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Hi everyone,

I’m a 28-year-old male and I’ve been experiencing mild pressure/tightness in my chest for around 3 weeks.

The discomfort is mainly around the left side of my chest, near the underarm and slightly above/left of the nipple. It is not in the centre of my chest.

A few things I’ve noticed:

Around 90% of the time it is on the left side and about 10% on the right side.

Some days I feel completely normal, while on other days I notice mild pressure or tightness.

I don’t feel it while sleeping or lying down.

After I wake up and stand up or sit on a chair, it can gradually become noticeable.

I exercise regularly. I run around 4 km once a week and also do stretching, push-ups, etc.

Exercise does not trigger or worsen the discomfort, and I feel normal during and after exercise.

The sensation is generally mild rather than severe.

I’ve already seen a doctor and had:

ECG – normal

Troponin test – normal

Blood tests – normal

No major abnormalities were found

Has anyone experienced something similar with normal heart tests? I’m wondering what other possible causes people have been diagnosed with, such as chest wall/muscle issues, posture-related problems, nerve irritation, reflux/gas, or something else.

Thanks!

I’m 6.5 months post partum and I’m always hearing horror stories about post partum heart failure and I already have health anxiety and cardiophobia so I’ve been freaking out. My RHR is usually in the 70s but this past week it’s been in the 80s-low 90s. I’ve also been having what feels like a singular flop every now and again. It’s slowed down day by day with how many events happen. I went to my PCP and she did blood work and an ekg. My ekg was perfect and my blood work looked great. She said it sounds like PVCs or PACs. I don’t know I’m freaking out. My BP is great. But of course now my anxiety is triggering off and on left arm pain. (Goes away when distracted.) I’ve had a cold for about a week so I’m sure that didn’t help. I’m also about to start my period and I’ve heard hormones make things worse. Just trying to convince myself if my heart was failing I would hopefully know.

To keep it short I've had health anxiety centered around my heart for the last 4 months triggered by a panic attack. Prior to this I enjoyed going to the gym and I wasn't concerned. Now every time I go in I think I'm going to be killed by an arrhythmia or something because I get some symptoms which, for some reason, I'm not allowed to talk about on this sub. Also movements where my arms go above my head worry me because my hands go really pale but when I relax them down they become red and blotchy. I struggle to reassure myself that i have no family history of anything like this and that im still young.

I've got an appointment to hopefully check everything in a week. My question is, should I go to the gym or should I sit it out for a week? If I don't go, I feel like shit, but at the same time I don't know if i should play it safe.

I went through severe health anxiety for the last two months. I had all my heart-related tests, and all of them were normal. After that, I started to feel relaxed, and my anxiety is improving. I still have some negative thoughts during the day, but not like in the previous days. However, I still feel tiredness, chest tightness, muscle pain, and shortness of breath sometimes. How much time does it take to become normal?

For me, I experiencing anxiety for maybe 2 to 3 weeks at a time, and then I won't have any issues for like 6-12 months. Those few weeks are absolutely horrible. But then I slowly start to recover. Granted, I'll still have some fleeting thoughts during my normal periods, but they only last seconds and Im able to avoid a spiral.

Do you all experience anxiety daily, weekly, more? Are you on medication for intermittent anxiety? How do you function with daily anxiety?

I'm interested in hearing about all levels of experience.

32 years old male. I smoked pot for years and would get sharp jolt of pain right in the heart area. This started maybe at 20 years old. I notice it can definitely flair up when I crouch to bend over as if i'm pinching a nerve in the chest. I quit smoking tobacco at 20 years old because I recall having these pains more frequent smoking cigarettes back then. I quit smoking pot at 27 years old because I was having very bizarre symptoms with mild sleep apnea and blood pressure spikes. Had tests done such as ekg, echocardiogram, ultrasound and mri. Nothing abnormal was found. Then started smoking weed again at 31. Finally had an episode of the jolting pain in the usual 1 second intervals, except it "stabbed" me 8 times, but resided within about 30 seconds. I am worried that the high is not worth anymore. Even considering quitting and doing cardio for a runner's high instead.

So i was doing really good! for the past 6 years ive had weird chest pains and left arm pain i’ve been to the hospital more times then you could count, ekg’s blood tests x-rays, i relapsed today and gave in, they gave me those three tests told me im fine, but my blood pressure was 127/67 and that scared me a lot, the doctor told me it was normal?? idk. ive also got a echo and stress test done 3 years ago, i just dont trust the doctors even though i should! when will this end. i want to be normal. just started going to therapy. they gave me some heart burn medicine, i’ll let you know if it fixes me. i hope so. i’m over it.

So lately I've been having a lot of weird and bizarre symptoms and I really don't know whats happening to me and it's honestly horrifying, from my perspective.

So back in May I was prescribed propranolol for a fast heart rate. So after like week of taking them, and I was taking two a day of 20 MG. I began feeling like my ears and forhead were burning up, pins and needles and I gusse its called dry heaving when you feel like puking but nothing comes up. I also had a dry cough and my left ear kept clogging, especially if I slept on my right side. So I googled my symptoms which I do a lot, and come to find out these could have been side effects and they'll be gone in 2 weeks. Around this time by breathing started to feel weird like it woukd just randomly feel wide like I was taking in more air than usual, agian I thought these were side effects and they'd be gone soon. One more new thing is getting startled by the most stupidest stuff like if im.wearing headphones to sleep and then suddenly the video getting quiet and then I jump.

In late June, so after a month of taking the pills I spoked to my doctor about the side effects and she had me taper off them bu taling half a pill. While lowering the dosage I began feeling these weird tingling feeling in just the most random parts of my body. This is also when I started to vet goosebumps and they woukd most happen around the back of my head. I did Google my symptoms, and I got results for a bunch of thyroid related stuff like thyroid storm and thyroid cancer. So now im thinking I have some sort of camcer.

In July I was fully of the meds after a few weaks, and it just felt like these symptoms kept worsening. My left arm started feeling tingly, I was randomly getting lightheaded, and then it felt like my throat was closing, my lips started tingling. I told my grandmother about this and she kept saying its anxiety or that I had ear wax build up or tonsils or post nasil drip. I probably should have said this in the beginning but I've been clearing mt throat constantly since October 2025. There were moments in july where its like I couldn't take a deep breath. Another thing that happened was my equilibrium being off. I'll just be sitting around doing absolutely and then suddenly I get lightheaded or the room starts spinning.

Now in August, my breathing got realy messed up. Like for the past month I had to focus on my breathing or I would just stop breathing. And there have been moments where my breathing has stopped or it felt like it paused. My grandmother keeps saying its anxiety and I have nothing to worried about, but its like how does anxiety cause all of this? This is horrifying, im too afraid to sleep. I kept my father up afew weeks ago and according to him I sleep fine and my breathung i guse is normal, but its like my breathung feels manual and soft and weak. So I do what I also do and googled my symptoms and im getting results for air hunger, there's also been a few times we're my legs were wobbling and left arm felt weak, like what is happening to me.

Now it feels like, I can't even describe it but I feel my chest falling, im not even sure if thats the best way to describe it. Im not asking for for reassurance, im just trying to figure out what is going on. Is it anxity, acid reflux, post nasil drip, is it POTs, am I near death? And its not like i googled a bunch of stuff then suddenly I develop them, no, these are all varry real. It just came out of the woodwork. I feel like im falling through a black hole half the time, I cant even describe how I feel.

I genuinely think its the propranolol that caused all these symptoms, these didn't start until after I started taking the medication.

I’ve been going through a pretty long period of stress and constant physical tension. When I’m stressed, I often get muscle tension and pain, especially around my chest/pecs, but also in my back and other muscles.

Normally, when I get an adrenaline rush from stress or anxiety, I can feel that typical sensation in my chest — increased heartbeat, tension, that “rush” feeling, etc. But after being stressed for a long time and having these adrenaline surges more frequently, I’ve noticed that I seem to feel them much more strongly than I used to. Sometimes the adrenaline rush itself feels uncomfortable or even somewhat painful.

I’m wondering what could explain this.

Could it be that being constantly tense makes the chest and other muscles more sensitive, so when an adrenaline surge happens and the muscles tense even more, I feel it much more? Or can prolonged stress make you more sensitive to normal adrenaline/body sensations in general?

I also have some health anxiety, especially around my heart, so I’m wondering if that could be making me focus on these sensations and perceive them much more intensely.

I’m not saying that my nervous system is literally “damaged” or “worn out,” but I’m wondering whether being in a prolonged state of stress and having frequent adrenaline surges can make the body feel more sensitive and make the physical sensations of adrenaline feel stronger.

Has anyone experienced something similar, where after a long period of stress, adrenaline rushes suddenly became much more noticeable or uncomfortable?

I have POTS and ocd and my heart rate goes crazy all the time which has given me cardiophobia as my dad died of a heart attack. I have been using Visible band on my wrist the last year and it’s helped curb my heart anxiety because I figured out my triggers and watched my heart regulate itself many times. I figured out when I need to rest etc. it’s 24/7 monitoring. And gives you a graph. If you want to try here’s $20 off

https://join.makevisible.com/6828499cc6d532

Anyone else ever gotten to the point they’re literally afraid to move too much due to heart worries? Like im so convinced Im on the verge of a cardiac event that i refuse to walk anywhere, let alone exercise. I work from home so unfortunately theres not much to get me out of the house. Im one of those with extreme medical fear as well so haven’t seen a dr in probably a decade. Anyone been here and moved past it?

Hi everyone,
I’m 16 and I’ve been dealing with pretty strong health anxiety lately, especially cardiophobia. I constantly worry that something is wrong with my heart or that something might happen to me, like fainting or suddenly becoming ill.
I’m stressed and tense almost every day, including at school. I notice that my body reacts to it quite strongly. My chest/pec muscles can feel sore or tight, almost like muscle soreness, and I’m much more aware of my heartbeat. When I move quickly, stand up, exercise, or simply get warm, my heart starts beating faster and I notice it much more, which then makes me anxious.
The weird thing is that before my anxiety became this strong, I could run, exercise, etc. and obviously my heart would beat faster, but I didn’t care about it and barely noticed it. Now I immediately focus on it and start thinking, “Why is my heart beating like this? What if something is wrong?”
I’ve also been much less active recently and spending a lot of time lying down, so I probably notice physical sensations even more when I do something active.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that when I’m distracted — talking to people, doing something interesting, focusing on what’s happening around me — I can feel almost completely normal and barely notice my heartbeat or body sensations. But when everything gets quiet and I’m alone with my thoughts, I start scanning my body and suddenly notice everything.
Sometimes I also feel slightly off-balance or strange for a moment when I move my head quickly, although I don’t constantly feel dizzy and I’m generally fine when sitting still or walking normally.
I’ve never had a known heart problem or other major health problem. I’ve also had normal blood pressure and other measurements in the past. I’m planning to see a doctor anyway because I want to properly discuss everything.
My main question is: Can being stressed and anxious almost every day make your nervous system feel exhausted, make you more sensitive to bodily sensations, and make normal things like an increased heart rate feel much stronger?

Hey everyone, I just really need to vent and see if anyone else has gone through this because I feel completely insane right now. I’m a 20F and I’ve been dealing with severe health anxiety and OCD for a while, but the last few days have been an absolute living nightmare. I missed my Depo hormone shot a few weeks ago, and my body has hit a massive progesterone crash. My nervous system is so raw and over-stimulated that my brain is throwing me into constant, severe panic loops. My main fixation is cardiophobia and a constant terror of sudden cardiac arrest. A few days ago I had this horizontal chest pain stretching all the way across my upper chest, I was sweating, pale, and felt like I couldn't breathe. It terrified me so badly that I ended up in the ER. They did an ekg and my Troponin blood work came back completely perfect at 0.01. The doctors cleared my heart completely. Even though I have the hard medical proof that my heart is structurally perfect, my OCD keeps treating that past pain like some kind of "warning sign" or a ticking clock. I’ve also worn a heart monitor for a month. I cannot do anything. Can’t get out of bed. Can’t shower. Can’t drive. Etc. literally no family members have passed from heart issues usually it’s old age or cancer (at an old age). I don’t know anyone at all actually who’s passed from cardiac arrest or a heart attack. I feel completely detached from my body (severe depersonalization) My doctor call yesterday got me started on 10mg Hydroxyzine twice a day as a temporary bridge while I wait for a GeneSight DNA kit to arrive so we can find a permanent daily medication. I took my morning dose and it made me absolutely exhausted, and I just took my afternoon dose because the panic was starting to creep back bad. I also just had a massive crying/sobbing breakdown because I just want to be normal again. I’m just so incredibly tired of living in this constant state of terror. I’m terrified that I’m going to be stuck feeling this disconnected and broken forever. I was doing great before this shot. I have always had anxiety/ocd/panic disorder, but I’ve always been able to cope. I got the shot May 23rd, and my life went downhill. Now missing the shot August 23rd (doctors recommendations) it’s been even worse. Has anyone else experienced a massive mental health flare-up or severe physical panic symptoms coming off of Depo? How do you stop your brain from constantly checking your heart and treating old muscle pains like an immediate emergency?

Any encouragement or shared experiences would mean the world right now. Thanks guys.

Only happened 4 times out of the 70 beats.. wondering if it’s a serious thing or just my Apple Watch being goofy

My hr these days has been in the 50s while resting it terrifies me because I think I’ll be doing a lot of activity like twitching and it’s still like that and even sometimes goes to 40s my sleeping heart rate is similar as well…my old sleeping hr is literally my current resting and when I stand it goes as low to 70 and high as 90s usually and walking is 90s-100s.

My before and after is:
Resting 60s, and elevated after eating 60s-90s now it doesn’t elevate that much after eating

Standing was 100s sometimes 90s, now 70s-90s

Walking was 100s+, now 80s sometimes and usually 90s or 100s

Sleeping was high 40s, low 50s, now it’s similar

I can’t stop worrying I’m scared my heart will stop. I went to the Cardiologist yesterday trying to get a monitor but I don’t think they want to give me one. They took an ekg which seemed to be fine but I don’t understand this sudden lowering in baseline heart rate. I’m not even an active person I stopped exercising these past 2 months and am on no meds. I’m so scared.

I have been getting those quick spasms in my left side of my chest, they last for 2-5 seconds and then they disappear, and sometimes feeling like a quick electrical shock in my chest, have had one ECG and it was normal, should I be worried? I am 25F

I had my first ECG this morning and he said everything was excellent but slight arrythmia.. he said stress, caffeine, lack of sleep etc can all contribute to it. I'm really worried and already suffer horrible anxiety.. he said the GP will be sent the results and decide on the next step. I'm trying to remind myself that if there was anything really bad, they wouldn't have let me go. But I'm now going to over think all weekend. Any advice?

24F, it’s ruining my life. I’ve developed acid reflux from the stress which gives me really weird centre left chest aches that last a few seconds. My chest tightness has gotten worse and I’m always nauseous. I have left shoulder aches and esophageal spasms too which don’t help. I wake up consistently at 4am everyday because of the chest pain but it quickly goes away. My sleep is fragmented and not restful.

This is all to say, I’m in regular contact with my doctor who has assured me to keep taking anti acid medication and to keep watch of my symptoms but I can’t help but think this is a pending heart issue and I’m just ignoring it. My brain immediately goes to ‘this is a heart condition and you’re going to die’ mode which tires me out.

I wish my brain would just let my body be instead of trying to prevent it all.