I’m a decently healthy 17f (5’2”, 118 lbs) and I have bad anxiety. I constantly worry that I am going to have a heart attack (like right now, I am very concerned). 

I recently started going to the gym once or twice a week for 30 minutes and I’m working on going more often. I work about 25 hours a week and I’m constantly on my feet and moving for that time. I eat okay, I don’t consume lots of fried foods per se but I do like sugar. 

I’m pretty sure I have a muscle issue in my left shoulder or something of the sorts because it always feels stiff or like I’ve pulled a muscle. My dad also has issues with a dislocating shoulder and I’m not sure if that’s genetic. However, once I get the sharp pain in my shoulder, it’s over for me. I start panicking and can’t breathe, my chest gets tight, I start feeling numb, I get a headache and feel dizzy, you name it. I worry that the pain in my left arm is an indicator of a heart attack, and I can never tell if the following symptoms are just my anxiety over having a heart attack or the onset of an actual heart attack. 

Like I said, I do have very bad anxiety, like constant panic attacks. I’d say I have at least a few serious ones a week, sometimes multiple in a day. I also stress very often. I worry that these could contribute to a heart attack.

As for heart disease in the family, I don’t really know of any but I’m pretty sure one or both of my grandpas have had a heart attack, but both were/are heavy smoker and didn’t live very healthy lifestyles so I’m not sure if it was heart disease or environmental. My dad also used to smoke and now vapes around me constantly. I am not sure if second hand smoking increases my risk of a heart attack. To clarify, I DO NOT smoke or take any drugs. 

For further knowledge, I have Crohn’s disease/IBD. That is pretty much my only physical health issue. Whenever my doctor check my pulse it is always normal. I get it checked every 4-6 weeks at my IBD infusions. Not sure if my IBD meds increase my heart attack risk, probably not but I take two meds (one is the IV infusions every 4-6, other is a twice daily medication) and vitamin D.

I really need some help here. I need to stop panicking all the time over thinking I’m gonna have a heart attack. I’m very scared.