So, on the 27 of Aug I went to the ER for heart problems, too long to list, they checked me out, did many things, said I was fine and thought it was caused from an anxiety/panic attack. Referred me to a heart specialist who didn't do much but did an ekg, found my heart was going faster for a second or so and so he put me on Bystolic 2.5 MG once a day, I took it for 3-5 days till I developed symptoms and he told me to quit taking it. Nearly two days after that (Last Friday sep 12th), I wake up, go you know then try to go back to sleep, couldn't and was half asleep/half awake, later that day about 5PM I have to go to the ER after taking a new beta blocker my doc called in for me called Atenolol 25MG, needless to say I was having side effects from the med within an hr of taking it and same doc said to stop taking it and go to the ER as he can't keep calling in meds for me. The ER did many tests again, all came back normal, again and I was discharged and feeling fine, however, today since 8 or 9PM I've been having pains again, I'm very worried, I don't know if this is withdrawals from the beta blockers (I don't have high blood pressure btw) or if this is signs of a heart attack but, going back to the ER does nothing and when they discharged me on Friday, they said don't take the meds, call my doc on Mon.

So really, I don't know what to do? (As ER isn't helping) Help, I don't want to die.

HI,

What are your symptoms like?  I've had a few freak outs over chest pains that turned out, after some experimenting, to be just heartburn.  Also, it is easy for me to get anxiety attacks when I *think* there is a problem with my heart.  On the other hand, I don't have too many problems with physical activity, which is the most likely time to notice symptoms.

Yesterday I ate a lot of extra food because I felt that I was dropping too much weight.  As a result, I had wicked problems today with acid.  The way that it feels always gives me anxiety because it seems just like *chest* pains. 

I would ask yourself a few things.  Does this seem to happen after eating meals?  I always try to eat slower and spread it out throughout the day.  I would definitely try to rule this out.  Also, don't be afraid to go to the ER if you are unsure.  Hope it is just something harmless   Also, were the pains present while they ran the tests at the ER.  That was my experience.  While they checked me, I had horrible feelings in my chest.  They should be able to do a blood test that will indicate if you are having a heart attack or not.  My guess is that they ran this test and it came back negative.


The best thing to do to check your heart is to have a physical test while being monitored by a doctor.  I really feel for you because I know how scary it can be to think there is something wrong with your heart. 

If you haven't done hard drugs and there is no other evidence of damage as stated by doctors you've seen it sounds like a big ole dose of anxiety and adrenaline. Calm, breath, make a cardiac/internal medicine doctor your primary doctor, they can handle your HT in due time too that way.

I was always worried about my heart until I had a stress test which showed my heart is just fine. I worry a lot less now.

If you're unsure and in pain or having other scary symptoms, the ER is the place to go.

I don't smoke, never done drugs (Hell, I HATE taking anything drug wise, even legal ones, even aspirin!), never had even a drop of alcohol in my whole life (Oh if it wasn't for the ID showing my birth name/gender...) and up until 3 months ago when I got hurt at work, I was exercising daily. I eat healthy enough (Still improving) and take a fish oil omega 3 pill once a day just to be on the safe side. (As my mom died from a stroke or heart attack and my dad has had 3 heart attacks, yet survived them and both were heavy smokers fyi though grandma had 3 strokes which eventually killed her, don't know if she was a smoker or not) I get 8 hrs of sleep most days and, I try to take care of myself. I get enough to eat each day too.

If I go back to the ER, more than likely they won't find anything again and I'll be discharged and be told the same thing, on TOP of having to pay for a taxi to take me home. (Which I had to do both trips to the ER) They tested many things and drew blood, they don't seem concerned and are saying they don't know what it is besides anxiety/panic attacks or a muscle spasm. (What they said the 1st time I went, 2nd time just anxiety)

They can't find anything, nor did my primary care doctor (General doc) and the only one who found anything is, the heart specialist which was only a faster heart beat than normal and on the 17th I go to see him again plus get a scan of my heart to see what it looks like.

I just don't know what to do, I don't want to go to the ER just to be told the same thing again, but I also don't want to die. I don't know if this is a real life threatening concern here or not... and like I said, I also don't know if what all I'm experiencing/feeling is a result of withdrawal from the beta blocker or not...

First it is too early for withdrawal effects from the Beta blocker. You have not been on them long enough. Did they do a blood sugar test? Most diabetics get increased heart rate when sugar is too high. Did they check for gastric reflux? This can mirror the symptoms you describe as well. If it is not one of these two I would say you are having anxiety attacks. The best thing I would suggest is take it easy and try not to let this worry you too much and see your doctor tomorrow. There are several other reasons for your symptoms which are not life threatening. DO call EMS if you have this and pass out, get arm pain, or start sweating profusely with chest pain. 

Did they run the blood test at the ER to determine if you had an infraction?  If so and your EKG was okay, I would try to rule out heartburn as the cause.  Often the stress of thinking you are in mortal danger can cause anxiety attacks which are very scary.  I've had many of these instances so try to take it easy and relax.

I went to the ER after all after dealing with the symptoms for 7 hrs. This time I had the ambulance take me to a different ER/hospital. They did tests, ran results and so on, all came back fine, I believe I recall the doc saying I'm young, it all looks fine and I'm not at risk for a heart attack. (That was after he finished telling me the results of the tests)

At this point, I'm thinking it's an anxiety attack that's the cause, but I don't know for sure, I'll try not to worry about it too much though.

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on September 14, 2014, 09:51:54 AM
First it is too early for withdrawal effects from the Beta blocker. You have not been on them long enough. Did they do a blood sugar test? Most diabetics get increased heart rate when sugar is too high. Did they check for gastric reflux? This can mirror the symptoms you describe as well. If it is not one of these two I would say you are having anxiety attacks. The best thing I would suggest is take it easy and try not to let this worry you too much and see your doctor tomorrow. There are several other reasons for your symptoms which are not life threatening. DO call EMS if you have this and pass out, get arm pain, or start sweating profusely with chest pain. 

The 2nd ER tip I found out they did, their reference range for sugar lv. is 40-500, mine sugar lv. was at 71. They told me they wouldn't have tested for gastric reflux so I can't say if that's the cause or not however, these symptoms don't feel at all like heart burn. Thank you so much for the advice!

Quote from: Deinewelt on September 14, 2014, 12:17:00 PM
Did they run the blood test at the ER to determine if you had an infraction?  If so and your EKG was okay, I would try to rule out heartburn as the cause.

They did (Though I don't know about the infraction part), tested many things all 3 times, EKG so far have always come back fine. (Minus the one at the heart specialist who did one and found my heart was beating faster for a second than normal)

If all these tests keep coming back fine, then I would look at the anxiety/panic disorder. Yeah it is scary when you have chest pains but a lot of things can contribute to chest pains. Pulled muscle, a racing heart though sounds more like anxiety or panic attacks and then it goes down hill from there and then you are convinced your having a heart attack. Heart palpitations too. I know, I spent 1400 dollars seeing a cardiologist and wearing a monitor for 24 hours. Not to mention 500 dollars for an emergency room visit which yielded a normal EKG or ECG or whatever they do. So almost 2000 dollars and nothing was supposedly wrong with me. So everyone from my GP to the ER to the Cardiologist said everything was normal so screw it. Or that was the attitude I took and it kind of went away. It still happens every now and then but I don't even think about it anymore or let it bother me. If it was something like AFib I'm sure the test would have shown that. So maybe it's time to look at the anxiety/panic attack angle. Both can make you think what you are thinking now.

I think it could very well be stress related- I used to have panic attacks and had to wear a heart monitor for a month to see what was the problem- nothing showed up wrong. Later I was having seizures, got all kinds of tests (eeg, mri, etc) and that turned out to be stress related. Around the same time I had symptoms of psychosis- Also stress related. With a higher dose of my medication and some counseling, it all went away. So, it could be there's nothing wrong if the doctors don't find anything. Just relax 

I understand your concern but asking a forum full of non medically qualified people (with the exception of Jessica and maybe a few others) is not going to get you the help you need. I mean I could say it is probably anxiety, especially if the tests are coming back OK, but how would I know? A 42 year old friend of mine recently had a pace maker implanted, she seemed fine to me before...good thing she wasn't relying on me for medical advice. The problem with anxiety symptoms is that the more anxious you become about them the worse they become. Try relaxing, avoid spicy food and eat your meals slowly is about all I've got.