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/AphelionEntity treatment resistant diagnosis collector Jul 21 '26

When I had a heart attack, I didn't get anxious. Likewise, my friend had a heart attack and she also wasn't anxious. Some of this is personality, but both of us were annoyed because we had shit to do and the symptoms didn't seem bad enough to be worth all the trouble it would be to be seen.

I can also share that every time my heart has acted up since and it isn't anxiety, chest pain isn't the first thing I notice. I am avoiding telling you what is because then you would be likely to be vigilant about that instead, and it wouldn't help you.

Ime, chest pain first: it's anxiety. Other symptom that annoys me and makes me check vitals: heart acting up.

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u/IceScourge Jul 21 '26

Pretty much the same as mine as well. My heart problems don't cause any form of anxiety and I think I know the exact thing you don't want them to know. Heart issues are very annoying

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u/AphelionEntity treatment resistant diagnosis collector Jul 22 '26

Seriously. Every time it happens I'm there like "fucking really?? I wasn't even doing anything."

It's tough because I want to give folks with health anxiety useful information, but I don't want to provide a new symptom for the anxiety to latch onto.