Chest pain is a very common symptom during panic attacks. 22% to just over 70% of panic attacks are linked with chest pain. At the same time, around 18% to 25% of people who go to the emergency room with chest pain actually have panic disorder.
The numbers are even higher in heart clinics, where most patients come in worried about chest pain. These patients usually go through costly heart rates, but their panic disorder is often missed or left untreated. It can be a problem because panic disorder can seriously affect your daily life, even though there are effective treatment options available.
Why Panic Disorder Can Cause Chest Pain
Panic disorder can cause chest pain in various ways. Some causes are linked with the heart, but others are not. In most cases, more than one cause is happening at the same time.
Non-Heart Related Causes
Chest pain during panic attacks does not always come from the heart. It can result from muscle strain. When you breathe fast during a panic attack, it can tighten or strain chest muscles, which causes pain. Anxiety can affect the movement of your food pipe, which leads to spasms and makes you feel like you have chest pain. Anxiety can also make normal sensations feel painful. Some people even link anxiety with pain, especially if certain medications can relieve both.
Heart-Related Causes
Panic attacks can even affect your heart. Stress responses may temporarily affect blood vessels, reducing blood flow and causing pain. Panic increases heart rate and blood pressure. These conditions can make your heart work harder and even lead to chest pain, especially in people with heart problems.
Small Blood Vessel Issues
Panic attacks can even affect the tiny blood vessels in the heart. When you are under stress, it can activate the nervous system, which even tightens these small vessels. It can reduce the blood flow and cause chest pain, even if the major arteries are normal.
When Panic and Heart Problems Overlap
Sometimes, you experience panic attacks and heart-related chest pain together. Panic increases the heart’s functioning, which can even lead to heart-related pain. That pain then increases anxiety, creating a cycle where both keep making each other worse.
Why Is It Hard To Diagnose
It is usually difficult to figure out the exact cause of chest pain because there is a possibility that a person can have multiple causes at once. Panic symptoms, such as breathing, can even cause test results that look like heart problems, even when they are not.
So, What is the Difference Between a Panic Attack and An Anxiety Attack?
What Anxiety Chest Pain Feels Like
Anxiety can show up in various ways. These make the symptoms even more difficult to understand. Chest pain that happens with anxiety is not the same for everyone. The condition can feel different from person to person, and can even change from day to day.
Some people feel chest pain that builds up slowly, while others experience it suddenly without any warning. The sensation can vary a lot. It can feel like a sharp or stabbing pain, a continuous ache, or a tight, heavy pressure in the chest. Others describe it as a burning feeling, numbness, or a strange twitching.
If you have never had anxiety-related chest pain before, it can be scary. Most people think they are having a heart attack and even rush to the medical room. However, research shows that about half of the people who rush to the ER for chest pain do not have a heart-related problem. In most cases, the cause is linked to anxiety conditions like panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.
Even if your doctor rules out heart issues and you are still having chest pain, it is a good idea to talk to your doctor about anxiety or panic attacks as a possible cause. You need to understand the real reason behind your symptoms to get the right treatment and feel more in control.
Learn What Does Anxiety Feel Like? Difference Between Anxiety Attack and Anxiety Disorder
How Anxiety Can Make Chest Pain Worse
Chest pain is the most common reason people go to the emergency room or visit a heart specialist. However, the main of the cases, the actual problem is not caused by heart disease. It is known as non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). Even though it is not usually dangerous, it can still have a long-lasting effect on the person’s daily life, sometimes just as much as actual heart disease.
A large number of people with this type of chest pain also deal with mental health conditions. It especially includes anxiety disorders like panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. These conditions can make chest pain feel more intense, happen more often, and become harder to manage. All these reasons can lower the overall quality of life.
For people with panic disorder, chest pain can feel more frequent and severe, which can come back over time. It can especially affect physical well-being. On the other hand, generalized anxiety disorder is closely linked to emotional challenges, such as constant worries and stress. These can also improve the quality of life in a good way.
GAD and panic disorder are anxiety disorders, but these can affect people differently. Panic disorder usually heightens awareness of the physical sensations that make chest pain feel stronger. GAD impacts your emotional health. In most cases, having any of these anxiety disorders can make symptoms worse and interfere more with your everyday life.
Overall, non-cardiac chest pain is not a physical issue, but it is closely linked to mental health. You need to know the connection to treat both the physical symptoms and anxiety effectively.
When To Get Help For Anxiety Chest Pain
If your anxiety and chest pain are not going away, consult with a therapist. They can talk with you about the situations that cause anxiety.
Here is How Does Therapy Help With Anxiety.
If the pain keeps coming back even after following the right treatment options, a therapist can provide you with coping techniques. These can help you feel in control and secure. Call our experts at 561-821-5526 to request an appointment today!