Panic attack or heart attack (xray, pain, my throat, diabetics)

[Adriank7]

The other night my husband was stressed. He starting hyper ventilating and said he has tightness his chest. He breathed in a paper bag and that helped a bit but he was still having issues getting a deep breath. He wouldn’t let me take him to the ER. His BP was normal (he is on meds for it) and pulse not too high. Like about 85 or 90. He decided to drink some camomile tea and walk on the treadmill for a bit at a slow pace for 20 min and his breathing return to normal and he felt better. I am assuming if it was a heart attack he wouldn’t have been able to go on the treadmill?.

[oldgardener]

Could have been anxiety, could have been a heart attack. Only his doctor would know for sure.

[jerseyj]

Although panic attack symtoms can mimic a heart attack, good idea to have his cardiologist take a look.

[Pat Answers]

Yes, please do check on it. Worst that could happen is they'd make him do a treadmill stress test and dye xray to determine the state of his heart.



Mine came out the other night and said he had this pain but was burping all the time and no radiating pain into his jaw or up either arm. I said, oh you have acid indigestion, gave him an antacid, then another one, and when the pain got so bad he couldn't stand it took him to ER.


Now he has a stent and 4 new medicines and a life vest for a while.


Better safe than sorry. Check it out. Friend's husband had symptoms, neighbor said you're having a heart attack. He waited another day. Now he has a stent and meds too. Take care!

[Adriank7]

Thanks. Well he recently had an echo which was normal and then a cardio scoring test to determine if he has plaque. His score was a 2. 100 being the worst. It was one artery that had the start of plaque but under minimal risk.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by Adriank7

The other night my husband was stressed. He starting hyper ventilating and said he has tightness his chest. He breathed in a paper bag and that helped a bit but he was still having issues getting a deep breath. He wouldn’t let me take him to the ER. His BP was normal (he is on meds for it) and pulse not too high. Like about 85 or 90. He decided to drink some camomile tea and walk on the treadmill for a bit at a slow pace for 20 min and his breathing return to normal and he felt better. I am assuming if it was a heart attack he wouldn’t have been able to go on the treadmill?.

If heart attack is suspected get him to the emergency room ASAP.How would you feel if it was indeed a heart attack and he died as a result of your indecisiveness?

[Sydney123]

Originally Posted by jambo101

If heart attack is suspected get him to the emergency room ASAP.How would you feel if it was indeed a heart attack and he died as a result of your indecisiveness?

I believe she wanted him to Go to the ER.. and he was just being stubborn. Typical male.

[MikeBear]

Originally Posted by Adriank7

Thanks. Well he recently had an echo which was normal and then a cardio scoring test to determine if he has plaque. His score was a 2. 100 being the worst. It was one artery that had the start of plaque but under minimal risk.

What sort of meds is he on? There are quite a few that can CAUSE panic attacks/anxiety attacks, or that will do so if mixed with another med. For instance, tri-cyclic antidepressants and opioid based meds do that for certain people. I'm one of those types unfortunately...

Drug induced anxiety/panic attack is or can be especially quite terrifying. The first time it happened to me, I ended up in the Emergency room. I had been using St Johns Wort as an antidepressant, had a Septoplasty and Uveloplasty and was given a prescription for liquid Vicodin for my throat. The second day, WHAM! I was basically bouncing off the walls, heart was racing and pounding up beyond 180, and pacing without being able to sit still for a minute. It took over 10 hours to come down from that.


That was over 20 years ago, and since then it's happened to me about 6-7 times total. Each time I learned something from it to help me narrow down causes and to help avoid inducing it again.

[Luckyd609]

Originally Posted by jambo101

If heart attack is suspected get him to the emergency room ASAP.How would you feel if it was indeed a heart attack and he died as a result of your indecisiveness?

I agree. And if he wont go call 911. Its better to have it be a false alarm than to have him die.

[guidoLaMoto]

Fewer than half the people having an acute MI have the classic description of crushing chest pain, sweating, pallor & weakness. The most common complaint (although still less than half) is nausea or indigestion. Beware diabetics: many have no discomfort when experiencing an acute MI ("I just don't feel right."}


BP & HR is no indicator of acute heart problem-- they could be hi, low or normal--it all depends on how the heart is reacting to its lack of oxygen.


The knucklehead in the OP has classic "toxic masculinity" --"I'll prove I'm not having a heart attack by jumping on the treadmill."--- That could have killed him.


People with panic attacks usually have a long history of them-- quite unusual for a middle age guy to experience his first attack.


Usually best to make the mistake of going to the ER when you didn't have to, rather than the mistake of not going when you should have.


BTW- the Ca score on CT scan is almost useless-- high rate of false positives & false negatives. With suggestive symptoms or 2 or more positive risk factors, just do a nuclear exercise test- they're pretty accurate at determining who should proceed to a cardiac cath- the "gold standard" test for coronary disease.