Chest pain is common during anxiety or panic attacks. Typically, hyperventilation during panic attacks may lead to musculoskeletal chest pain, with strain or spasm of intercostal chest wall muscles.
Though it can feel alarming, anxiety chest pain is fleeting. Pain typically lasts around 10 minutes, though other anxiety or panic attack symptoms (like dizziness, shortness of breath, or nausea) may last longer.
Some panic or anxiety attack sufferers may also feel soreness in the chest area for a few hours after the attack, due to the intense muscle contractions in the wall of the chest that took place during the attack.