Hi, I am 19 years old, a healthy collegiate athlete. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and across my chest while lifting weights about a month and a half ago that has not healed. I have also had some anxiety issues since I have been back at school after christmas break. I had a bad headache for about 2 weeks that I was worried was a brain tumor, but it turned out to be dehydration and anxiety. For about the past week or so, my heart has felt fluttery and I can feel it beating hard many times throughout the day. It gets especially bad right before I go to sleep, and when I lay down I feel as though there is a large amount of pressure on my heart and I can feel it beating really hard. This is scaring me, and I have not been able to get hardly any sleep because of it. I fear that I could have an enlarged heart or athlete's heart. How can I tell if this is just anxiety or if it is a serious heart problem? Or if it is due to the muscle problem? Help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

The only way you can truly tell is by going to your doctor. S/he will have to do a complete physical and maybe an ECG/EKG as well as some serum blood tests to determine exactly what is going on. If it is anxiety the tests will be normal. If it is physical there will be abnormalities in the tests.

Definitely get it checked out - even for peace of mind, I have had probs with fluttering heart caused by anxiety issues and pregnancy - possible avenues for you to check out. You can get meds to help stop the palpitations (heart flutterings) so go see a doctor