HiMy name is Stevie
For about a year I've had headaches and dull pain over heart area, have attended cardiologist with no results.
Recently diagnosed with anxiety, one symptom is always in dream like state, would be most grateful if anybody had or has similar symptoms
Thank you
Hi this sounds similar to how I feel sometimes I get a terrible headache and weird chest sensation and palpitations I told my cardiologist because last time it lasted 3 days the headache and palpitations and my consultant said to go to A&E if it ever happens again 😳😐. Anxiety can mimic heart symptoms trust me I know I have heart disease and anxiety so can be hard to know what is what sometimes! When you say dream like state do you mean lucid dreams??
No Yumz, Not lucid dreams
When out and about its like you're not fully aware of your surroundings, hard sensation to explain, sorry.
Not dizzy, not out of focus just not right
Does sound difficult to describe, sorry to ask 💔. Is it a side effect from medication maybe??
Good question, I thought side effect of blood pressure tablets, doctor changed medication to no avail, I was prescribed ssri's, anti depression tablets but they made my body feel terrible. Now for anxiety I'm taking mirtazapine but only been using for 2 weeks
Oh wow I'm on mirtazapine for that and it proper wiped me out when I first started taking them and I had some very weird lucid dreams I'm actually trying to get on another medication because of the weight gain side effect. I have been on it since April so about 7 months x takes about 6 months to really kick in and start working.
Still early stages for me.Weight a problem too, I stopped smoking 6 years ago and struggling with weight gain but better a few pounds than smoking.
Think my condition been described as "brain fog" ?
This sounds like dissociation, it's a common symptom of stress, anxiety, adhd, etc. It feels almost like you're observing what's happening, instead of fully living/experiencing it? Like life is fuzzy around the edges.
I've read about disassociation but also symptoms include headaches especially back left and now dull pain over heart area, not getting anywhere with local gp
I guess what I'm trying to suggest is that if you're worried about your health, you may also be experiencing symptoms of stress or anxiety - so all your symptoms may not necessarily be part of the same condition.
Cardiac symptoms and anxiety symptoms often overlap, so if there's been any tests that helps to narrow it down.
Have you asked for a differential diagnosis, and what the justification for not being tested for this is?
Gp referred me to cardiologist, had appointment 2 weeks ago, result in conclusive because of copd, I only managed 3 minutes on treadmill so going back in December. I'm not normally prone to anxiety so why now? I'm definitely worried about health even with reassurance. Couple of things worrying me now but they shouldn't?
Need to work now, look forward to more communication
Maybe instead of the treadmill they could suggest an angiogram which would show any blockages in real time which could be stented immediately if necessary...this is a relatively easy and quick process
Thanks for replyI'm totally ignorant in these matters
I will ask cardiologist for this test when I go in December
Its not a simple test and carries serious risks as well, and I doubt without proper indications they would carry this out willy nilly??.
I agree, I remember being told of the risks of an invasive angiogram before signing the consent form.Bleeding, stroke, coronary artery dissection, perforation of an artery arrthymias, heart attack, cardiac arrest and death!
Non invasive CT angiogram tend to be offered rather than invasive angiogram first.
Deary meNo thanks
In an emergency when you're having a serious heart attack the benefits definitely outway the risks!
To find out if the patient has any blockages...I have had an angiogram and many others I know..it is a short proceedure and feels pretty safe...you are awake and it is painless..normally...and in case the patient needs a stebt they can do that at the same time...if you take a CT scan first and there are blockages you then still have to do an angiogram..and a CT scan usedca lot of radioactivity which you can avoid...but each person makes their own decisions...as with every surgical proceedure you need to sign consent...no matter how small a surgery is there is always a risk.
In the UK, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, NICE guidelines recommends a CT angiogram for the evaluation of stable coronary artery disease in chest pain pathways.
NICE recommendations are research evidence based.
Just had ecg recommended by nhs 111 because of increased chest pain, test clear haven't a clue was causing pain anxiety?Cardiologist prescribed propranolol, took 1st tablet today, one hour later developed breathing problems, I have copd, said drug causes this as side effect.
So I ignore drug and continue with chest pain or take drug and live with reduced breathing, what a life
You are so right about the side effects with propranolol. I was talking 40mg three times a day to settle fast heart rate and thumping in the chest, but I was experiencing light headedness, which I found out was low blood pressure and experience shortness of breath, my blood oxygen results went as low as 82, I was nearly passing out. Iam now taking 20mg of propranolol twice daily but not taking any in the morning because after ,90mins taking 20mg of propranolol I was feeling lightheadness, so Ian not taking the morning ones now just afternoon and at night around 830pm.
An angiogram is not a small procedure where as a CT scan uses minimal radioactivity and you would need dozens of them to even cause you any concern. Check the amount of radiation you take in when on a flight? but then of course there is always a risk with flying, driving, crossing the road etc. Its all in your own perspective of things.
Radiation During a CT Scan
It can damage the DNA in your cells and raise the chance that they'll turn cancerous. These scans expose you to more radiation than other imaging tests, like X-rays and mammograms. For example, one chest CT scan delivers the amount in 100 to 800 X-rays...so as you see 1 CT scan equals 100 to 800 xrays...I would not consider that minimal radiation...
We are exposed to low levels of radiation when we fly. You would be exposed to about 0.035 mSv (3.5 mrem) of cosmic radiation if you were to fly within the United States from the east coast to the west coast. This amount of radiation is less than the amount of radiation we receive from one chest x-ray.
Hi Steve I am also new here, and yes I understand what you mean and then your made to feel its your imagination/anxiety. But if you read my profile you will see my story. But to cut it short I after being admitted into hospital for breathing problems in July to finally have an Echocadiogram on the 14th September. Then on the 15th finally they are taking me serious and unfortunately I have very Severe Heart Failure (aged 49 and 1 month). Still having tests to discover why the sudden damage. I bought a finger prope and monitored my pulse rate and at times is was dropping as low as 29. So I went back to A and e rather than the gp
Hi Shabana, I'm trying to read your reply but when I press more nothing happens?Sorry can you re post?
Hi Steve I am also new here, and yes I understand what you mean and then your made to feel its your imagination/anxiety. But if you read my profile you will see my story. But to cut it short I after being admitted into hospital for breathing problems in July to finally have an Echocadiogram on the 14th September. Then on the 15th finally they are taking me serious and unfortunately I have very Severe Heart Failure (aged 49 and 1 month). Still having tests to discover why the sudden damage. I bought a finger prope and monitored my pulse rate and at times is was dropping as low as 29. So I went back to A and e rather than the gp
I would hazard a guess that you had the jibby jabby?
Yes 4 of them
😪 defo look at getting some tests done, they can test for the spike protein around your heart, it shouldnt be there and its that, that causes the inflammation and blood clots, although its a hard slog to prove it was the carrot as the nhs wont want to admit harm and if they do its only £150K which is nothing compared to your health, id bet my house thats what caused your HF, far too many cases of otherwise healthy people having heart issues, start doing your own research Dr John Campbell on YT is a good start, he was pro the carrot (had 2 himself before he developed BP issues) and the evidence started to come out he like many should of done followed the science and the evidence.
Thank you for information
Dr John Campbell is not a medical doctor. He has a PhD in Philosophy and is a former Nurse Lecturer.
That is clear for me then...I also have heart failure with LBBB and am pretty sure it was caused by the jabby.. did angiogram all clear Docs cannot find any reason for HF...EF was down to 35 with meds now for nearly 2 yrs it is up to 47..so there is hope but not for it to be repaired..but function wise...so although a very sad state of affairs we now have to take meds and keep fingers crossed
Sorry, what is Jabby?
Yes this is true
Read your bio Shabana,OMG how upsetting to get diagnosed so young.
Please use your mental strength to come to terms.
Thank you for sharing your story.
It's good to share experiences and hopefully the future becomes a bit brighter
Yes it is but atleast there not telling me its Anxiety/ imagination or coffee that's the other one they told me maybe the coffee was producing the irregular finger prope results
Coffee? Absolutely ridiculous
Yes especially as coffee has a calming affect on me. I can't sleep until I have a coffee. Anyway I drink it a lot less than I am used to. . But I would say for you stay persistent insist on a Echocadiogram because until I had mine they would make me feel like it was my imagination. Even with that feeling that you are there but not completely like sometimes you see your life in slow motion it such a strange feeling that's hard to explain
Thank you Shabana
Hi ShabanaI had an ecg last night and it was normal so I'm beginning to think diagnosis of anxiety probably true
I will follow doctor's advice
Thank you for past information
It Might be Anxiety but just so you know 95% of my eggs were normal. In my opinion they don't do it for long enough to get a true picture
I meant ECG, sorry autocorrect got involved
No problem
Hi Stevie. I’ve had anxiety symptoms in the past and what you describe sounds like dissociation. It’s a weird and discomforting state and happens when part of you kind of shuts down as a way of coping with an anxious situation or state of mind. I didn’t take any meds for it but it was useful to have it explained by a psychologist who I worked with.
Hi, thanks for reply.Did counselling help you?
Counselling has always helped me that’s why I became a counsellor! But I didn’t get anything specific for disassociation it went all on its own.
Hi Steviebob - I am a Cbt therapist and obviously can’t diagnose you but if the consultant/gp agree that you have anxiety there are things you can do. If you can afford it, try therapy, if you can’t then there are some self help books out. Also maybe look into a mindfulness course in your area. There is a book called the Happiness Trap which is easy reading and you could work through. Your symptoms sound a bit like brain fog/dissociation
Thank you for your input, much appreciated
Hi Stevie
I'll echo what others have said here, anxiety and your brain are mofo's and can really mess you up, ive been through the ringer with it and currently waiting on a CT angiogram result as the last puzzle piece to put my over active mind at rest, i suffer/suffered with ectopic beats and around a time when there was alot of stuff going on in my life i had a number of salvo's and that really kick started the whole "im having a heart attack, my heart is kaputt" circus, but like you i had all the chest pains,back pains , the weird out of mind, like watching a movie feelings. i'm at the stage now where myself and the GP are more thinking its gastro (i have a hiatus hernia) anyway my point is get all the tests done, if like me you need to understand why it really helped to settle my mind, ive been on citalopram only 15mg for nearly 2 years but i am hoping to come off it soon.
Thank you for reply StuartI'm probably not making much sense with symptoms bit your answer has hit home, im still in denial about anxiety as so far I've not had any panic attacks or don't think I've had?
Back in January my mother was taken into hospital and I was maybe anxious about that, I was prescribed ssri's which knocked me sideways, not a good feeling, since then bees to hospital, gp's. 2 weeks ago I was prescribed mirtazapine which so far has no effect, heart pain only came on a few months ago, cardiologist gave me spray for under the tongue which hasn't helped
Yep i was the same "i didnt feel anxious" but your sub conscience mind is a powerful thing and anxiety can rear its head in many forms for different people, hair loss, weight loss, ticks etc sadly for some of us we get the chest/heart issues and i have no doubt i had/have anxiety but it was fed imho by what i think are gastro issues and along with the issues at home , lost a family pet, had major knee surgery, major building work on the house all these things formed the perfect storm for what i suppose was a breakdown of sorts fed by grief/stress, as i say ive been on a very low dose of ppi 15mg but its been the tests ive had done (ekgs, echocardiagram and now angiogram) that have helped to settle my mind, defo push to get these done as they helped me reason with my mind, re the ssri i tried sertraline and it didnt agree with me at all, so i went on citalopram which i tolerated better. Do you suffer with acid reflux at all?
I understand after tests results are good and should settle you but the heart pain is worrying even after tests.Our local gp, give you a pill to try to no avail, you go back and process repeated getting you nowhere.
Understandably hospital a+e only for emergency so I feel abandoned that's why im reaching out to kind people like yourself for advice, remedy
do you suffer with acid reflux? i ask this as alot of my chest pains are related to Gerd/Gord and because our stomaches are on the left side just under the heart they can have a real effect on the heart, i have a hiatus hernia and they call it the great mimic as it can feel like your having heart issues, all of this ive found out myself not from the GP, i was obsessed with finding out the Why, some would say it made my health anxiety worse but im just the kind of person that has to understand things and if i can rationalise it then i can deal with it better.
The chest pains could be purely anxiety related, perhaps go back to the docs and ask to be put on a lower dose of a SSRI as i say im on 15mg of citalopram (i have to cut 1 on half) sadly if its anxiety there is no quick fix, and the ssri's will take a good 5weeks+ to really make any difference. ive been battling it 2 years now and like yourself i just wanted to be "normal" again, when i had the attack i stopped drinking and started to watch what i ate also, was a real shock to the system.
I can relate to your situation Stuart.I forgot to mention background symptoms.
Constipation and diarrhoea being one, bloated extended stomach too.
I gave up smoking 6 years ago, 1 was 40 a day, switched to vaping, gave that up 6 months ago but there is not an hour goes by when I'm still craving nicotine.
Compensating this by over eating at night to help with craving.
Doctor changed blood pressure medication but no change.
Ssri's, I've been on 3 different types, are not for me, I could not handle side effects . I'm normally an easy going guy but situation worsening day by day.
On a non Ssri just now, will give it the 4 weeks to see what happens
Yup the bloated distended stomach is what i get and when i get that is when the ectopics start, usually bought on from bending over lifting boxes etc and generally manual labour type activities. Look into your stomach as you might be having what they call silent reflux, where you dont feel the burn or the acid in your throat.
Well done on the smoking probably the single worse thing you can do to yourself that!
Thanks for that reply Stuart. Probably because of no previous issues except copd, I question every thing when my body misbehaves.
But the "like watching a movie state" is worrying along with the heart pain.
Vicious circle, you worry then symptoms get worse then you worry more
Yep you start to fear the fear itself, its a self fulling circle and anxiety loves it it feeds off it, so you have to break cycle, try and do some activities that take your mind off it, i play alot of video games which i find helps as the mind is distracted
hi
I had a heart attack 9 months ago and it turned my world upside down as I’ve always been fit and well. Cardiac wise I’ve made a good recovery and I’m back training well but the biggest problem I’ve had is with brain fog. It’s so debilitating with all the symptoms you describe. Been back and forth to my gp as I was convinced it was something underlying. Or a side effect of all the medication. After much chopping and changing of meds, further investigations, I’m now rapidly coming to the conclusion it’s caused by anxiety and depression after doing a lot of my own research. There’s lots of advice out there on how to deal with it and I’m now on a journey of trying to resolve it so I can get on and enjoy my life as it’s been miserable lately. Best of luck 👍
It's great you have positive thinking for the future.I'm also trying to research remedy, thank you for kind response
Hi Stevie I have something very similar but mine is definitely physical it is coming from degeneration from the discs in my neck degenerating I have had scans to prove it Just a thought
Your threads about how you feel seem to relate to how iam feeling. It is hard to understand if one problem is causing the other problem. I do seem to have similar feelings of not being in the same room as anyone else. Engrossed in my own feelings and worries. It is hard to explain but iam not right. Yes I have now been found to have a congenital heart problem. You can read my bio. But I am not feeling as I want to feel. Like today iam so low and down and I just hate the waiting. You try something but you have to wait. For example I had an exercise test last year and done 7 minutes and done maximum effort. But it's not like a normal person would achieve. Had another one last month and I know for a fact I got past 6 minutes and I was going up every minute at 20watts where as last year it was 18watts. And I was told I had done maximum effort but now my cardiologist wants to see me so now my mind is racing. Bit like going to see the head master. The unknown the worry what's been found.? Just carnt move forward. Its hard you try to look at the positives but just one or two negative blow them out of the water. Iam on setraline for anxiety but I have been up and down on them. Blood pressure medication now going up and down on them because of kidney function. One thing I have learnt is these medications are good at sorting one problem out but they cause other issues to appear in spades. I will not express my concerns about the injections that carnt be named but something happened to me 2021 and I carnt prove anything but this horrible journey iam on All kicked off around that time. Yes I was found to have a congenital issue which in a positive way has been found and can hopefully be managed but the anxiety is another thing. You take care
In general I would never bring our nhs down but just to get proper diagnosis and cure would be a godsend
I agree I will not knock our nhs. The only thing is the medications. No one medication fits all and it's the trial and error that you have to go through to find the magic combination. That's the frustration. But we all have to go through that.
Totally agree with that statement
Hi Stevie, welcome to this fantastic site. Everyone here will give you advice and support and good listening ear. Iam sorry to learn that you are have problems around your chest area. My advice is to go back to your doctors and talk to them about what the conclusion was when you meet up with the cardiologist consultant or there Team members. Explain to them what you are feeling and experiencing. Now you have been diagnosed with Anxiety it's much harder to get the doctor to listen with your health. concer. I would get an appointment with talking changes team or Mind to help with your Anxiety. I have the same issue with my chest, feeling pressure or dull pain. What other test have you had so far about your dull pain you are experiencing with your chest. Keep us all Upto date. Take care.
Thanks for reply jayjayI feel if gp or hospital not being faced with emergency they send you away with one pill or another.
I know there are numerous more fitting cases than mine for immediate attention but my quality of life diminishes week by week by uncertainty of condition, I've tried all potions remedies, prescribed or herbal to no avail.
I hate to sound conceited but it really affects you physically which affects your mental state and vice versa
Pericardial Effusion
Myocarditis
angioplasty with stent 
Cardiomyopathy and AF
