Aa
My heart!!
I have suffered from "anxiety" for several years now. With my panic attacks comes heart palpitations but they always come and go with the attacks. I am a 29 year old male and live a pretty lazy lifestyle. 5 days ago I started having palpitations everyday all day. I have been to the hospital and they caught some on an ECG. I will be getting my holter tomorrow. I am just worried that I will drop dead. Is this possible? Can my heart just stop? I am not dizzy or sweating (except from the gd heat!) Should I write my will?
OntarioMike,
I agree with achillea's comments to you on this thread. Your diagnosis of anxiety, with panic attacks, is the cause of your presentation most likely. Panic attacks, along with the sense of impending doom, walls closing in, shortness of breath, and chest pressure, also include palpitations, which is due to the excessive sympathetic response (flight or fight) due to adrenaline in the blood. The palpitations can be just due to the heart beating stronger from the increased stimulation, or can actually be abnormal beats caused by the adrenaline over stimulating heart cells which then activate early or abnormally. Regardless, these will not make you "drop dead," and frankly, worrying yourself about it excessively just causes more anxiety and more adrenaline in the system, which will only increase your palpitation rate and severity.
Get the Holter monitor completed, follow up results with your physician, and get further testing if warranted based on what they find. If all findings are benign, and truly just anxiety related, then you should consider more intense evaluation and therapy for the anxiety and panic attacks which should help a lot.
I agree with achillea's comments to you on this thread. Your diagnosis of anxiety, with panic attacks, is the cause of your presentation most likely. Panic attacks, along with the sense of impending doom, walls closing in, shortness of breath, and chest pressure, also include palpitations, which is due to the excessive sympathetic response (flight or fight) due to adrenaline in the blood. The palpitations can be just due to the heart beating stronger from the increased stimulation, or can actually be abnormal beats caused by the adrenaline over stimulating heart cells which then activate early or abnormally. Regardless, these will not make you "drop dead," and frankly, worrying yourself about it excessively just causes more anxiety and more adrenaline in the system, which will only increase your palpitation rate and severity.
Get the Holter monitor completed, follow up results with your physician, and get further testing if warranted based on what they find. If all findings are benign, and truly just anxiety related, then you should consider more intense evaluation and therapy for the anxiety and panic attacks which should help a lot.
You are a 29 year old man who does not complain of chest pain or sweating, so unless you have a lot of risk factors like a strong family history, high blood pressure, documented heart abnormalities, or obesity, nah, you're probably not going to drop dead any time soon, nor will your heart just stop.
It will help if you understand what goes on with benign ectopic heartbeats (which I am betting will be part of your diagnosis), so copy and paste this into your google search box:
kenyon cardiology/forums/backup/topic-24286.html
It's a good explanation by a knowledgeable guy named John Kenyon.
Being hyper-aware of these heartbeats is a curse for some of us (including me), so if you are diagnosed with 'nothing to worry about' and are still feeling very anxious about them, my advice is that a couple of visits with a good shrink will go a long way towards helping you to live with these things.
It will help if you understand what goes on with benign ectopic heartbeats (which I am betting will be part of your diagnosis), so copy and paste this into your google search box:
kenyon cardiology/forums/backup/topic-24286.html
It's a good explanation by a knowledgeable guy named John Kenyon.
Being hyper-aware of these heartbeats is a curse for some of us (including me), so if you are diagnosed with 'nothing to worry about' and are still feeling very anxious about them, my advice is that a couple of visits with a good shrink will go a long way towards helping you to live with these things.
You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Forum
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.
