I am 18, of healthy weight, with no history of heart problems, athsma, or even hyperventilation. There is no history of heart attack or heart failure in my family. For the past five days I have been suffering from extreme, constant pain and tightening in my chest. The pain is so severe that it is making it difficult to breathe. When it increases (as it does without warning), I also feel short of breath and have collapsed. My neck muscles and shoulder muscles are tight and my chest feels like bands of metal are being contracted around it. The pain increases severely when I eat, drink or swallow, and never goes away, just lessens and spikes again.

I have never experienced such severe and horrible pain and nothing I do will make it go away. I have begun carrying a paper bag around with me to breathe into so that I don't feel so lightheaded, but the pain won't stop.

My mother has 'anxiety attacks' that she says last up to a month, and she suggested that this might be the same thing. I do have a tendency towards anxiety attacks, but they usually last only ten minutes to half an hour and are never painful.

Also, I have been on medication (paxil and effexor) but have not taken either in the past two months.

Please help me. I can't stop thinking about the pain and I don't know what to do. I feel like i'm having a constant, admittedly extremely prolonged, heart attack and i'm very frightened.