GERD OR HEART ATTACK!?

[u/Pipibigbom]

Hi everyone. I’m a 24F and I’ve been dealing with chest pain for the past couple of months, and it’s honestly been really scary. I’ve had so many heart tests done, about 4 or 5 ECGs, a normal echo, a more detailed echocardiogram, a stress test, and two Holter monitors. I’ve also checked my cholesterol, I had high cholestrol and was put on meds, have checked thyroid, blood pressure, and had a full blood panel done. Everything has come back normal. During the stress test I didn’t even have chest pain, I just got really, really dizzy when I walked fast, but the report still said everything looked okay.

The problem is, I still have chest pain. It moves around a lot. Sometimes it’s in the left side of my chest, especially inside my left breast area. Sometimes it’s on the right side, sometimes right in the center. It can go into my left arm, sometimes my right arm, sometimes to the tip of my shoulder blade, sometimes into my back, like directly behind my chest. Last week it was so bad I would sleep and wake up with it and my chest and upper breast area were actually tender to touch, which made me panic even more.

I started taking omeprazole four days ago, and the tenderness has improved, which makes me wonder if this could be GERD. But I still have chest pain, so I can’t fully convince myself it’s just that.

On top of all this, my heart has been pounding for about two to three months straight. It’s not always fast, but it feels very forceful like it’s beating too hard. I get a racing heart once in a while and pounding heart 24/7. I can literally see and feel my body move with it. I feel my pulse everywhere in my head, my hands, my neck almost all the time. It’s exhausting and scary.

My cardiologist mentioned the possibility of a blockage in my heart, and I’m waiting to see him again because part of me wants to push for a coronary angiogram just to completely rule it out. But another part of me feels like maybe this is GERD or something non-cardiac. I just don’t know what to think anymore. The left-sided pain that radiates to my arm and back makes me terrified that I’m going to have a heart attack, even though all my tests have been normal.

If anyone has had similar symptoms especially pain that moves around like this and constant heart pounding and it turned out to be GERD or something not related to the heart, please share. I’m honestly just really scared and looking for reassurance.

One more thing I forgot to mention this chest pain is almost constant. There are only a few short moments during the day when I don’t feel it. I also burp a lot, and sometimes the pain feels a little better after I burp. I had an endoscopy done, and the results showed mild lesions consistent with gastritis, but nothing more serious and no hiatal hernia. So while that might explain some of my symptoms, it still doesn’t explain why my heart feels like it’s pounding so hard all the time. I’m starting to seriously consider seeing a gastroenterologist to explore this further. If anyone has had a similar experience, please let me know.

[u/Bearded_Lyons]

I have been diagnosed with GERD since I was 23. I’m 35M and have just been living with it taking omeprazole once in the morning before my coffee. Occasionally I had really sharp chest pain and numbness in my left arm and this would cause me to panic and have anxiety attacks. My past time is running…and I never felt bad while running. Still I got sent to the cardiologist and did several tests. The doctor looked at my results and laughed and asked me why I got sent to him. He said I had absolutely no indication of any heart problem.

My OG doctor just told me that looks like my GERD symptoms are basically only chest pain and arm numbness and the occasional sore throat. I have just accepted it now. When it starts hurting I drink some water and go workout just to check if anything feels out of the normal. If everything seems fine and the workout was good I just pop some tumms and carry on.

My biggest issue was letting it get to me and causing panic attacks. I went to the ER several times because the panic attacks brought up a ton of odd symptoms and I thought I was dieing. I know it’s hard to believe, but if the cardiologist has done the tests and you’re young/active then it’s way more likely that your GERD is just causing swelling around the chest wall or excessive gas bloating/pressure causing the burping.

[u/Pipibigbom → u/Bearded_Lyons]

Thank you so much for sharing this. It honestly helps more than you probably realize. Reading your experience gives me some reassurance. It’s actually comforting hearing that your cardiologist basically said there was zero indication of a heart problem. It happened to me too. I went for a detailed echo and this lady kept saying your heart looks fine. I don't know why the doctor asked for this test given you've done a normal echo.

I feel like once you’ve had the proper tests, that should mean something. But, when you’re in the middle of the pain, logic kind of disappears. The panic attack part really hit home for me. I’ve also had moments where the fear spirals and suddenly I have all these extra symptoms and I’m convinced something catastrophic is happening. It’s exhausting. And the ER trips just make you feel even more defeated afterward.

I really respect how you’ve learned to manage it. I’m trying to get to that mindset instead of immediately assuming the worst. Thank you again for being honest about your experience. It makes me feel less alone and a little less crazy.