Anxiety and Rapid Heart Rate - Anxiety Message Board

Josell · 03-27-2006, 10:26 AM

I am a 40 year old male, healthy except for lifelong anxiety disorder and PVC's. Once in a while out of the blue I will get a major heart spasm then my heart will fly very fast at about 130-140bpm. I have been to several cardio's and ,y last cardio says my heart is perfectly fine. I am trying to find out if anxiety can cause your heart to go that fast and it NOT be SVT or some other heart disorder?

When I get these things I am NOT feeling anxiety at the time.

Thanks

florie · 03-27-2006, 11:10 AM

Hi,

How long does the fast heart rate last for? I can be perfectly fine, having positive thoughts, sitting down and out of the blue, my heart starts to beat super fast. It lasts around 5 seconds. Then it goes back to normal just as abruptly as it started. I've never counted the beats cuz I'm way too panicked when it happens.

I too have been suffering from anxiety for a long while so I'm trying to find out if this could be causing my palpitations. I have a doc appointment next month to talk about it. I know I have a heart murmur but I'm told it's not related.

Let me know if you find out anyting,

florie

Josell · 03-27-2006, 12:53 PM

Well, it last for about 3-4 minutes and slows down little by little. As soon as it happens I panic and take KLONOPIN to help with my anxiety and I relax. Do you sometimes feel like a vacuum feeling in your heart just before this happens?

florie · 03-27-2006, 03:32 PM

Hi,

Yes, I feel like my heart stops for a while, and then it tries to catch up or something and starts to pound really fast. It is very uncomfortable. Do you feel faint/dizzy when it happens?

SRMom · 03-27-2006, 03:55 PM

If palpitations are too bothersome, beta-blocker meds are very helpful to stabilize the heart rate. I took Atenolol when palps were out of control and it made them go away and an added benefit was I had no panic attacks while on Atenolol.