Irregular heart beat and anxiety (have you had this? help!) - Heart Disorders Message Board

spurs279 · 07-29-2007, 12:34 AM

About 3 or 4 months ago I had an anxiety attack of of nowhere and have been dealing with it since. Initially I didn't have physical side effects but now that the anxiety is progressively getting better, I have chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, and an irregular heartbeat. I know all are symptoms of anxiety, but the irregular heartbeat has been worrying me.

It's a bit hard to explain but what happens is I get a strange sensation (like a fluttering) in my upper/center chest and bottom neck area. This sensation doesn't hurt so it's hard to explain. When this happens I can pretty much feel my heart skipping beats. What I do is put my finger on my pulse and I can literally feel the heart skipping. It will usually do this about 3 times in a 10 second or less period, then go back to normal. The thing that makes me think it might not be anxiety is that 3/4 times it happens when I do something like bend over or move suddenly in an odd position. It's much more rare for it to occur when I'm sitting/standing still. I've also been getting lightheaded a lot when I stand up (don't know if it's related.) I also get dizzy whenever I do any physical fitness.

I've been to the ER twice and a general practitioner multiple times. Since this isn't constant, the doctor couldn't hear anything abnormal from listening to my heart. I asked the doctor to fit me with a 24 hr Holter Monitor because I wanted the doctor to be able to see exactly what was happening. I felt the irregular heartbeats (for sure) with the monitor on, but when they called me back about the results, they said there was nothing abnormal and my heart was fine. This is very weird because I can literally feel skipping when I feel my pulse.

The thing that worries me the most is that it mainly happens when I bend over or make a sudden strange movement. That makes me think it might not be anxiety. On top of that, I get dizzy when I do physical fitness (even something like lifting boxes.)

Has anyone had this or know anything about it? Thanks for any help.

Radman525 · 07-29-2007, 06:03 AM

I have had some experience with anxiety attacks. I have a friend who used to have them frequently. It used to remind me of an epileptic attack.

I would recommend that you visit your Community Mental Health Clinic.

They have medicines that can control the reoccurance of these episodes.

You know that something is wrong with your body, it seems to me. I have a physical every year. It seems to make sense to do this and have the physician do an EKG test on your heart. Be sure to discuss your symptoms with your physician. God Bless you.

thaliak · 07-29-2007, 06:29 AM

Hi there!
My reply to your question is : YES. I have had almost identical symptoms and had identical worries. Let me go over them and I will tell you what I have done.
After a severe shock, I noticed that my heart was beating with funny rythm, and was missing beats, which were very noticeable, just like you. It would happen out of the blue, but usually after an argument or during a stressfull situation, mental or physical.
I visited a cardiologist, who could not find anything wrong after a cardiogram, but fitted me with this 24 hour monitor. He told me to record everyting I was saying or doing when I would feel the beats missing. When he checked this long record I have kept, we found out that it was happening every time I was raising my voice, feeling sad, had stressfull thoughts or was in a difficult situation. Right now I do not remember whether it was also happening when I was doing something physical, but rather that regular exercise was alleviating the problem by relieving my anxiety. After giving me a thorough heart examination including effort test and echo test, he decided it was pure anxiety, in my case. So he gave me some antianxiety medication ( LEXOTANIL) for about 9 months and my situation gratually got better until it DISAPPEARED.
Since then, 8-9 years ago, I sometimes get these flutterings when I go through a stressfull period and I have come to recognize that my stress level is going up when these heart irregularities happen. So I try to defuse the situation by exercise etc.
However, I know that this is causing you more stress by fearing the worst and hence, it is creating a vicious circle. So, I would recommend that you see a specialist and have all the appropriate tests to put your mind at ease. Apparently it is something quite normal. In my case it also happens when I am expecting my period. But then ... I am a woman!!!!
Good luck

hopesprings2 · 07-29-2007, 12:36 PM

Ive had it off and on for years.comes and goes.I have the understanding most irrg beats are not danger( however i am no doctor) does your heart speed up? i would ask for them to do it again and run a ecg to make sure your heart valves are okay also.i usally have mine speed up some when i eat.
dont drink coffee or any caffine or chocolate for awhile and see if that helps any.ask the doctor if a cardiogist read your montor or a reg MD.

spurs279 · 07-29-2007, 02:07 PM

Thanks for the info. I've gotten multiple EKG (or ECG...don't know the difference) and had a bunch of tests which all turned out fine. It just worries me because I get dizzy almost every time I stand up or do any sort of physical fitness.

Maybe it's the blood flow to my heart. Is there a way to test this besides a cardiac stress test? I certainly don't want to push my heart if light labor makes me dizzy. Then again, it's most likely just anxiety.