Pre-Heart Attack or Panic Attack?

I've been having what I thought were panic attacks lately ( I have not had confirmation from a doctor but from what I have read they have either been panic or anxiety attacks). Anyway, I found this in an answer to a heart attack question:

"A heart attack usually provokes shooting pain on the chest that extends to the LEFT arm and also shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, loss of consciousness and many more obvious symptoms"

My question is do you get sharp shooting pains in your chest, near heart area, for panic attacks? Or is that strictly a heart attack symptom? I feel that I am too young to have a heart attack, but I am pretty overbooked, thus overly stressed. I haven't had an shooting pains in my left arm though, and I know that is a trademark for Heart Attacks. So does anyone know whats going on with me? Here are the symptoms I have had for reference:

-Chest Pain
-Shaking (Not always)
-Headache
-Dizziness/Nausea
-Trouble Breathing

Thank you for your help!

You dont need to be young to have a heart attack...and you know what im going to write next.....go to your doctor just to be sure....and if it is stress he will give you advise on what to do.....like hell !....if your breathing doctors think your ok.!!...lol

don't muck around honey, go to a doctor and find out. Chest pain is something you should get checked out regardless of how young you are.

good luck

sounds like a panic attack with hyperventilation having said that chest pain should probable be evaluated by a dr. so they can tell you to chill out do your hands ever cramp up????

First off, just because you have any or all those symptoms doesn't mean your having a heart attack. And just because you don't get them doesn't mean you aren't.
To answer your question: yes you can get chest pain with a panic attack.
If you have it more than once, it's probably a panic attack. I used to have them and I got all that too.

You need to go get yourself checked by a doctor, that is the only way to know for sure. I have had 4 heart attacks and none of then had the symptoms that you mentioned, all of mine were just like heart burn, except one and it was like a elephant was sitting on my chest, no shortness of breath, just a feeling of great pressure in my chest.

OK, as someone who is fresh off medication for anxiety and panic disorders, let me take a crack at this:

A fair few of the symptoms could be either, but all of them could be panic attacks. However, here are a few things which could help you determine which:

Do these start after you've been thinking about your health, and wondering if you are OK. Panic attacks normally start with a thought, and build up based on it.

Are you mentally confused at all during them? When I had panic attacks, I was never able to sit still. I would try to calm down and breath normally, but the slightest thing would set me off and I'd have to move.

Does the shaking happen usually after things start to calm down. Your body produces a huge amount of adrenaline during a panic attack, and coming down off that causes shaking for people who have had panic attacks.

If you really try had, and breath slowly and normally, and try to clear your mind, does this help it go away?

Does the headache come after as well? I often got them from the physical exertion, which is usually quite extreme during a panic attack.

I hope this helps...

see a doctor now
dont put it off any longer
many people only have 1 heart attack and lights out permanently!!!
i dont want to sound alarmist
what would you like on the gravestone
" a doctor could have saved him, but he died whilst asking on yahoo!"
seriously get to the quack! stop asking us, we dont know, a doctor does! early diagnosis is the biggest life saver there is!

sounds like some anxiety problems from what you describe. However, do get a check up, it is better to error on the safe side!!!!

I had a "silent heart attack" of which, I was tired, lethargic, hand was asleep and arm tingled. I died three times on the table, had six bypasses.
Two of my friends had these, they sneak up on you at night usually, if fact I would have been asleep in another half hour, and you never wake up.

Not all heart attacks are on "older people" and not all are Earth shattering.
Many young people, especially those involved in physical sports are prone to heart attacks from problems they never knew they had, came out from the grueling exercise.

See you doctor or go see a cardiologist and get tested.

I had a heart attack at 33, and my main symptom was the
feeling that there was a stiff mass in my chest that wouldn't
go away after a couple of days. (I thought I'd slept funny and
pulled something).
You don't say if you're male or female, but I can tell you that
women have more "silent" heart attacks, without the
traditional symptoms of crushing chest pain and left arm pain.

If you think you may have had, or are having a heart attack,
SEE YOUR DOC. Don't mess with it!

To me it sounds like an extreme anxiety attack, but if you have chest pain, don't take any chances of waiting. See a cardiologist ASAP. Stress can put a strain on your heart.