Aa
Question about racing heart - would appreciate some help
Hi everyone
I've been posting regularly in the heart disease community following the sudden death of my father, aged 64, last year. I've recently had the coroner's report and it's clear he had quite extensive heart disease and other atherosclerosis - despite being quite a larger than life character and fit, apparently healthy, etc.
Since then i've suffered huge anxiety if i have any symptoms involving the heart....I've had two episodes of extremely fast heart rate in the last two months and it's not clear whether it's panic or not.....it has calmed down by itself usually within about 5 mins (although HR still fast - just not what i imagine is dangerously fast).
To really understand the details here is my post about it in the heart disease community:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Disease/How-likely-can-a-rare-episode-of-tachycardia-turn-into-VF/show/1337280
I'd really appreciate your thoughts and if you are able, reassurance. I think if i was more clear on what is most likely going on - and if that's not considered too dangerous - then my heart rate will slow quicker - if it doesn't then i know this is more likely panic...
thanks for your time!!!
I've been posting regularly in the heart disease community following the sudden death of my father, aged 64, last year. I've recently had the coroner's report and it's clear he had quite extensive heart disease and other atherosclerosis - despite being quite a larger than life character and fit, apparently healthy, etc.
Since then i've suffered huge anxiety if i have any symptoms involving the heart....I've had two episodes of extremely fast heart rate in the last two months and it's not clear whether it's panic or not.....it has calmed down by itself usually within about 5 mins (although HR still fast - just not what i imagine is dangerously fast).
To really understand the details here is my post about it in the heart disease community:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Disease/How-likely-can-a-rare-episode-of-tachycardia-turn-into-VF/show/1337280
I'd really appreciate your thoughts and if you are able, reassurance. I think if i was more clear on what is most likely going on - and if that's not considered too dangerous - then my heart rate will slow quicker - if it doesn't then i know this is more likely panic...
thanks for your time!!!
Thanks - i really appreciate your reply. A lot of people are saying this sounds like anxiety so i am working on it......hard when my heart seems to take on a life of it's own and i wasn't even anxious at the time......but I didn't have this before, just in the last month (although i had one time when at a friends and after a glass of wine on an empty stomach when my heart rate went up to 140 bpm for about 30 mins....but i was still carrying on as normal).
I will try and beat the anxiety....i will report back as it may help others - seeing as the symptoms and anxiety may be hard to separate out anyway. :-)
I will try and beat the anxiety....i will report back as it may help others - seeing as the symptoms and anxiety may be hard to separate out anyway. :-)
Anxiety is a better diagnoses than heart problems of course, but you must get rid of it because it will takeover your life. It could also lead to other physical problems which you do not want. If it is anxiety you have to get help to beat this.
I am not a doctor so I do not know for sure it is only anxiety but from you describe it sure sounds like it. I heart would race for no reason sometimes. Driving was the worse. My heart would pound and pound. You said you have a thyroid problem, I would get a blood test done as soon as possible. I have had heart flutters, skipped beats and a pounding heart. I also felt dizzy at times. I did not want to leave my house. I know having these feelings are awful. Believe me, I thought I was going to die many times. You sound like you are having panic attacks which I have had over and over again. Go see a doctor and get checked out and make sure everything is ok. Then when you no everything is ok you will start to relax and ease your mind. If you need to go on medication then do so, but before you go that route, go on line and do some research. There are natural products and techniques that might help you. Like I said before, medicaion has a lot of side effects. If nothing helps then medication might be your last resort. Try to get some sunshine when you can and I heard that Vit. D3 is good for moods. Make sure it is a whole food vit D3. I Take it everyday. I use sea salt and have no problems. It is soooooooo much better than regular salft for you. But since you have a thyroid problem please do discuss the salt issue with your doctor.
. Hope this helps.
. Hope this helps.
Thanks - so you would consider it more anxiety. it helps to hear that - i do want it to be anxiety obviously....even if it does make me look crazy! lol!
I had another episode tonight. I started to write it all down for the counsellor i'm seeing.....and then i stood up to make a drink and felt my heart really racing (i know i just stood up, but it was more than usual).........I put on my shoes and legged it out of my flat and drove to the hospital. The counsellor says to stay in the house and stay with the fear.....but i can't. What if it's not just fear?
I admit i am very nervous and have an anxiety disorder - but i could still also have a heart disorder. When i got the the ER i just stood outside where i was highly visible in case i did collapse or anything. I told myself i had better get used to this environment in case i really do have to be seen by a doctor about this....I checked my pulse and it was 105 bpm....checked again adn it was 110....i started to feel mentally a bit better. here i was in the midst of it, dealing with it....my heart was racing and i was still standing....but then a wave of nausea washed over me and i panicked, thinking that this mean't a real problem likely to occur....
I couldn't stand there and be ill, with all the ambulances, etc....so i wandered back to my parked car - the nausea went away in about 30 seconds. I started to get to that 'give up' point - i cannot control this all - so i just sat on a wall under the stars and gradually started to calm down.
My pulse would not go below 90 bpm despite relaxing. I drove home and it was 80bpm.....I went into the flat, put on a meditation CD and listened to it.....at the end of it my pulse was down to 73bpm.....then i watched some tv and pulse is down to 68bpm.
All this has taken 4 hours. It's now 3.15am and i am developing a fear of going to bed because i don't want to wake up in the dark with this thing happening to me.
Anyway i'm rambling on. I have to tell myself it's unlikley to be dangerous because the nurse has said so - but i don't know what they are going on.
I have an underactive thyroid but it's treated with thyroxine. I noticed the day the ectopics started i'd had a few days of eating snacks with sea salt in them, which i don't usually do. Could the sea salt have added iodine and so overdosed me?
I had another episode tonight. I started to write it all down for the counsellor i'm seeing.....and then i stood up to make a drink and felt my heart really racing (i know i just stood up, but it was more than usual).........I put on my shoes and legged it out of my flat and drove to the hospital. The counsellor says to stay in the house and stay with the fear.....but i can't. What if it's not just fear?
I admit i am very nervous and have an anxiety disorder - but i could still also have a heart disorder. When i got the the ER i just stood outside where i was highly visible in case i did collapse or anything. I told myself i had better get used to this environment in case i really do have to be seen by a doctor about this....I checked my pulse and it was 105 bpm....checked again adn it was 110....i started to feel mentally a bit better. here i was in the midst of it, dealing with it....my heart was racing and i was still standing....but then a wave of nausea washed over me and i panicked, thinking that this mean't a real problem likely to occur....
I couldn't stand there and be ill, with all the ambulances, etc....so i wandered back to my parked car - the nausea went away in about 30 seconds. I started to get to that 'give up' point - i cannot control this all - so i just sat on a wall under the stars and gradually started to calm down.
My pulse would not go below 90 bpm despite relaxing. I drove home and it was 80bpm.....I went into the flat, put on a meditation CD and listened to it.....at the end of it my pulse was down to 73bpm.....then i watched some tv and pulse is down to 68bpm.
All this has taken 4 hours. It's now 3.15am and i am developing a fear of going to bed because i don't want to wake up in the dark with this thing happening to me.
Anyway i'm rambling on. I have to tell myself it's unlikley to be dangerous because the nurse has said so - but i don't know what they are going on.
I have an underactive thyroid but it's treated with thyroxine. I noticed the day the ectopics started i'd had a few days of eating snacks with sea salt in them, which i don't usually do. Could the sea salt have added iodine and so overdosed me?
I don't know for sure, but I do bet you are suffering from anxiety as I have had these systems myself. Have your thyroid checked too. What has helped me is going on a very low carb diet and sugar free diet. Believe me it helps tremendously. Talk to your doctor about getting good supplements. Make sure t hey are not the synthetic ones. Using raw or whole food vitamins are the best. Hope this helps.
Hi there
I am really sorry to hear about your dad and grandfather. When you say no one knows why they died i'm guessing you mean no one in the family knows - probably because they were too traumatised at the time to seek answers. The doctors have to know - there has to be something on the medical reports, etc.
One thing we have to remember is that we may also take after our mothers.....and also being female does afford a bit more protection - though not much....but i would say, if worse case scenario (and it is worst case - and there are so many other possibilities equally as valid right now) you have inherited something, then time is on your side to find out and then get treated for it.
Last night i decided to try and read something more positive on the subject....and i found information to say that fish oil is absolutely vital for regulating the heart beat. In one study they induced myocardial infarctions in rats (i hate that, but that's what they did) - the rats who had been consuming fish oils did not go into VF.
mrs boston - let me know what you find - sometimes i'm on here regularly and sometimes i leave it for stretches....but i will always check back. All the best and remember we cannot predict anything, the antidote to worry is to find the information you need. :-)
I am really sorry to hear about your dad and grandfather. When you say no one knows why they died i'm guessing you mean no one in the family knows - probably because they were too traumatised at the time to seek answers. The doctors have to know - there has to be something on the medical reports, etc.
One thing we have to remember is that we may also take after our mothers.....and also being female does afford a bit more protection - though not much....but i would say, if worse case scenario (and it is worst case - and there are so many other possibilities equally as valid right now) you have inherited something, then time is on your side to find out and then get treated for it.
Last night i decided to try and read something more positive on the subject....and i found information to say that fish oil is absolutely vital for regulating the heart beat. In one study they induced myocardial infarctions in rats (i hate that, but that's what they did) - the rats who had been consuming fish oils did not go into VF.
mrs boston - let me know what you find - sometimes i'm on here regularly and sometimes i leave it for stretches....but i will always check back. All the best and remember we cannot predict anything, the antidote to worry is to find the information you need. :-)
Hi Rosemary:) I am sorry to hear about your dad... I am in a similar situation only my father died at 51 and his father died at 50 suddenly and no one knows why. I have been trying to get the autopsy report and I got some good ideas from here about doing so. I started with palpations when I was 22 and I have an arrhythmia, and am now dealing with near fainting spells and I have no answers for that yet. I am scared to death that I got something from his genes. I wont say that you have anxiety because I dont like it when people tell me that because I dont feel anxious though the problems I have make me anxious if that makes sense but if you just are now having problems since you found out that your father passed away maybe you are having a little anxiety because its upsetting and knowing that it could have been heart related maybe makes the anxiety worse because you dont want to suffer the same fate. If it keeps up I would see someone just to be safe. I know since I found out about my dad I started changing my eating habits and exercise routine just to be a little healthier because all I know is they died young and its scary.... Good luck and this place is a good a good place for advice and people just like us who are just unsure:) I ask tons of questions and even though I do no one ever treats me like a crazy woman....
just an afterthought - i really value any comments - even if you agree with my doctors. I'm not upset with them, i really want this to be anxiety afterall! I just don't understand how - at this stage, with the tests currently done that we can be sure it's just anxiety.
Hi, thanks for the replies.
Lisa i'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I hope you find some peace of mind soon but it is a process too. Time helps, i can't say in my experience it heals but it's only been a year for me. My heart went really crazy after my father's death. It does calm down. I don't know what your condition is - but as far as the grief and shock goes that in itself can cause significant symptoms.
Everyone has mentioned that i should see my doctor. My primary physician has been consulted on numerous occasions. They keep telling me that i need to stop 'medicalising' my symptoms and see this as anxiety.
My question is how can they be so sure? If i had a convincing answer to that maybe i wouldn't be so worried. As i say i saw a cardiologist and got lots of reassurance about my low cholesterol, good bp, 5 min ecg good, good stress test results (but it was a basic stress test), holter monitor ok......
BUT, my heart wasn't doing anything weird the day i wore the monitor, or when i was having the other tests done.
For some reason they seem to be discouraging me to have an event monitor, which i would like. They said it would only show up the 'tachycardia' - if that is what it is and we already know that i've had a bit of that - but it didn't show up on previous tests and they think it's anxiety.
A beta blocker is not advised as i have had some episodes of asthma in the past - although i don't actually take asthma meds very often - so i usually don't have a problem.
I was told on the phone today that its nothing to worry about, that if it were something more than a variation on normal i would know very quickly and i wouldn't be able to walk out to my car and drive to ER....
thoughts?
Ok i didn't have all these symptoms before dad died - apart from the ectopics, i did have those and that's when i wore the holter monitor, so it was over a year ago that i had that.
I just think that they cannot be as sure as they are as my tests have been basic and the 'problem' wasn't recorded on the holter monitor or the stress test.
How can i accept unquestioningly what they say? I have good doctors at my local surgery but they are under a lot of pressure and they are guided by current protocols. Those protocols are dictated by available funds. People die, they die suddenly and then they cannot argue anymore, they do not have a voice anymore. I'm just so scared and I don't understand why i cannot be given more sensitive tests to be either reassured or to find a problem - whichever it would be.
Lisa i'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I hope you find some peace of mind soon but it is a process too. Time helps, i can't say in my experience it heals but it's only been a year for me. My heart went really crazy after my father's death. It does calm down. I don't know what your condition is - but as far as the grief and shock goes that in itself can cause significant symptoms.
Everyone has mentioned that i should see my doctor. My primary physician has been consulted on numerous occasions. They keep telling me that i need to stop 'medicalising' my symptoms and see this as anxiety.
My question is how can they be so sure? If i had a convincing answer to that maybe i wouldn't be so worried. As i say i saw a cardiologist and got lots of reassurance about my low cholesterol, good bp, 5 min ecg good, good stress test results (but it was a basic stress test), holter monitor ok......
BUT, my heart wasn't doing anything weird the day i wore the monitor, or when i was having the other tests done.
For some reason they seem to be discouraging me to have an event monitor, which i would like. They said it would only show up the 'tachycardia' - if that is what it is and we already know that i've had a bit of that - but it didn't show up on previous tests and they think it's anxiety.
A beta blocker is not advised as i have had some episodes of asthma in the past - although i don't actually take asthma meds very often - so i usually don't have a problem.
I was told on the phone today that its nothing to worry about, that if it were something more than a variation on normal i would know very quickly and i wouldn't be able to walk out to my car and drive to ER....
thoughts?
Ok i didn't have all these symptoms before dad died - apart from the ectopics, i did have those and that's when i wore the holter monitor, so it was over a year ago that i had that.
I just think that they cannot be as sure as they are as my tests have been basic and the 'problem' wasn't recorded on the holter monitor or the stress test.
How can i accept unquestioningly what they say? I have good doctors at my local surgery but they are under a lot of pressure and they are guided by current protocols. Those protocols are dictated by available funds. People die, they die suddenly and then they cannot argue anymore, they do not have a voice anymore. I'm just so scared and I don't understand why i cannot be given more sensitive tests to be either reassured or to find a problem - whichever it would be.
I've replied to you on the HD forum also but wanted to express my condolences here also. I just lost my father, although estranged for many years, when I heard he died it hit me hard and adrenaline started pumping through me and my heart went whacky for lack of a better word - for 2 days now. I'm still a bit in shock, so it hasn't hit me or sat in yet that he's gone.
When I talked to my half sister, she said they found out he had heart problems - enlarged heart and something else she didn't know; along with cancer (he was 67)
I'm like you are - very apprehensive right now - scared about what I will find on his autopsy report since doctors have told me they suspect my problems are genetic.
Even when our hearts are in tachycardia, it doesn't mean it's dangerous; but it can be - just to be safe you may want to see a cardiologist and make sure anxiety/stress are the only things going on.
When I talked to my half sister, she said they found out he had heart problems - enlarged heart and something else she didn't know; along with cancer (he was 67)
I'm like you are - very apprehensive right now - scared about what I will find on his autopsy report since doctors have told me they suspect my problems are genetic.
Even when our hearts are in tachycardia, it doesn't mean it's dangerous; but it can be - just to be safe you may want to see a cardiologist and make sure anxiety/stress are the only things going on.
Well who blames you for feeling this way Rosemary..i think it would be pretty normal for any of us w. the fear...okay basic mechanics 101A ...LOL....the heart is actually a muscle..it is also the main pump of the body that sustains life for all of us (except maybe my ex husband because he didn't have one!) the heart beats by a very particular flow of electrical patterning...from the top of the heart to the bottom of the heart in a very specific pattern and repeats repeats repeats..our hearts actually beat more that 100,000 times in any given 24 hour period. We have valves and arteries that enter our hearts to distribute blood flow and oxygen that then passes it thru out our bodies and organs. So that is the very basic of basics....so when we have issues with an irregular heart beat or a very fast heart rate is is generally electrically based...we have runs of adrenaline that rush thru our bodies when we get upset, excited, exercise, too much caffeine, a roller coaster ride, you name it and sometimes that effects the way that our heart beat and at what speed. If we begin misfiring with our electrical pattern it can cause feelings of your heart not beating right...you may feel it in your chest or you may feel it in your neck but you will know it. Most peoples hearts will correct theirselves and will re set them naturally thru our brain of the heart the sinus or av node but some of us aren;t so lucky and have to have a little help thru meds, or ablations, or lifestyle changes. If your heart speeds up too much same theory it is reacting to stress, not getting enough sleep, being dehyrated, too much caffeine, a number of things. Most times for most people this is all benign and may happen once or twice and then never ever happen again. And remember with most people and i mean the majorityof them the heart is structurely sound meaning it is not damaged at all but comes from the electrical portion of the heart. So i think with what you are going thry emotionally with so much worry because of your pop....it doesn't surprise me that you are going thru this...you may just very well be having surges of adrenaline pulsing thru you combined with everything else on your plate. So do i think it is panic and anxiety? I would say yes...but that is up to a heart doc to tell you that not me..i am just like you Rosemary...just another person trying to make sense of this crazy world we live in...i hope this helped a little and if anyone else wants to weigh in on this one i am sure others can add to this in laymans terms and heck by the time we are done Rosemary we will probably be able to give you a heart transplant LOL......you are not rambling at all so don't feel that way you are just looking for answers like every one of us on this site......hope it helped....
Thanks for your replies!!!! :-)
Re my dad, just for the record his lifestyle was very good as far as what he ate and drank, he didn't smoke and he avoided fatty food. However i think he thought that sugar was fairly safe and did love biscuits and chocolate - but he wasn't overweight.
The one thing he did that i was worried about was that he was a total workaholic and only had about 4 hours sleep a night - people couldn't keep up with him. Strange, considering he was so ill - but that wasn't his life - he seemed healthy and pretty dynamic, even at 64.
That's why it's so scary!
but i'm thinking more about the rhythm issue here - the thing is i don't know a lot about heart rhythm issues and what i need is some facts really.
If i can teach myself the mechanics of what is going on in a fast heart rate like mine (whether panic induced or 'tachycardic') and what is most likely to happen i think i'll be able to calm down if it happens again. At the moment i think it won't slow down because i cannot reassure myself that it won't go into VFib or that i won't collapse, etc. If i could, if i understood more about heart rhythm issues then .....well it'll either slow down because i won't be scared anymore, or it won't - if it doesn't then i would know it's something other than panic.
Sorry to ramble on! :-)
Re my dad, just for the record his lifestyle was very good as far as what he ate and drank, he didn't smoke and he avoided fatty food. However i think he thought that sugar was fairly safe and did love biscuits and chocolate - but he wasn't overweight.
The one thing he did that i was worried about was that he was a total workaholic and only had about 4 hours sleep a night - people couldn't keep up with him. Strange, considering he was so ill - but that wasn't his life - he seemed healthy and pretty dynamic, even at 64.
That's why it's so scary!
but i'm thinking more about the rhythm issue here - the thing is i don't know a lot about heart rhythm issues and what i need is some facts really.
If i can teach myself the mechanics of what is going on in a fast heart rate like mine (whether panic induced or 'tachycardic') and what is most likely to happen i think i'll be able to calm down if it happens again. At the moment i think it won't slow down because i cannot reassure myself that it won't go into VFib or that i won't collapse, etc. If i could, if i understood more about heart rhythm issues then .....well it'll either slow down because i won't be scared anymore, or it won't - if it doesn't then i would know it's something other than panic.
Sorry to ramble on! :-)
Hi i too read your post and i am very sorry for your loss. There are a couple of things to be aware of tho that may put your mind at ease here ...one is that you would be in a higher risk group if your dad or anyone in your family had a heart attack before the age of 50 not 64 and even at that it doesn't mean that you would just in a higher risk group. You are saying that your dad had extensive heart disease...Rosemary in most cases that comes from lifestyle choices and not something that is hereditary....in matters of the heart really the only couple of things that are hereditary would be clotting factors and the heart attack issue. When we eat foods that are high in fat content, we smoke, we drink, we have high blood pressure, we gave used recreational drugs in the past, this all comes into play with our hearts...our hearts under these circumstances can become enlarged, arteries can clog up with plaque, if we gain too much weight our hearts have to work harder to keep us going, we drink too much caffeine is causes our hearts to speed up to an unhealthy level of beating, we stress out it causes our blood pressure to soar....it sounds to me like you are just plain worried and upset and stressing yourself out and yes...that could cause this crazy run of a fast heart rate. What it sounds to me like you probably need to do is make an appt. with a heart doc just to re assure you if nothing else that you do not have any underlying issues...only you know the life that your dad lived and how he lived it...if he fell into any of the earmarks i listed above you kind of have your answer...i know for myself that my parents did not have the best of habits and both died at a pretty young age...so i changed around my habits to take me out of that equation....i think that the 50.00 for a consult with a heart doc would in your case be well worth the money so that you could move on with your life and not worry that every little thing you feel that it will be your last...if you have not had heart issues in the past and these have suddenly come up with the death of your dad i understand that completely and all that i am sure will be needed is just a green light from a heart doc telling you that you are good to go....make the appt. Rosemary it may change your life forever....good luck to you and again i am sorry about your dad...i know how it feels....
Forgot to add..you could always ask your doctor if you could try a beta blocker. I had episodes of tachycardia...several sent me to the ER because I couldn't stop them. A beta blocker could help a lot. It has worked for the most part for me.
I agree a doctors visit is in order. It could well be panic/anxiety but you need to be sure. Good luck.
I think getting off of the sleeping pills is the right thing to do. I used ambien for a short while and did not do well with it. It gave me fits of anxiety and some other really odd feelings during the day. I felt better and slept better without it.
You should see your doctor about either problem. Panic/anxiety or heart rhythm. From your description it sounds more like panic. But be diligent about talking to your doctor about it. Hope you get to the bottom of this soon.
You should see your doctor about either problem. Panic/anxiety or heart rhythm. From your description it sounds more like panic. But be diligent about talking to your doctor about it. Hope you get to the bottom of this soon.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Heart Rhythm Community
Are there grounds to recommend coffee consumption? Recent studies perk interest.
Salt in food can hurt your heart.
Get answers to your top questions about this common — but scary — symptom
How to know when chest pain may be a sign of something else
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
