What causes pressure headaches, heart palpitations, chest pain and syncope?
Patient: Ive had pressure headaches and heart palpitations for a few months now..ive had two episodes of feeling faint during this time...my chest hurts off and on everyday and flutters all the time...i get sharp pains in my head now and then and have colds sensations in my chest from time to time...i haven't felt right since this all started..i was put on zoloft, my doctor thought it was anxiety. Ive been to the ER 3 times. Ive had an ultrasound, chest xray, ct scan w/ contrast (head) Doctor: Hello!Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!Regarding your concern, I would explain that your symptoms could be related to a cardiac arrhythmia. This would not explain the sharp headaches, which could be just ice pick headache, which is a benign type of headache. Anxiety could also play an important role in all this clinical scenario. In such case, you should know that it may take up to two weeks for the effects of Zoloft to be seen. Anyway, I would recommend peforming some further tests to exclude a possible cardiac arrhythmia: - an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time- thyroid hormone levels to exclude a possible thyroid dysfunction. Hope to have been helpful!Wishing all the best, Dr. Iliri