It's not anxiety - can anyone advise from here?

[Rosemary349]

Hi Everyone

You may know me as someone who is quite anxious but today my doctor caught a sinus tachycardia on ecg, I was not panicking at all at the time and had one earlier that morning (that felt to me far worse).

I need your advice here.  Before the ECG he felt my pulse and listened to my heart and said that my wrist pulse was slower than what he was hearing with the stethoscope.  Then he attempted to rush to get the ecg set up, it only showed a sinus tachycardia......What else might he have been aware of?

I asked him why i wasn't admitted to hospital and he said that i might not have another episode for a week or six weeks.  I think i will, they come in clusters.  I am afraid of dying and he said 'I don't intend to let you die.'  He also said that the chances of a dangerous arrythmia are very small, but he didn't quote the odds.

He's arranging for me to have an event monitor.  I just so wish i was in hospital right now, i'd feel safe there.  He said the fact that it occurs when i'm not anxious suggests it's not anxiety.  After this morning's event i am inclined to believe him.

Thaks for listening and any advice or help would be appreciated.  :-)

[yarrow]

That's exactly what it is with a premature beat.  The heart is elastic, and if whatever chamber is firing goes off before it gets its normal load of blood, the contraction will be relatively small.  As a result, most people do not actually feel the premature beat (although its electrical nature will show up on an EKG), but there's a little delay until the next regular beat and meantime the heart has a chance to get a little fuller.  The heart is obligated to try to pump out all the blood that enters it (you can google The Law of the Heart), so the regular contraction is more powerful than usual.  That's the big one you feel and that freaks you out.

[CFS56]

Sometimes when I have a premature beat I guess it doesn't pump enough blood or whatever it does to cause a pulse but if I have my hand over my heart I can feel it.  So if I were listening with a stethoscope I'm sure I would hear the extra beats but not feel them checking my pulse.  Does that make any sense???  Hard to explain but it's harmless.  My doctor said they were PACS.

[kay2486]

it could have even been  a flutter and everyone on this planet gets them, it would be where our heart have a little bit of a palpatation for couple of secs, i used to get these when i was thinking about my heart, i would get a very quick flutter this is normal.

i know it is anxiety causing my heart prob, i try not to get anxious, if the event monitor shows up nothing then don't be worried or you too may end up with anxiety


i too don't know why your pulse and heart rate would not line up, it may happen in atrial flutter but then your pulse would be irregular so im not sure, you should really ask the doctor everything you need to know, an don't leave until she/he has explained it fully

if you dont find the answer you will end up like i did n have panic attacks

[jennyfi1234]

Although I did read somewhere it could be caused by a valve issue or heart failure--something I think they can tell with a ultrasound, I heard it is the part of the heart that always has some tachy or brady-- something everyone has--its normal---as in if you exercise or panic, or stress.  I dont know why your heart rate and pulse would not line up though.

[Rosemary349]

Thanks so much for your reply kay!  The thing is i'm not nervous of going to my own doctor, i live in a sleepy little village and it's a very homely atmosphere and i've known him for years....

I'm worried what he heard/felt when he examined me that didn't show up on the monitor.  He's arranging for me to have an event monitor as he thinks nothing will happen on a 24 hour ecg....i'm not so sure.  

How likely is it that it was just a tachycardia?  What else could it have been based on that description?


thanks :-)

[kay2486]

hi there, everyone's bp and heart rate goes up when we go the doctors is the white coat effect, i have terrible anxiety and my heart rate goes up to 120 when i go the docs n i know its from anxiety, its along story of how i ended up with it.........

im fine now just got a fear of going the doctors incase thy tell me they can't help, last time i went hospital i very nearly died n that was terrifying n that what caused my anxiety.

its silly to think like that, but when i went to the doctors i went on about pvcs i had and she was in rush to order and ecg so i ended up begging for one that night i went to the doctors, i was hysterical with anxiety, i did the ecg and my atrium was beating faster than the ventrical i was in atrial flutter n i thought god im going to die, ive learned to trust the doctors n i know if there were something wrong with my heart they would say

a holter will pick up any heart beats that you have over a longer period than an ecg, if your ecg is fine you're fine, but if you're instincts are telling you something is wrong don't panic just have a word with ur doc n get every question answered then deal with the anxiety