Anxiety and Irregular Heart Rhythm

[camsmommy727]

I am a 21 year old female and for about 5 months now have been dealing with severe anxiety (or so I believe). I will get lightheaded and dizzy, hot, irregularly strong or fast heartbeat and feel like I am just going to pass out. I've seen multiple doctors, including a cardiologist, who tell me I'm fine and it's just normal anxiety. But every medicine I take doesn't help. I'd actually rather cure this without medicine but I just don't have the time with my 1 and a half year old son. I know a lot contributes to my anxiety, but I am just so concerned it could be something to do with my heart. Every time I just so much as feel an irregular beat I reach for my pulse to make sure it's still beating. This morning I was woken up in a panic around 5am and couldn't breathe. My heart was pounding and I became lightheaded. dizzy, and hot. I grabbed some water and walked around my house to calm down and my heart started racing probably like 130 to 140 and I did some breathing exercises to calm down. After about 5 or so minutes my heart rate was normal, but I was shaking and cold and felt sick to my stomach. I wasn't able to go back to sleep because when I laid down, I got hot and lightheaded again. If it weren't for the problems with my heart, I would have such severe anxiety. Please help! What on earth is going on??

[Red_Star]

Hi, I had severe magnesium deficiency and had a whole lot more symptoms than on that list! I live in Australia so I can find magnesium products in supermarkets, chemists, and health food stores.  You need to check the label out so you aren't buying a cheap form of magnesium that isn't going to work as well as other more absorbable forms. Dr Hyman talks about this in his article Magnesium: The Most Powerful Relaxation Mineral Available...

"Stop Draining Your Body of Magnesium

• Limit coffee, colas, salt, sugar, and alcohol

• Learn how to practice active relaxation

• Check with your doctor if your medication is causing magnesium loss (many high blood pressure drugs or diuretics cause loss of magnesium)

Eat Foods High in Magnesium

Include the following in your diet as often as you can:

• Kelp, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, avocado, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, and garlic

Take Magnesium Supplements

• The RDA (the minimum amount needed) for magnesium is about 300 mg a day. Most of us get far less than 200 mg.

• Some may need much more depending on their condition.

• Most people benefit from 400 to 1,000 mg a day.

• The most absorbable forms are magnesium citrate, glycinate, taurate, or aspartate, although magnesium bound to Kreb cycle chelates (malate, succinate, fumarate) are also good.

• Avoid magnesium carbonate, sulfate, gluconate, and oxide. They are poorly absorbed (and the cheapest and most common forms found in supplements).

• Side effects from too much magnesium include diarrhea, which can be avoided if you switch to magnesium glycinate.

• Most minerals are best taken as a team with other minerals in a multi-mineral formula.

• Taking a hot bath with Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) is a good way to absorb and get much needed magnesium.

• People with kidney disease or severe heart disease should take magnesium only under a doctor's supervision."

[Semera80]

Hi there I have at least experience 7 of these symptoms.so what do I get at the pharmacy.I can't believe your the only one I read that knew exactly what I was feeling..I knew something was wrong with me I did a stress test last year everything came out fine.My doctor told me to just not stress.Easier said than done I have 2. Kids I'm married  plus I stress about everything I also have anxiety I fear death I fear sickness a whole lot..Sometimes  I feel like I'm ok and than when I think about my breathing it starts up again..So I would like to know what it's called to go purchase it.Thank you....

[Ayls]

I have one question for you? Do you drink coffee? I too have felt the light headeness and the fear of passing out. Also weird heart beat like pulses in different parts of my body. I tried everything until mow. I just went 2 weeks without coffee (had to have tea because of the headaches) and the very next day I was normal. My pulse went down and I never felt dizzy. Yesterday I experimented with a few small cups of coffee due to a 16 hr shift and EVERTHING came back!. Don't know if this will help but it has helped me. Coffee apparently doesn't agree with anymore.  ruins my life. My body no longer excepts it I guess.

[Ayls]

I have one question for you? Do you drink coffee? I too have felt the light headeness and the fear of passing out. Also weird heart beat like pulses in different parts of my body. I tried everything until mow. I just went 2 weeks without coffee (had to have tea because of the headaches) and the very next day I was normal. My pulse went down and I never felt dizzy. Yesterday I experimented with a few small cups of coffee due to a 16 hr shift and EVERTHING came back!. Don't know if this will help but it has helped me. Coffee apparently doesn't agree with anymore.  ruins my life. My body no longer excepts it I guess.

[MichelleP_3811]

You may want to start your own thread to get better responses as sometimes these older threads aren't noticed.  No one can say for certain until it is actually captured but it sounds like you may have an accessory pathway svt that got active due to giving birth.  I believe when you give birth it can change the shape of the heart a bit and as such there may have been an extra muscle fiber that wasn't connecting until the baby came along.  If it is accessory pathway there is a clear way to tell in that it starts and stops in one beat.  It can feel quite manic as well compared to a fast heart beat when one exercises.  If your 24 hour monitor doesn't catch it and it won't if you don't have an episode while you are wearing it (I had mine the day before my 24 hour but not the day of).  If you don't catch it then ask to try a 30 event monitor.  This will give you a bit more time to capture it.  Until then try to manage your stress as best you can because it could be triggering more episodes than you would if you weren't stressing.  When they are able to see the initiation of the episode they will be able to tell if it is accessory pathway svt or just sinus tachycardia.  Treatments are different so they need to first distinguish which you have.  Take care and keep us posted on how it goes.

[nicole101681]

Hi ive recently had a baby almost 5 months ago & have had alot of problems since then. I.have anxiety but thought i had it under control because i hadnt felt anxious at all lately. Three days ago i went to the store & waa there for awhile and when we left i felt tired.. Out of breath and scared. I had been having left chest pain under my left breast & arm so i went to ER cause i felt horrible but my ekgs were normal.. Blood work normal and i had a chest xray and when we were waiting for results i was laying there and my body got really hot..my pulse went from 70-80 to 156 & they gave me oxygen & xanax (a low dose). They made me squeeze down like having a bowel movement & it eventually went away. I had never experienced that and i was scary and horrible. After the did a ct scan of my lungs to check maybe if i had a bloodclot but negative so they sent me home. The next morning i had another episode that lasted less them 30 seconds and i did wat the dr told me and it went away.. Saw a cardiologist & he checked my heart..did another ekg that was normal but they gave me a holter monitor (24 hours) & tomrw i go get an echo.. He said after listening to my heart he didnt hear anything abnormal but we will see. Its very scary and im stressed and worried. Lately (before episodes) ive been extremely stressed.. And my hormones are whack.. Does anyone else feel this way ..