Having Shortness Of Breath, Mild Heart Palpitations. Medical Test Normal. No Relief From Clonazepam

Posted on Fri, 3 May 2013

Question: Hi, I am having shortness of breath, no chest pain, mild heart palpitations. I have high blood pressure for which I take medication. I had these same symptoms 4 years ago, I was given an EKG, Holter monitor, chest x-ray, blood tests, lung x-ray, barium test, ultrasound of abdominal. Everything was normal. I was given clonazepam and told I had anxiety. All these symptoms went away, but now they are back. I am having shortness of breath again and the clonazepam or ativan is not seeming to help. I am sedentary and overweight (5'5", 230lbs). Should I be getting re-tested for all these things, or is this my anxiety acting up again?

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (9 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for posting your query on Health Care Magic.

The symptoms of breathlessness and palpitations associated with normal lab tests are more suggestive of paniv attacks (anxiety disorder).

Inorder to manage anxiety related disorders, besides medicines, life style modification and behavioural therapy also helps.

First of all try to reduce weight and start exercising.
This will help in elevation of mood and help you to over come the anxiety problem.
This will also help you to manage the raised blood pressure.

These measures can be added to your drug regime.
You can consult your treating doctor to change the drug or to alter the dose of the drug.

If you have more queries, I will be glad to answer.
Dr Shailja P Wahal

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E