What Causes Arm Pain And Heart Palpitations When Suffering From Terrible Anxiety?

Posted on Tue, 16 Dec 2014

Question: Hello. I'm 21 years old and recently have been to the ER due to having arm pain which led to heart palps thinking I had a heart attack. They said everything looked fine but ever since then for three weeks I've been having terrible anxiety and very sharp random concentrated arm pains as well as sharp finger pains that scare me. The arm pains do tend to get worse at night and my back has also been consistently hurting under the shoulder blades. Sometimes it will be my right arm, sometimes my left. My family does not have a history of heart disease. Is it possible there's something wrong with my heart even after those tests? I just don't understand why I'm still having these pains.

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
You have nothing serious to worry about...

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking!

I read your concern and understood you concerns. As long as examinations on the ER settings were normal, you have nothing serious (life threatening) to worry about.

However i recommend a few examinations to rule out some other than thyroid problems that may have caused your symptoms:
- Cardiac ECHO
- Holter monitoring
- Chest X ray
- Cervical and Thoracic spine X ray
- Abdominal ultrasound

This will help to exclude non life threatening cardiac, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and musculo-skeletal problem.

If all the mentioned examinations are normal than you have to wait for planed thyroid examinations. Thyroid problems may be the cause of anxiety and palpitations.

Hope you will find this information helpful!
Wish you health!
Dr. Benard

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju