Most people perceive anxiety as a psychological disorder. However, anxiety often triggers physical symptoms such as sweating, breathing difficulties, trembling, increased heart rate, fatigue, and chest pain. Among these, chest pain due to anxiety becomes a cause of serious concern as the symptom can indicate a series of more severe health complications, like heart disorders. It makes it mandatory for you to understand anxiety-related chest pain. Read on to know more.
Causes of Anxiety-Related Chest Pain
Muscle Tension: Extreme anxiousness can trigger a stress response in the human body and brain. This results in multiple physiological changes. You may experience tightening of various muscles, leading to a “fight or flight” response. These changes in your body can trigger spasms of the intercostal muscles (the muscles connecting the ribs), which may lead to sharp chest pain.
Increased Heartbeat: Anxiety attacks have direct links with an adrenaline rush. The rise in adrenaline level forces the heart to beat harder and faster; and thereby leaves the organ highly strained. This strain is a common cause of anxiety-related chest pain.
Esophageal Changes: Anxiety often causes contraction of esophageal muscles, which triggers throbbing chest pain.
Hyperventilation: Changes in breathing are common in anxiety. Your breathing may get very shallow and quick. When this continues for several minutes, you may experience pain due to strained chest muscles.
Stress Hormones: An increase in the levels of stress hormones like cortisol, vasopressin, prolactin, adrenaline, and noradrenaline can narrow your arteries. Narrowed arteries cause impaired blood flow, which can trigger sudden chest pain.
Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Chest Pain
It’s difficult to identify anxiety symptoms as the disorder has different kinds of manifestations. Usually, the symptoms of the condition vary significantly from one individual to another.
What’s more, even an individual may experience different anxiety symptoms on different days. The type of anxiety-related chest pain can also be different depending on the cause of the pain. In some anxiety patients, the pain occurs gradually, while in others, the pain is sudden.
After consulting several studies and reports and conducting hundreds of surveys, doctors have shortlisted the following as common symptoms of anxiety-related chest pain:
- A persistent pain
- A sharp pain
- A feeling of muscle spasm in the chest
- A dull ache
- Stabbing pressure
- A sense of numbness around the chest
- A burning sensation in the chest
- Tightness in the chest
The above symptoms may be a cause of concern for you if you haven’t experienced anxiety-related chest pain before. Your doctor should be able to assist you in identifying the actual cause of the pain.
Differentiating Anxiety-Related Chest Pain and Heart Attack Pain
It is always a good idea to get yourself checked when you get chest pain. You should do so even if you are confident that the problem is related to anxiety. However, there are a few symptoms that indicate that the pain is possibly due to a heart attack. They are:
- Chest pain that occurs along with nausea
- Your chest pain increases when you move around and decreases when you rest
- Chest pain radiating to body parts like your back, arms, and jaw
- An abnormally high heart rate
- A feeling of pressure around the chest
- Breathing difficulties
You must have noticed that a few of the symptoms are the same as those of anxiety-related chest pain. This makes it mandatory to take chest pain seriously, irrespective of your medical history.
Treatment for Anxiety-Related Chest Pain
When your chest pain is not due to a heart attack, the treatment usually involves a few relaxation techniques. The results of these techniques vary depending on the intensity of your anxiety attack, but on most occasions, you will experience significant relief after trying them.
Deep Breathing: Deep breathing calms down both the mind and the body. To practice this technique, you need to find a quiet corner in your home. Inhale as you count 10. Hold your breath for a second and then exhale as you count 10. Keep doing this until you start feeling better and your chest pain goes away.
Mindfulness: Anxiety often occurs when people think too much about the future or lament about past events. When you practice mindfulness, you will learn to focus on the present. This helps reduce all anxiety symptoms, including chest pain. Mindfulness strategies may include naming and focusing on things you are seeing, smelling, touching, and hearing.
Visualizing a Happy Scene
Anxiety attacks subside quickly when you visualize a happy scene. This process works particularly when you are in a setup that you cannot get rid of immediately. For instance, when you are feeling stressed during an interview. Close your eyes, practice deep breathing, and try visualizing things like your happy times with your family, a relaxing time with your pet, etc.
You must visit a psychiatrist if the above procedures fail to help you. Perry Avenue Family Medical Center has the best psychiatrists in the country. These professionals are not only qualified and experienced but also have the biggest quality mental health professionals need, i.e., compassion. Visit to know more about psychiatric services offered by Perry Avenue Family Medical Center.