Imbalance,blood Pressure,insomnia,fatigue,stress,EKG,inner Ear Virus,shortness Of Breath

Posted on Thu, 25 Aug 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 Answered on

Tue, 29 May 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I 'm 40 years old 6'0" tall and 195lbs I am taking no medications. About 2 months ago i had balance issues, raised blood pressure, insomnia and fatigue. I was under alot of work stress do to a lawsuit. I went to the VA hospital they ran several blood tests and an EKG. they thought it coukd have been an inner ear virus. Here is my question, the most of my symptoms are gone but I don't sleep as good as I wish. When I lay down to go to sleep sometimes I wake up with a tightness in my chest (left side) with occasional shortness of breath. Is this anxiety or something else?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (21 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for writing to us.

Suddenly chest tightness and shortness of breath that develop on laying down needs evaluation. Cardiac conditions or lung disorder could cause similar symptoms. I am sure your doctors would have looked for them.

In the absence of heart or lung disorder with no history of smoking, alcohol or drugs points, the symptoms point towards anxiety disorder.

A few suggestions to help this problem are-
1.Check your caffeine intake-Avoid drinking too much tea, coffee or cola.
2.Avoid alcohol and cigarette smoking.
3.Try physical exercise like aerobic exercises daily for twenty minutes.
4.Avoid your worries and problems or solve them with the help of your family and friends.
5. Learn controlled breathing.
6. Do simple relaxation exercises like yoga, meditation, etc.

You can also discuss the problem with your primary physician who will help you in choosing a good antianxiety drug with low day time sedation.

I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. If there are additional concerns, I am available for your followups.

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad