heart problem or anxiety disorder?

[titansfan614]

I am a 17 year old male. I've been feeling chest discomfort, a stiff/sore neck, lower part of my arm is uncomfortable, and my back hurts. The chest pains seem to come and go throughout the day for around 5 days for now. I've seen a cardiologist, had a 24 hour EKG, everything seemed okay except for a fast beat, which was 142 BPM while I was sitting down, a low beat of 50 when I was sleeping, and an average heart rate of 80 BPM. I am 5'8 142 pounds, so obviously not overweight, neither of my parents have any heart problems, my uncle and grandfather had problems with their valves, but not until they were at least in their 40's. I have a normal blood pressure, no diabetes, don't do drugs, and I don't drink alcohol. I had my blood work done late May and had no chalestrol problems. I also had an echocardiogram, which the cardiologist found everything to be perfect and felt this is merely anxiety. Should I trust these doctors or am I in some deep trouble?

[XxColdFusionxX]

Hi titansfan614, I'm 19 years old, 5'8 139lbs, so we're really similar in body type, and I have had those chest pains you describe before. At times I swore I was about to have a heart attack, my heart was beating so fast and hurt so bad. From what I've read, this is a symptom of generalized anxiety, the high heart beat is almost always present with anxiety from my experience. I can't give advice on meds because I've never took any, but I can insure you, if your texts came back good, you're not going to have a heart attack. If you want to talk, feel free to PM me or E-mail me at Colin_Rockss***@****, you're not alone.

[titansfan614]

Hey, thanks man, I appreciate the post. I mean I agree with the doctors, I'm not so arrogant to say that I know more than doctors or that I can out smart modern technology, but all I do know is I have chest pain and it's there for a little while and it comes back, which is a cold hard fact. How ever, today was a rather better day. I played basketball for around 2 hours and ran hard up and down the court and had no chest pain at all, so I guess that's a good sign. Likewise with you my screen name is ***@****.

[KirstinMc]

Palpitations


Palpitations are short, abrupt periods in which the heart suddenly starts beating fast. If you’re in a sensitive state, this can ring alarm bells because you fear a sudden heart attack. The more you panic, the faster the heart beats. It’s therefore understandable why many people in this situation jump to conclusions and call for medical help. What you have to remember is that palpitations are perfectly natural and can often be caused by exhaustion or stimulants like caffeine. Your heart is an incredibly strong muscle, and it won’t stop or explode simply because it’s beating hard and fast. A healthy heart can beat fast all day long and not be in any danger.



Missed Heartbeats

The medical term for missed heartbeats is extrasystoles. A missed heartbeat is usually an extra beat between two normal beats. Given the pause that follows this premature beat, it just seems as if one beat was missed. And because the heart’s lower chambers fill with a greater-than-usual amount of blood during the pause, the next regular heartbeat can feel like a bit of a jolt. When you feel this sensation, you often freeze and wait in terror to see if your heart is in trouble.

Such missed beats are generally harmless. It can help to sit down when you feel this sensation, but if you wish to keep moving, do so. Exercise won’t cause the situation to get worse, and don’t convince yourself that going home to lie down is the only way to help the situation. If you retreat every time you feel an unusual sensation, that behavior can reinforce a negative idea that your home is the only safe place to be. Our hearts are not atomic clocks that always keep time; they speed up, slow down, or occasionally beat in an irregular fashion. People with anxiety are very keen observers of all bodily functions. From time to time, you may notice an irregular beat or two. This is nothing to get upset about.

Sometimes, individuals go through similar worries about their heart as they do with their breathing. People convince themselves that if they worry enough about their heart, or concentrate too much upon its actions, it may somehow get confused and forget how to beat correctly. It’s quite common for people who suffer from panic attacks to check in on their heart at regular intervals to make sure it’s still beating away.

If you simply can’t stop obsessing about your heart, here are some tips:

• Get a full medical examination. If you don’t, your mind will always bring up the “what if something really is wrong” card. When you get a clean bill of health, trust in the results and don’t second-guess them. If you really must, get a second opinion—but after that, stop doubting your good health.

• Remember that your body has incredible internal intelligence. Simply telling your heart, out of panic, that it might stop doesn’t mean that it heeds your fears. Learn to become more comfortable with your heart, and let it do its job. Listen to it when you’re relaxed and also when you’re exercising. The more comfortable you are with the diversity and range of your heartbeats, the more confidence you’ll have in it.

• Allow your heart to beat in whatever rhythm it sees fit. Don’t try to control the natural rhythms of your body by always insisting on a calm heartbeat. The more you allow your body to flow in the manner it so chooses, the faster it will return to a state of rest.

Very often, your heart only wants to palpitate a bit, thump a few beats harder. Why? That’s the heart’s own business. It’s your mind that interferes and panics, causing the adrenaline to kick off a longer cycle of rapid heartbeats. So from now on, make a verbal agreement with your heart that you’re going to stop interfering and obsessing over its health and trust in it 100 percent. Then hand over the controls. Let go to whatever way your heart wishes to behave. By allowing the sensations to happen and simply getting on with your day, you release the anxiety that you hold around your heart as well as the cautious monitoring of every heartbeat.

[KirstinMc]

Hope my above post helps, I suffer exactly the same thinngs you do with the chest pain and a very fast heart beat. I am a 35 yrs old female who eats healthy, never smoked or taken drugs but has the odd glass of wine. I excercise and generqally look after myslef and weigh around 9 stone so def not over weight either.

Email me at kirstin.***@****

Sleep well XX