Chest Pain from Stress and Anxiety

How does stress cause chest pain? This is one of the leading questions that doctors have been asked, in recent times. Usually, chest pain is caused mostly due to heart problems or other diseases like pneumonia, bronchitis, etc. Hence, when people feel a pain in the chest region, they usually jump the gun and conclude that it must be due to a heart attack or other heart related diseases. But when chest pain is experienced which causes a tightness in the chest, it indicates that it is due to stress and anxiety. Millions of people in the world are victims of stress and anxiety, of which chest pain is a common symptom.

Chest Pain Caused by Stress

Nowadays, the life of the average individual is full of tension and strain, more often than not resulting in stress. There can be numerous reasons for stress, which can lead to serious mental as well as health problems. Chest pain is one of the leading symptoms of stress and is usually accompanied by dizziness or sweating. When one is in a stressful situation, there is an increased release of the hormone, adrenaline, resulting in faster breathing, increased heart rate, alertness, muscle contraction, etc. These sudden physical changes can result into chest pain. Other effects of stress include head and back ache, heart problems, etc.

Chest pain from stress is found equally in women and men. Chest pain caused by anxiety or stress and chest pain caused due to heart attack may seem alike. When a person with chest pain caused due to stress visits a physician, no biomedical cause can be diagnosed. Hence, it is concluded that the chest pain is due to stress, i.e., this unexplained chest pain is actually a symptom of stress and anxiety.

Chest Pain Caused by Anxiety

Anxiety is a permanent state of worry or fear which also results in serious mental disorders. Anxiety, being next only to heart diseases, is one of the most important causes of chest pain. Nearly all the people suffering from anxiety disorders experience this type of chest pain. It can be acute or mild. Pain is also experienced in areas around the chest like shoulders and back. The patient feels tightness in chest. The chest may remain sore for many days due to panic disorder. Chest pain is also considered as a common symptom of anxiety disorders.

Chest pain from anxiety is nothing but muscle contraction in the chest wall. When a person experiences chest pain caused by anxiety, he mistakes it for a precursor of a heart attack and feels more anxious. This results in increased chest pain. Therefore, the chest pain and anxiety are sometimes interlinked.

Along with the chest pain, people also experience other symptoms like difficulty in breathing or increased anxiety. People also fear about serious complications and even death. Chest pain caused by anxiety is not a serious problem and is most times considered harmless.

Chest Pain: Stress Test

It is advisable to visit a physician when you experience chest pain. A stress test is a test that helps doctors in finding out how the heart works in stressful conditions. In this test, a person is asked to walk on a treadmill. The heart and breathing rate are monitored. The test will also help the doctor diagnose the cause of chest pain, whether it is heart related or caused from stress and anxiety.

Therapy and professional assistance can hugely help to cure anxiety disorders. Stress can, and should be, controlled by stress management techniques. Chest pain from stress and anxiety, most times, can be easily treated. If you feel a recurrent fleeting pain in the chest, you should seek medical help and get yourself properly diagnosed.