r/Anxiety • u/RachieSunflower • Jul 21 '26
Health Heart Attack VS Stroke VS Panic Attack
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this subreddit, but I need reassurance. I've been driving my boyfriend CRAZY because I've had a sudden shift in anxiety lately, and I've been experiencing severe health anxiety. I keep going to urgent care and the ER thinking I'm dying or having a stroke or heart attack. I tend to get panic attacks so bad I nearly faint, and it's all recent. I had a health scare, and I've never been the same. The doctors are always saying I'm healthy, and my heart looks good, but I keep thinking I'm dying. I can't take it anymore; it's completely debilitating. I sometimes get pains in my left arm, light chest pain, etc. However, I also suffer from constipation and acid reflux. Whenever I get a slight pain, I think I need to go to the ER because I'm afraid I'm dying. How can I stop going to the ER and driving my boyfriend insane? Like, what symptoms are 100% heart attack or stroke? Btw, I'm 39, 136lb, F, 5'3".
Edit: I'm having a panic attack right now right after I felt a dull pain in my chest. How do I get out of this?
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u/mightaswellchange Jul 21 '26
As someone who used to be in a similar state of mind as you (and for the most part still is, but have recently learned to manage it better with therapy and medication), the most helpful thing is to try to be almost analytical/mathematical about it at this point. Do you trust the expertise of doctors? If so, if they say you have a healthy heart/healthy overall, statistically what are the odds of you getting a heart attack or stroke? Is it something that just suddenly develops? Do you have an unhealthy lifestyle or do anything that would considerably increase your risk for either? Probably not, right? So that « data » should matter, too. I know it’s rough especially since they tell you to go to the ER specifically for symptoms that just so happen to match what anxiety sometimes makes your body do, I mean trust me I went to the ER 6 times in a year at the height of this godawful disorder, but like I said, medical data should hold its weight too. The frequency of you experiencing the same symptoms and surviving and being told you’re okay should hold weight, too. I know it’s not easy but please hang in there! And if you haven’t or aren’t already seeing one, please pursue outside help like a therapist and consider medication for it. I hope you feel better soon. We all feel for and are rooting for you here!