Severe anxiety of heart every single day ruining my life please help me and respond please

[Jtreyo89]

Ok hi I’m Justin and I’m going to make a very very long story very short. So for a very very very long long time I have had heart anxiety but recently my heart symptoms have become very very real.. back this January I had a echo test done a 48 hour Holter monitor test done and a stress test all of them was completely normal and my cardiologist told me there is nothing wrong with my heart so that should have been good right but no now four months later I still go to the er every single day. Oh yeah by the way I go to the er about five times a week I can’t ecen have sex with my wife because it make my heart go out of rhythm and beat crazy hard and I start getting pvcs ..

So pretty much here are my symptoms I get crazy weird heart paplatations my heart will just thump and start beating off rythm every time I do any physical activity even just a little my heart goes nuts it goes insane over nothing it feels like it’s just about to stop beating. I feel like it’s going to explode because of how hard it pounds I can’t sleep I can’t do anything this rhythm crap is ruining my life I obsesse about my heart from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep I fully believe I have a heart disease and I’m about to die . There is no way my heart can just go out of rythm cuz of anxiety like I’m even scared to have a beer now or have sex or do anything because I’m afraid my heart will stop beating

Look I’m not crazy I feel these crazy rhythms in my chest I feel the skipper beats it’s gets worse with physical activity I’m 29 turning 30 this year I’m so scared someone please help me can this really all be anxiety?? Can anxiety really make your heart do this all day long even when I’m not stressing ?? Like it’s realky hard to explain what my heart does but it’s so scared I can’t live my life I’m scared everyday is going to be my last please help me

 

[Lunar Lady]

Hello Jtrey

It sounds as if you're in an acute state of anxiety.

Your heart has been monitored for 48 hours and you've had a stress test. As neither of these things highlighted an abnormality, you can be confident there isn't one.

Ordinarily, people don't pay any attention to their heart beats - I can't recall hearing my own in the last week, yet I'm still here

Because you are so anxious about your heart, you are focused on it all the time. It's entirely normal for your heart rate to accelerate during exercise and slow down in rest periods. If you get anxious, your heart can gallop and pound in your chest like horses' hooves.

Anxiety and panic can manifest the symptoms you describe - simply, the more anxious you are, the worse it will feel.

You need to accept that this has become an unhealthy obsession, my love. What has triggered this? Have you lost a relative to a heart condition and it's made you afraid? Have you had a terrifying panic attack and you thought it was a cardiac episode?

You have satisfied your cardiologist that your heart is perfectly normal. What you need to do now is start dealing with these anxiety attacks and recognise them for what they are. As soon as we become anxious, we breathe through our mouths, gulp air and send a shot of adrenaline to our heart which makes it beat faster. It's just panic.

I have linked you to some information below, which I hope will help you further.
Worth bearing in mind that your heart is working away perfectly whilst you sleep - it's your thoughts and fears triggering all these responses.

Hope things get better for you. Lots of love xxx

Am I having a panic attack or a heart attack? | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA


Panic attacks | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems

 

[Anxietyguy29]

Hello Justin, I hate to hear that you are struggling. I as well am 29 years old. My obsession is with Suicide. (no I am not suicidal or want to commit suicide), but my anxiety and what I believe to be OCD makes me obsess about it constantly and it terrifies me. I have a fear of it, (like what if I become so bad that I actually turn to it as an option, if I don't feel anxious about it that must mean I want to do it, and so on and so forth). Try researching OCD. or health OCD. Hope this helps and hang in there.

 

[Jtreyo89]

Hello Jtrey

It sounds as if you're in an acute state of anxiety.

Your heart has been monitored for 48 hours and you've had a stress test. As neither of these things highlighted an abnormality, you can be confident there isn't one.

Ordinarily, people don't pay any attention to their heart beats - I can't recall hearing my own in the last week, yet I'm still here

Because you are so anxious about your heart, you are focused on it all the time. It's entirely normal for your heart rate to accelerate during exercise and slow down in rest periods. If you get anxious, your heart can gallop and pound in your chest like horses' hooves.

Anxiety and panic can manifest the symptoms you describe - simply, the more anxious you are, the worse it will feel.

You need to accept that this has become an unhealthy obsession, my love. What has triggered this? Have you lost a relative to a heart condition and it's made you afraid? Have you had a terrifying panic attack and you thought it was a cardiac episode?

You have satisfied your cardiologist that your heart is perfectly normal. What you need to do now is start dealing with these anxiety attacks and recognise them for what they are. As soon as we become anxious, we breathe through our mouths, gulp air and send a shot of adrenaline to our heart which makes it beat faster. It's just panic.

I have linked you to some information below, which I hope will help you further.
Worth bearing in mind that your heart is working away perfectly whilst you sleep - it's your thoughts and fears triggering all these responses.

Hope things get better for you. Lots of love xxx

Am I having a panic attack or a heart attack? | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA


Panic attacks | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems

Hi thank you so much for the response that did help a lot reading it but I have a serious question. So it’s not like panic attacks these episodes I get are all day long my heart just does weird stuff I won’t even be stressing I’ll be happy and boom my heart flutters or my heart starts skipping beats or it just feels like it jumps off rythm and I won’t even be having anxiety it just happens all day long it’s like my heart can’t stay on rythm it beats all kinds of crazy weird stuff and then I freak out once it Happens can this still be anxiety doing that and if so how.. like how can anxiety just cause me to have weird beats all day and crazy off rythm beats and palpitations and pvcs and thumps in my chest all day long no matter what I do??? I even stopped smoking I stopped drinking caffeine I stopped everything and it still happens all day I wake up every day thinking it’s my last day

 

[Lunar Lady]

If your heart was monitored for 48 hours and showed no signs of arrhythmia occurring - then these sensations are caused by your anxiety about it.

Lots of people have heart arrhythmia (skipping or irregular beats) and it is not dangerous or life-threatening. However, if your cardiologist hasn't said this is the case, I would still be inclined to think it's anxiety.

It's no different to having a panic attack - they can seize you when you're happy, relaxed or entirely occupied with something and the natural reaction is "but I wasn't anxious at the time..it must be something else".

AnxietyGuy was right to point you towards Health OCD - it is very common to become obsessive about a medical condition. Have a frank discussion with your GP and explain how you're feeling because you do need some help to get this under control. xx

 

[Laudanum]

Hi

I can understand what you're going through. I'm 53 and was taken into hospital two weeks ago when I thought I was having a heart attack (chest pressure and breathlessness when I was walking).

I called 111 (non-emergency number) and they called an ambulance and took me into A&E. They did a troponin blood test twice (https://healthengine.com.au/info/troponin-test ). My results were 3 (where 0-49 are in the normal range), indicating no heart attack, although my white cell count was raised, suggesting a virus.

I was discharged 24 hours later and they booked me in for a Bruce Exercise Tolerance test (which was last wednesday), where you go on a treadmill with ECGs and a blood pressure monitor attached. I won't find the results for 1-4 weeks, apparently, which is causing further anxiety.

The following monday I was still having problems with numb, tingly legs and weakness, so I went to a walk in GP who examined me and referred me to A&E again, just in case, where they did another blood test (troponin level below 3 this time). He also thought it was a virus.

I was with friends at the weekend and felt so sick on the sunday they took me into A&E again - again ECG and troponins checked out. The dr thought I had burning in my chest because I had taken asipirins on an empty stomach, and because I may have GORD, which can cause heartburn (this attack felt like a burning in my chest, rather than the clenching of a week earlier).

The last two weeks have been hell: I haven't been into work as so tired and weak. I went to a GP last thursday, who put me back on my anti-depressants, saying there was nothing wrong with my heart (didn't exmine me). I booked a private GP appointment yesterday for 30m, and the doctor went through all my notes and examined me and also thought I must have a virus, due to my elevated White cell count, suggesting that all the notes I let her read from hospitals and my BP lead her to conclude that my heart was ok (checked it with a stethoscope). Also checked a few other things.

None of this seems to reassure me much. Every night I wonder if I am going to wake up the next morning. I live alone, so no one would be able to help me.

I do have form - three years ago my BP was a bit high and the paramedic took me into A&E and they did a holter monitor, 24 hour blood pressure test, echocardiogram, chest X-ray (which they also did in the hospital 2 weeks ago) etc. None of these indicated any heart problems.

Since two weeks ago I have been noticing every heartbeat, every ectopic beat, every palpatation. I even have had a phone-based ECG (single lead) for a year, which the cardiologist recommended three years ago, which is NICE approved for rhythm abnormalities, and it checks out ok.

I have suffered from anxiety for years, but citalopram and proplanalol helps a bit. The latter slows down fast hearbeats (beta blocker).

What I'm saying is I can totally understand where you are coming from. Every twinge in my chest must be a heart attack coming on; every time I walk somewhere (getting fitter now, and driving again) I dread having another clenching heart feeling.

I'm not really sure what can be done for either of us, other than rest and maybe pills. Maybe you should have an exercise tolerance test too, as that is the usual protocol for exertional chest pain?

Lunarlady seems to be offering some wise words.

As you can see I've looked into this for some time!

 

[Jtreyo89]

Hello Jtrey

It sounds as if you're in an acute state of anxiety.

Your heart has been monitored for 48 hours and you've had a stress test. As neither of these things highlighted an abnormality, you can be confident there isn't one.

Ordinarily, people don't pay any attention to their heart beats - I can't recall hearing my own in the last week, yet I'm still here

Because you are so anxious about your heart, you are focused on it all the time. It's entirely normal for your heart rate to accelerate during exercise and slow down in rest periods. If you get anxious, your heart can gallop and pound in your chest like horses' hooves.

Anxiety and panic can manifest the symptoms you describe - simply, the more anxious you are, the worse it will feel.

You need to accept that this has become an unhealthy obsession, my love. What has triggered this? Have you lost a relative to a heart condition and it's made you afraid? Have you had a terrifying panic attack and you thought it was a cardiac episode?

You have satisfied your cardiologist that your heart is perfectly normal. What you need to do now is start dealing with these anxiety attacks and recognise them for what they are. As soon as we become anxious, we breathe through our mouths, gulp air and send a shot of adrenaline to our heart which makes it beat faster. It's just panic.

I have linked you to some information below, which I hope will help you further.
Worth bearing in mind that your heart is working away perfectly whilst you sleep - it's your thoughts and fears triggering all these responses.

Hope things get better for you. Lots of love xxx

Am I having a panic attack or a heart attack? | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA


Panic attacks | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems

Hi so can you please help me so I have been to the doctor

Hello Jtrey

It sounds as if you're in an acute state of anxiety.

Your heart has been monitored for 48 hours and you've had a stress test. As neither of these things highlighted an abnormality, you can be confident there isn't one.

Ordinarily, people don't pay any attention to their heart beats - I can't recall hearing my own in the last week, yet I'm still here

Because you are so anxious about your heart, you are focused on it all the time. It's entirely normal for your heart rate to accelerate during exercise and slow down in rest periods. If you get anxious, your heart can gallop and pound in your chest like horses' hooves.

Anxiety and panic can manifest the symptoms you describe - simply, the more anxious you are, the worse it will feel.

You need to accept that this has become an unhealthy obsession, my love. What has triggered this? Have you lost a relative to a heart condition and it's made you afraid? Have you had a terrifying panic attack and you thought it was a cardiac episode?

You have satisfied your cardiologist that your heart is perfectly normal. What you need to do now is start dealing with these anxiety attacks and recognise them for what they are. As soon as we become anxious, we breathe through our mouths, gulp air and send a shot of adrenaline to our heart which makes it beat faster. It's just panic.

I have linked you to some information below, which I hope will help you further.
Worth bearing in mind that your heart is working away perfectly whilst you sleep - it's your thoughts and fears triggering all these responses.

Hope things get better for you. Lots of love xxx

Am I having a panic attack or a heart attack? | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA


Panic attacks | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems

ok so please can you help me again so I’m just still confused. Because my heart does these crazy heart palpitations every time I do physical labor or walking up steps or try to run or push something heavy or have sex my heart starts skipping beats and beating very very hard and starts beating off rythm and beating irregular it is I can’t be a normal person I can’t even go swimming cuz my heart starts a beating crazy how is that anxiety it’s got to be heart disease like how can that be anxiety it makes no sense I’m telling you I’m not panicking when this happens it’s anytime I do any thing physical

 

[Laudanum]

One guy had 20,000 ectopics in 24 hours and he was fine.

Have you tried beta blockers?

 

[blacksmoke]

random thought but i wonder if there is a bio feedback gadget around these days that i think are used to calm you down.

 

[blacksmoke]

dont use beta blockers unless its actually critical as in a serious diagnosed heart condition. what might be more helpful is to start changing your thinking. as thoughts lead to feelings and these lead to action so best to look at starting to break this l00p

 

[Laudanum]

I use beta blockers to slow my heart down. They are sometimes prescribed for anxiety.

 

[Jtreyo89]

Hi yes I have tried beta blockers before and it made my heart go way to slow like it made it in the 40s it was pretty scary. But I can’t afford to take meds right now I’ve missed so much work I’m about to get evicted so right now I have to save every penny so me and my kids don’t end up homeless

 

[buzzbuzz]

I know how you feel, I truly do. I'm going to a cardiologist tomorrow and my heartbeat has been slow and weird and it's scaring me.

 

[scoobydoo]

Sometimes it is not anxiety related as I kept being told there way nothing wrong with my heart and I was just anxious. But they know now they were wrong. I have always had something wrong with my heart they just did not pick it up. I suffer with SVT and AF which in short is a fast iriguller heartbeat. I was in A&E just last Friday and it took 8 hours to come down with drugs. They have now put my beta-blocker up and hope that will stop anymore eposides.

 

[Lunar Lady]

Jtrey, here's a link to another discussion about this that might help you xx

So I went to A&E again on wednesday