When Your Anxiety Feels Like a Heart Attack

It’s time to reduce stress and evaluate your overall health

Frightening events have the power to redirect our lives.

They push us to make needed changes. Some of us need a shove rather than a mere nudge. You can be going about your everyday routine one day, and suddenly everything stops. You have to re-evaluate or suffer the consequences.

Health scares often trigger awakenings. We confront our mortality and realize what’s truly important and what isn’t. Do you need to have everything a certain way? Do you sweat the small stuff? Stressing over everything will make things worse. If left unchecked, you’ll develop serious health issues.

I think I had a panic attack yesterday.

I felt anxious and had heartburn and pain in my arms. I started to worry I might be having a heart attack, which caused my anxiety to worsen. I’m a healthy, fit 48-year-old with few risk factors. But I worried because I couldn’t tell the difference.

I’ve always been afraid of having a heart attack when I get heartburn. I was freaking out inside, trying to stay calm but worrying maybe I was going to have a heart attack this time. It’s one of the few conditions I have an unreasonable fear of.

I felt anxious off and on for two days, every afternoon, and once in the wee hours of the morning. Singing, walking, essential oils, and burning palo santo, and busy work temporarily helped. Other energy clearing exercises helped. I thought I was better until it returned at night.

I tried to sleep and got increasingly upset by the feelings in my body. My arms hurt, and my fingers and toes were tingling. I probably got over oxygenated from trying to take deep breaths.

At 11:30 pm, I called an ambulance for myself for the first time in my life. I met an outstanding group of EMTs and firefighters, all of them gorgeous and professional. I’m not sure why emergency medical staff are always good looking, but it was a nice bonus. I was amazed there were five of them checking on me. Their presence and attention helped me feel calm again. My kids never woke up for the ordeal.

Other than an elevated heart rate from being anxious, I had normal levels. I was finally relieved and slept when they left.

I haven’t had a panic attack since the year 2000.

I was drinking a Corona at the bar, after an all-night beer and cocaine bender the night before. I thought the beer would help, but I felt like I would surely die. Since getting high on coke wasn’t the healthiest activity, I worried even more from the real danger I’d inflicted on myself. I might’ve snorted a line minutes before, which kicked my panic into high gear.

My friends tried to help by distracting me and buying me another beer. But alcohol didn’t help. I was out of balance. My anxiety hit when my body said, “enough.” I walked home and tried to handle it on my own. I was living with my parents and didn’t want them to know. I eventually calmed down.

Our bodies are excellent barometers.

They show us when we’re out of alignment. Anxiety often stems from past trauma and current, ongoing stress. I was sleep-deprived for the last three days. I chose to stay up late and scroll on social media. It’s no wonder I developed anxiety. I needed to rest, unplug, and reboot.

Though it’s been over 20 years since I’ve had symptoms, I’m no stranger to anxiety. My drug abuse triggered panic attacks and generalized anxiety. I was also struggling with the effects of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), manifesting as face-picking. It was an uncomfortable time in my life.

Anxiety and heart attacks are inextricably linked since stress can exacerbate the risk of both. A heart attack occurs when blocked arteries stop blood from flowing through the heart. The blockage is typically caused by a build-up of plaque or a blood clot.

Anxiety is caused by a neurological response to stress. “Your fight or flight response is triggered, and your system is flooded with norepinephrine and cortisol,” says Alan Henry, in an article on lifehacker.com.

Stress reduction is one of the best ways to avoid anxiety.

There are two types of stressors to consider. One you can control and the other you can’t.

External stressors include anything outside of our control, like current national events or circumstances. Coronavirus and negatively impactful government decisions are two timely examples. They have a financial, physical, and emotional impact on our lives.

Internalized stress has a lot to do with our response to external stressors. We can choose to take actions we know we can control and protect ourselves by logging off social media, where information can overload us with more stress. We can evaluate our workload and slow down accordingly. We can choose to let go of people’s reactions and focus on ourselves.

If we feel out of control, we need to pay attention to what we can control and leave the rest. I need to honor my body’s need for sleep. I need to spend less time online and subsequently get adequate rest. I can control these habits.

I can’t control my kids’ eating habits. I can’t force them to sleep late. I can control how I react or my boundaries about morning noise or food waste from changing their minds.

I can control my anger. I notice how tense and harsh I’ve become in recent years. Parenting is stressful, but I can choose to practice responding calmly. I can choose to stop taking everything personally.

There are practical tools to lower anxiety symptoms

Sometimes our brains have been compensating for past trauma for many years. Anxiety disorders develop, and we might find unhealthy ways to cope.

I drank and used drugs and picked at my face. It temporarily relieved my anxiety but didn’t solve it. Our neurotransmitters fire cortisol when we are afraid, signaling us to fight or flee. It’s our brain’s way of protecting us.

When we aren’t in imminent danger, we get anxious. To alleviate symptoms, we need to convince our brain and body we are safe. If you can’t use the following tools successfully, you might need medication to help balance your neurological response. Before you go straight to meds, however, try a few methods for calming immediate anxiety symptoms:

• Take deep breaths. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds. Breathe out for 4 seconds. This helps with regulation so you don’t hyperventilate.
• Redirect your focus. Pay attention to something outside of you and your body. Purposely start an activity that’s easy and keeps you busy. I decided to focus on preparing dinner.
• Apply, diffuse, or inhale essential oils, like lavender oil.
• Eat a snack. Low blood sugar can cause or worsen anxiety.
• Take a walk. Exercise moves energy, helps blood flow, and is relaxing.
• Sing or dance. Music will distract you and lower anxiety symptoms with soothing sounds.
• Go outside, preferably barefoot. Breathe in the fresh air and focus on a tree or flower nearby. Play “I spy” with yourself, naming the birds, grass, whatever you notice. Being in nature helps us ground and center.
• Reach out to a friend. Talking on the phone or in-person helps redirect your energy to the conversation and out of your panicking mind. They can offer you support by listening or distracting you with an unrelated topic.
• Practice energy clearing exercises. My favorite is an energetic shower, which is simply brushing off from head to toe. Sometimes our anxiety is someone else’s. We’ll only know when we’ve cleared our energetic space.

For long term benefits and to lessen occurrences of anxiety, practice good sleep hygiene and listening to your body’s need for rest. Eliminate obvious stressors, like media consumption or toxic behaviors from others. Practice mindful activities and meditation. Eat healthy foods and exercise daily.

If you’re having trouble managing anxiety symptoms on your own, seek professional help.

You might need therapy to address past trauma. You might need meds to balance your brain chemistry. Mental health professionals can guide and support you on your journey.

Meds and therapy don’t have to be long term. Once we have more tools in our toolbox, we can move on and manage ourselves.

My assessment by EMTs was crucial before I could move forward and get rest. I needed to get honest about what was next. Thankfully, I probably won’t need long-term care. But because I reached out for help, I’m reminded it’s there.

Final thoughts

I was embarrassed to call an ambulance, but grateful I did. Not only do I want to ensure my safety and that of my children, but I also gave myself a much-needed wake-up call.

Earlier that evening, I had yelled at my sensitive kiddo while unsuccessfully attempting to clip her nails. I was frustrated, sure. But it never warranted yelling at my kids. I ended up crying an apologizing.

I needed to see the effects of my chronic stress. I had to feel fear-inducing anxiety symptoms to take necessary actions to address the changes I need to make in everyday life. It was the most effective intervention.

If you’re struggling, there’s help available. You don’t have to wait as long as I did to find relief and peace of mind. Anxiety and and heart attacks are preventable. In a society that often perpetuates fear-based thinking, we need to pay extra attention to self-care. Stress and anxiety don’t have to rule your life. You can choose to shift your energy. I’m with you. Let’s do this.

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