I had to be brought to the ER at 2AM w/ sholder pain and racing heartbeat.

[Odin2005]

I was scared to death that I was having a heart attack or something. By the time the paramedics arrived the pain and racing heartbeat had stopped, but now I was shaking uncontrollably. When I got to the ER they gave me a muscle relaxant and that stopped my shaking, but they were never able to figure out what caused the racing heart beat and sholder pain. I have no history of heart trouble (I'm only 20). The only related thing is that Adult Onset Diabetes runs in my familly. Any clue what could of gave me that incident? :shrug:

[xchrom]

1. anxiety.

a kind of panic attack.

would be my best guess -- and it really sounds like anxiety.

but i'm no doctor.

please take care of yourself -- and maybe make an appointment with your physician.

[Kutjara]

2. Many things can mimic some or all of the effects of a heart attack.

Anxiety, allergies, severe indigestion, caffeine, household toxins...the list goes on and on.

As an example, my wife was using some nail polish remover a few years ago and I was overcome with heart palpitations, nausea and the certain feeling that I was going to die within a minute of the bottle being opened. I could feel myself blacking out as my heart pounded through my chest. Once the bottle was thrown away, I returned to normal within about 30 minutes. I still don't know what was in that damned nail polish remover, but I'm never going near it again. My wife changed brands, and I've been fine ever since.

So there are a lot of possible causes, but most of them are not something to get too worried about. Just try to think about what you might have been doing/consuming/inhaling when you first felt unwell.

[durrrty libby]

3. I hope you are able to go get a EKG and stress test for

a more exact diagnosis.

[REP]

4. Gallbladder, Esophageal Chest Pain, Anxiety, Referred Abdominal Pain ...

Only a doctor who can examine you and take a full history can tell for sure.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. Panic attacks are a possibility. See your primary care doc about this,

or get one if you don't have one, so if it recurs, you have someone to coordinate diagnostic tests etc.

[cboy4]

6. Hey . . . I would suggest asking a doctor immediately and not a bunch

of friends and strangers on a blog.

Seriously, not for something that made you call 9-1-1 and ride to the hospital in a medic.

M.D. First!!!

DU afterwards (to let us know how you're doing.)

[Lerkfish]

9. absolutely, doctor first. I would add my personal experience of

similar pain I thought was a heart attack but turned out to be a completely blocked bile duct that meant emergency gall bladder surgery.
but I would have sworn it was a heart attack, never having had one.

[Surya Gayatri]

7. Anxiety attack--not surprsing with

things going the way they are in BushWorld. SG

[elias7]

8. could be PSVT

or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia..a short circuit in the electrical system of the heart that can stop as suddenly as it starts, is generally not dangerous (not life threatening), and can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. The key to diagnosis initially is counting your heart rate. If it is too fast to count, or around 160-190 beats per minute, and regular, this is very likely.

Panic attacks can cause similar systemic symptoms, but the heart rate is rarely above 140, and usually less, as it is just being stimulated by an adrenalin surge.

A family history of diabetes would be unrelated, and a heart attack at your age would be unlikely, unless you had multiple risk factors (family history, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol) or had stimulant drug use to excess-- speed, coke, meth, etc...

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

10. I'm going to lock this.

Unfortunately, DUers aren't qualified to give medical advice. The mods & admins hope that you have a primary care doctor that you could talk to about your symptoms.

best,
wakemeupwhenitsover
DU Moderator