anxiety or real problem

[ce]

ive been under a lot of stress for the past 4-5 months.  about 2 months ago i felt and saw a strong heartbeat in my chest, stomach, arms, legs, and even on the back of my head,(esp. on the left side), even can see my carotid arteries beat.  i had a complete examination of my heart inculding an echocardiogram, ekg, and ct of my abdomin (abdomen) and pelvis.  all the test came back negative and the cardiologist says that i am fine.  so how come i feel these sensatins? (occationaly they go away for a week or two but come back)

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Dear Ce,

Sorry to hear about your symptoms. Palpitations are the sensation of one's own heart beat and this sounds like what you are experiencing. You may consider wearing a holter monitor  or an event monitor which are devices that record the heart's electrical activity in an effort to detect rhythm disturbances.  Since your symptoms occur every 2 weeks, an event monitor is probably what you need. This device  can monitor your heart rhythm for up to a month, but requires you to press a button when you experience symptoms. I would also recommend avoiding caffeine, tobacco, alcohol and stimulants such as those found in decongestants.  Discuss this with your doctor. Hope you feel better.


Thanks for your question,


CCF-MD-KE

[dartmouth03]

wow....i have the EXACT same problem as well.  i can see my heartbeat beat of my chest, feel it in my ankles, and also see it pop out of both neck arteries. how old are u and are u male or female?  thanks.

[ce]

i am a 28 year old male.

[dartmouth03]

this is so strange bro, like i've had all the tests too and they say i'm fine.  i totally know what you mean about the pulse behind ur had feeling.  when i lay on the couch and my head is resting against the back of it, i feel my pulse vibrating.  i also feel my heartbeat in the bottom of my stomach as well.  do u also notice any pvcs (extra beats) that go along with your sensations.

[ce]

i dont notice any pvc'sbut when ilay on my stomach ican feel the pulse in my neck also, are there any other symptoms you can tell me about?

[dartmouth03]

well, i when i lay on my stomach i also feel my pulse in my neck.  i think it's b/c our necks are somewhat extended.  so when u look in the mirror can u see your heartbeat on your left and right side of ur neck ie each carotid artery?  also, can u see ur heartbeat popping out of ur chest somewhat?

[jdm]

short and sweet and I wish I didn't know from long experience:  Anxiety IS a real problem.  Don't let it go untreated if that is the "only" cause.  It can eat you alive. Even if you're a so-called ( and they raised us to be ) big strong man like me.

[dartmouth03]

jdm - have u had it treated?  would you mind elaborating on your experience. thanks.

[mjh047s]

My name is Mike and it is 3:10 am and once again I am wide awake.
Right now the symptoms I am experiencing are slight pain in my left armpit and wrist, and a very fast heart rate (somewhere around 100 bpm).  This happens to me quite often.  A little less than a year ago I was in a pretty serious car wreck.  I wasn't hurt very bad but I noticed a slight pain in my chest shortly afterward and I went to the ER.  They said I had bruised ribs and that was the end of that for a while, but then probably about a week later I started having the chest pains on and off.  I went to a doctor and he pretty much just said it was probably inflamation (inflammation) in my chest causing the pain.  After it continued for about another month I went back to the same doctor and he pretty much said the same thing and game me more anti-inflamatories.  I wasn't convinced so a couple of months ago I went to a new doctor when the symptoms were happening again.  He took me more seriously and I had an EKG.  The doctor said everything was normal and said I might have bad acid reflux so he scheduled a scope to be done in May.  I don't understand.  I don't think my symptoms sound like acid reflux.  I wake up very often with a racing heartbeat.  Sometimes I just have pains in my chest and in my arms.  I can feel my heartbeating sometimes while I am just laying on the couch or in bed.  My bloodpressure is usually pretty high.  And I wake up periodically in a panic, with my heart racing and my body shaking to the point that I can't control it.  If anyone else has had anything like this or maybe knows of someone who had a similar situation or symptoms, please let me know.

[Ianna]

Hello Mike,
-
Do you use Nutra-Sweet(aspartame)in soft drinks, foods, candy etc etc.?
Take care! Look under www.dorway.com and then look up what it does to the heart ie.    
-
This is the Mitral-Valve-Prolapse site; interesting too.  
www.mitralvalveprolapse.com/index.htm
-
I suggest you read these sites...
You might find some things there that 'ring a bell'.

< Bey - Stay well >    ***Ianna***

[Ivnarcotic]

Funny u say that Ianna. Jan 5, I started having vibrations in my chest all day long. The only time I didn't feel them was when I was asleep. I was so scared. Went to primary and he sent me for echo which was fine. PUt me on toprol. I never felt my heart race or pound ..just the little twitches and skips which were frightening and annoying. Toprol didnt help. He sent me to cardiologist. BY now, I had begun exercise, stopped caffeine and ASPARTAME. I went on a diet and used a lot of aspartame. And since the pvc's started a month after my diet. I stopped the aspartame since this was the only thing I was doing new. I to this day, think it wqas the aspartame. They went away about a month after stopping aspartame. It is evil stuff. any other thoughts from aspartame users or quitters? thank you

[klb1321]

Some of the symptoms you described sound like a panic or anxiety attack.  I have had these same symptoms in the middle of the night before and convinced myself I was having a heart attack.  You might want to ask your doctor about it next time you go in.  If it is the case you aren't alone.  It is scary, but there is help.  Good luck.

[Drewzy]

Does anyone have a short sensation of lightness in chest that seems central to the heart and lung area.  There is no pain, but just a unique not altogether bad feeling, that just isn't right though. I don't know what the problem is, and my doctor didn't either, but he recomended an ekg and chest x-ray to be sure. He said it could even be 100% anxiety related. My blood pressure was also high and I have had a dull ache from time to time. Please help because I am concerned. I am also 28 years old , work out, run, and have a good diet. I don't understand.

[Gerkkin]

I'm an eighteen year old male and have been having some palpitations latley. My Primary doctor beleived them to be anxiety related. I would experience racing of the heart, shortness of breath, tingling sensations in my legs and arms, and lightheaded. This was all accompanied by a intense feeling of panic and premonitions of death, which sent me to the ER twice. I was evaluated there, blood and urine samples taken along with an EKG. Everything looked normal. My doctor prescribed Paxil CR along with Xanax to treat breakthrough episodes. I've been taking both for about a month now and haven't had any episodes nearly as bad. I was given an event monitor during the ordeal in hopes of catching what was happening. I had a few bad episodes while wearing this and recorded them. These results were then sent to my cardiac electrophysiologist to evaluate, where I schedueled an appointment. In the meantime, although I've had no panic attacks, I have been experiencing something else. I'll sit or lay down to relax or watch television for example and when I stand up, within seconds my heart rate jumps from about 70-75 BPM to around 120-135 BPM. I can feel my heart pounding and racing in my chest. I also feel lightheaded with pressure moving from the center of my abdomen, up through my chest, into my throat and neck , then into my head. Everything subsides except my heart rate which generally takes 5 minutes to stop(I don't drink caffeine,smoke,or drink).I can always count on the shortness of breath and discomfort in my abodomen after I eat a meal. I even feel like hours after I eat that one meal, I'm as full as I was when I ate it. My Electrophysiologist reviewed the monitor results and said my heart rythym was fine just abnormally fast. She schedueled me for a 24 hour urine analysis to check for adrenalin levels? And also a tilt test? (after my EKG with her turned out normal). I am worried about this I have no energy I feel drained and fatigued all the time. I have no history of health or heart problems.I was just wondering if some could give me they're thoughts on this. What should I expect from these tests? Could this be anxiety realted? I'm eighteen years old.

[BeaverDam Bill]

I'm 29 and a male.  For the past 8 years, I've gone through some of the same things everyone else has posted.  Mostly in the mornings, I experience a rapid pounding heart.  I get hot very easily, to the point I can barely stand it.  My chest tightens, and every once in a while I feel a sharp stabing jolt.  I've been to the doctors plenty of times, seen many different ones.  I've had the EKG, blood tests, chest x-rays ect.  I feel bloated, have a burning feeling in my throat, pain in my lower legs and feet sometimes.  I take protonix for the GURD (gerd) they think I might have.  They put the blame on anxiety, which I do admit I have, I worry a lot about everything.  The scarey part is I get these symptoms when I don't feel stressed at all.  I think my doctor has given up, but I really think I have something more than pure anxiety.  If it's above 70 degrees, and I'm outside, I feel faint. I'm 6'1 and 210 pounds, a little overweight but not grossly overweight.  Anyone else experience the same symptoms?

[rst]

i am already irritated feeling my loud pulse in my neck and other parts of my body. doc says its anxiety. sometimes i dont feel like movin anymore cause im scared and it annoys me. im under medication, rivotril and tenormin,. but since  i told doc that i still feel it sometimes, he changed my meds. am taking hyzaar right now for my blood pressure etc. one thing i noticed is that i feel much better with tenormin. i get chest pains and weird feelings when i take hyzaar. im not relaxed at all instead its the other way around. does anyone out there have these effects with hyzaar??? also am into reductil what can you say bout this drug? i feel kinda hyper takin it. am 25 and active in sports. somtimes i freak out that i might get a heart attack or something else. can someone out there ease my mind. thanks

[rst]

hi, i feel what you feel! when i wake up in the morning i feel my thumpin heart beat but subsides in awhile. kinda dizzy too. it irritates me actually. i also have this lower pain in the leg area, near the ankle sometimes. when this happens i dont feel like workin at all, i feel weak. but sometimes its the other way around, am kinda hyped up. doc says i lack the drive or urge to motivate myself but when i feel this symptoms i get scared. one thing i noticed is that when i get out a good sweatin workout i dont feel this stuff.......i feel it after....the fast pulse, the pain... especially when im lying down. been through all the test including thyroid, heart etc. nothing found. results were negative. geeezzzzzz, docs cant explain whats goin through us......maybe it is anxiety cause like you, am a big worrier. i worry a lot. sometimes i think am gettin to be a hypochondriac. is this all imagination or what??? i dont get it man, been through this for three years now...

[Danny123]

Im only 15 and im experiencing heart problems, today i came out of the bath and got a bad head rush and i put my hand to my chest and i coudlnt feel my heart at all for abuot 5 seconds

my heart beats uncomfortably in my chest it feels like its gonna stop or something is anyone there who can tell me whats going on sorry for the litle info and spelling :( oh and when i sit down it my heart feels weird and it suddenly drops its rate and hurts a tad bit but then goes away

[Danny123]

i forgot to mention this, i dunno if it has anything to do with my heart or anything but when i move my head it shakes  kinda im to weak to kee my head sitll it also happens t my arms legs they shake too feeels like im to weak or its out of control for me to stop the shakiness i have had tremors in ym hands since i was born tho maybe this has something to do with it

hmm. is this anxiety? not enough excersise? anything???

[twigs]

re:  the effect of anxiety on the heart rate.
Here's my tale, last November (2002)  I had an attack of palpitations(first ever)  I went to Casualty (ER) they hooked me up to a mointer and eventually sent me home saying I was fine and that i'd probably just had too much caffeine that day (six cups of coffee!!)  After that my imagination began to work overtime I must have checked my pulse 50 times a day.  I haunted my doctors practice looking for answers and at least five doctors there checked my blood pressure listened to my heart over a period of months and told me i was fine.  I then started to get rapid heartbeat (100 bpm) and took myself off to hospital a further two times.  They did all the tests, ECG bloods, etc all fine.  Finally on my third visit at 6am a tired young doctor who had done a long night shift became rather interested in how I knew my heart was beating fast.  I told him I'd been taking my pulse and noticed it racing.  "But why were you taking your pulse" he asked.  I had to confess I'd become obessed with it since my attack of palpitations and he laughed at me.  He then explained how your pulse rate varies throughout the day depending what your doing and that i'd obviously taken it when it was a bit higher than normal and then panicked and of course anxiety had sent it soaring.  I went home, thought about his comments and dismissed them thinking like all the other docs he'd missed the fact that i had some undiagnosed heart problem.  A couple of weeks i caught myself doing the same thing sent my pulse soaring and then i laughed at myself remembered what he'd said and within a couple of minutes it was back to normal.  I now stay away from my pulse and get on with my life and I'm fine.  Think about it! it makes sense.

[mikado2]

A related discussion, same was started.