anyone paranoid about heart? - Anxiety Message Board

presson · 11-08-2006, 12:29 AM

i have had anxiety about my heart for most of this year. have had ecgs and blood tests nothing seems wrong. i get skipped beats most nights and this often sets me into almost a panic no matter how hard i try cognitively to override it

does anyone else have a fear about their heart and do you get things like skipped beats etc that come BEFORE the anxiety???

confused32 · 11-08-2006, 05:12 AM

Yes....i have posted several times about my heart anxiety. My palps and other symptoms are what triggers my anxiety.

lylone · 11-08-2006, 05:24 AM

Read some more on this board. I think the majority of posters here have palps and anxiety about their heart.
I have had palps since I was 19 and just recently after a ER visit someone mentioned anxiety as the cause. I have had EKGs, ECGs and even a nuclear stress test and nothing is wrong with my heart. I also have chest pain, and nothing seems to help, but a few big deep breaths and some xanax.
I was palp free for 5 years until this past new year's. After purchasing a new house and having issues with my apartment complex, my heart started racing at 300 bpm.
Since I have been seeing a therapist and been taking .25mg of xanax in the morning, I haven't had an issue since July. From what I am reading out on the internet, some dr's think that anxiety is the cause of palps, and SVTs. Looking back through my life, I think it is true also. I am about to be 36 soon and the palps haven't killed me yet!

Good luck,
lyl

SoccerDad · 11-08-2006, 09:54 AM

I think for most of us, our anxiety ends up centered around our heart, whether it's heart rate or palpitations or whatever. I have anxiety disorder (no obvious triggers, no agoraphobia), and it's largely under control thanks to clonazepam. But anytime my heart does anything that seems unusual (beats fast or hard or flutters), I notice it and focus right in on it. I think we notice everything heart-related. Things that most people don't even notice, we feel like it's a major event. Bottom line: you are far from alone. Hang in there. You've got lots of company, and the good news is, as long as you've been cleared by your doctor, none of it is really a problem.

Looneyinmn · 11-08-2006, 12:57 PM

Count me in, my heart is my most recent infatuation and I'm finding the hardest one to get past. I get what I call the butterflies right in the center of my chest. It drives me insane. It takes all the self control I have not to jump in my vehicle and head to the ER. I just saw the Dr. yesterday and he said "yea I get those too". I've been off meds for a few months now and the palps for me started after I quit the meds, probably not a coincidence since my right eye has been fluttering like heck also. You don't worry about your eye fluttering though. Coincidentally I had a routine eye checkup and the eye Dr. said, "that's no big deal, it's from too much stress or caffeine".

I restarted my Lexapro this week, the "heart butterflies" are more than I can take. If they go away in the next few weeks I'll know. My palps seem to be mostly at night and in the evening. How does that compare to others?