I am a 24 year old male . I have been experiencing certain symptoms for more than 10 years now that have had me worrying if I suffer from a heart problem for a long time. The symptoms have slightly changed over the years and over the last 4 - 5 years, I have been experiencing symptoms like random shortness of breath (fleeting, sometimes only for a second). I also feel my heart beat (slightly pounding feel) when I get anxious/excited such as attempting to sing in a party, etc. Once I relax myself, these symptoms dissappear and generally they don t last for more than a minute or two. The other day, I was trying to catch the company bus. The bus was about to start in 2 mins time and I grew anxious if I would be able to catch it in time. As I started walking fast, I experienced breathlessness for a fraction of a second (it was very scary at that moment though). As I took my seat in the bus and relaxed, I was normal again. I have had similar experiences many times. I also experienced palpitation once in July 2010 (I was having a headbath. I guess I exerted myself too much that resulted in breathlesness followed by the palpitation). The palpitation lasted for an hour and it only stopped after I distracted myself by watching some videos on the net. I had a similar experience in Dec 2005, but that time around, the palpitation lasted for only 15 mins. I also sometimes experience pain in (what I imagine) is my heart. Usually, it feels like a piercing pain in one side of my heart (either left or right). Whenever that happens I usually move to a place where there s no one around and ask myself to relax. (I sometimes start walking around as I believe it eases the pain). The pain usually subsides within 5 minutes but sometimes it has even lasted for about 30 - 45 minutes. After that I feel normal. I also experience fleeting pain in the chest occassionally that lasts from a few seconds to maybe a minute or two. I also occassionally experience what I guess is called a panic attack (I suddenly start feeling like having difficulty breathing, my heart rate getting faster, it feels like I am about to have a heart attack. It is a really scary experience but doesn t last for more than 5 minutes). I have had such an experience 3 - 4 times in the last 4 years. My other symptoms include frequent colds (I experience a runny nose for a day followed by a blocked nose for about a week or two. It is so severe that I get convinced that it s not the natural common cold that happens to everyone. It s sometimes accompanied by fever). Also, after I joined office in 2007, I started wearing socks and shoes everyday and I had skin eczema in my feet and had to take medication for that. It was initially itchy rashes and I kept scratching it which eventually led to eczema I guess). I occassionally also experience a hot feeling in my one of my ears. When I see myself in the mirror, I also notice that ear has turned red. It then becomes normal on its own. Sometimes, red (pinkish) spots appear on my skin that last for about 2 - 4 days and disappear of their own. I have never met a doctor in the last ten years fearing that I could be diagnosed with a serious heart problem. Off late, I have been reading on the net that there s something called an anxety disorder and the symptoms of that are very similar to heart related symptoms. It had me thinking if I too could be suffering from anxiety problem and not any serious heart trouble. Since I m 24 now, I feel the need to know my problem exactly so that I can plan my life forward. I have considered meeting a doctor but I am still apprehensive if the enormity of the situation would have me feeling breathless,etc. Based on what I have described above and considering the fact that I have been experiencing these for many years now, if someone can tell me the likelihood of it being one or the other, I would be very much grateful.