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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Anxiety / Heart problem? I feel terrible!
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Anxiety / Heart problem? I feel terrible!
by nimajnebsamoht, Mar 15, 2009 12:12PM
Hi there,
I'm an English 23 year old student. Last year I took on a stressful role at Uni which led me to being very stressed. I had to take some time out. I had lots of panic attacks and went to my GP.
My GP said it sounded like classic symptoms of anxiety and depression. I was given beta blockers to prevent a fast eratic heart rate, which slowed it right down (which also scared me) - I stopped taking the beta blockers after two weeks.
That was last year. This year I still feel hazy / dizzy / tired all the time, I still get palpitations, I still feel on edge constantly. I can't relax without it feeling V awkward. I lie in bed at night and I can hear my heart thudding in my ears, chest and stomach. I'm otherwise very healthy, exercise a few times a week, & (if it weren't for the anxiety) I'd be very happy.
RECENTLY my heart has started beating much slower, after I had a scary set of palpitations. Resting heart rate is 50, sometimes slightly lower, sometimes slightly higher. After exercise I sometimes feel my heart going "dumdumdumdumdum.......... DUM.... dum... dum... dum... dum..." then it evens out. This ALWAYS scares me. I genuinely feeel like something terrible is going to happen (I fear that my heart might just stop), I'm always aware of my heart beat, and I constantly feel dizzy / foggy / shaky / antisocial / weak. At the moment I am obsessed with my heart beat, and take my pulse often. I can often feel that it is fast as soon as I start checking it, and eventually it calms down. My heart always responds fine to exercise - it has a good recovery rate too - though afterwards I often become anxious. Is a resting heart rate of 48 - 52 cause for concern?
I have a strange sensation too - I can only describe it as feeling like I'm swallowing a heart beat backwards. It feels like a heavy heart beat going up my chest - I have to cough to get rid of it. What is that?!
This is all seriously affecting my life, I am so keen to get rid of it. Please help!
I'm an English 23 year old student. Last year I took on a stressful role at Uni which led me to being very stressed. I had to take some time out. I had lots of panic attacks and went to my GP.
My GP said it sounded like classic symptoms of anxiety and depression. I was given beta blockers to prevent a fast eratic heart rate, which slowed it right down (which also scared me) - I stopped taking the beta blockers after two weeks.
That was last year. This year I still feel hazy / dizzy / tired all the time, I still get palpitations, I still feel on edge constantly. I can't relax without it feeling V awkward. I lie in bed at night and I can hear my heart thudding in my ears, chest and stomach. I'm otherwise very healthy, exercise a few times a week, & (if it weren't for the anxiety) I'd be very happy.
RECENTLY my heart has started beating much slower, after I had a scary set of palpitations. Resting heart rate is 50, sometimes slightly lower, sometimes slightly higher. After exercise I sometimes feel my heart going "dumdumdumdumdum.......... DUM.... dum... dum... dum... dum..." then it evens out. This ALWAYS scares me. I genuinely feeel like something terrible is going to happen (I fear that my heart might just stop), I'm always aware of my heart beat, and I constantly feel dizzy / foggy / shaky / antisocial / weak. At the moment I am obsessed with my heart beat, and take my pulse often. I can often feel that it is fast as soon as I start checking it, and eventually it calms down. My heart always responds fine to exercise - it has a good recovery rate too - though afterwards I often become anxious. Is a resting heart rate of 48 - 52 cause for concern?
I have a strange sensation too - I can only describe it as feeling like I'm swallowing a heart beat backwards. It feels like a heavy heart beat going up my chest - I have to cough to get rid of it. What is that?!
This is all seriously affecting my life, I am so keen to get rid of it. Please help!
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Mar 16, 2009 09:47AM
, Mar 16, 2009 09:47AMTo: nimajn...
It sounds like you are young and healthy and your heart symptoms and now obsession, are part of a generalized anxiety reaction. To be sure, you should ask your gp to give you an ecg, and assuming that is normal, start treating you for anxiety.
Member Comments (2)
by janjan73, Mar 16, 2009 02:17PM
To: Dr. Roger L. Gould
Hello everyone, I just think I got an anxiety attack but the symptoms were different. I felt the irrability, I felt cold, I left like I wanted to crawl out of my skin, the fear. I went to the company nurse. She took my blood pressure it was 156/100 but my heart beat was 72. Is that normal during an anxiety attack. I thought your heart beat should be pounding fast as well with the blood pressure up. Please help me now I am more frightened, what if I developed high blood pressure. It was taken 20 minutes later and it 102/75. is this normal
