i'm not sure what exact bloods were taken, but I'm assuming one of them was for the troponin levels, because it was stated i had no previous damage to the heart and no active damage occurring. So I'm gonna say i did get that test.
Not sure what the heart scan checks for. I got dye injected before it.
Just a small update. Since i posted my thread, i have had just two minor episodes spread over weeks. I also purchased an at home blood pressure machine.
The highest I have recorded at home is 140/90. That time i did feel stressed. Whenever i feel stressed, i whip the machine out, and it's usually in the 130's/high 80's.
When not feeling stressed my readings are usually max out at mid 120's/83 (83 being the highest). My lowest readings have been 117/75 and 118/78.
My pulse never goes above 75. That usually sits mid 60's.
Readings are done each time on both arms, and there's never usually a drastic difference between both arms. Around 3 difference. Not the 10 difference that can indicate an issue with circulation in a particular arm.
Weirdly, i stated i didn't feel stressed in my opening post, because i genuinely did not feel stressed. But since this has all began, I am more aware of how often I am getting stressed. The GP does not seem to think I require any medication other than to try me on propranolol. However, everything i have read about that, brings your heart rate down, not your blood pressure. I have never had a heart rate issue.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Are there tests for blocked arteries? 
Advice
Newbie Seeking Advice
Advice on ruling out anxiety
How to talk so my consultant will listen - advice please 🙏 
