Aa
Palpitations, sinus tachycardia, and "white coat hypertension" ruled out as anxiety
Fist off, I'm 19 years old with no family history of heart disease.Two months ago I was sitting in my hotel room (working out of town) and I was bored and reading about the effects of cocaine(i had tried cocaine for the first time the previous weekend.) I saw that some of the effects were tachycardia and vasoconstriction. I immediately checked my pulse and it skyrocketed to about 140 bpm. I couldn't get it to go down so I drove myself to the hospital. Doctor said that ekg was sinus tachycardia, my blood tests and cholesterol came back good. I was sent home with metoprolol (which i didn't take)
The next day i went to work and was fine, however i got anxious about what had happened the night before and i decided to go home and see my family doctor. I went through all the blood tests and another ekg. Everything came back fine except my ekg said "borderline sinus tachycardia with possible biatrial enlargement"
My BP at the doctors office was also around 160/70 with a pulse around 155
I was put on diuretic and ace inhibitor until the results of my echocardiogram. The echocardiogram came back good, everything was normal for my age.
In the 50 or so days it took for all the test results to come back i had lost around 50-60 pounds, i went from 280 pounds to around 225 now, and from a 38 waist to a 36. After finding out there was nothing wrong with my heart i got blood pressure readings around 118/68. My doctor gave me a prescription for 10mg citalopram for 30 days and then another appointment. I also stopped taking the perindopril and indapamide. I went for the appointment about a week ago and got a blood pressure reading of 109/69 which my doctor was really happy about however the average reading out of 6 was around 125/70. My hearts rate however on the first reading was 160 and went down to 78 on the last reading (which was 109/69) It seems my BP goes up with the heart rate (is this normal) and I never have high diastolic pressure. I am now on a higher dose of citalopram and definately have bad anxiety. I can sometimes see my pulse in my neck in the mirror (was told this was anxiety) and sometimes my pulse feels really strong. Normally, at home my HR is around 60-72 resting.
I feel compulsed to check my pulse almost every 15 minutes. At work my mind is usually off of it but at home i can't relax. It is just so hard to believe it's anxiety and i seem to think i have a heart condition. Is there anything you can tell me to ease my mind?
The next day i went to work and was fine, however i got anxious about what had happened the night before and i decided to go home and see my family doctor. I went through all the blood tests and another ekg. Everything came back fine except my ekg said "borderline sinus tachycardia with possible biatrial enlargement"
My BP at the doctors office was also around 160/70 with a pulse around 155
I was put on diuretic and ace inhibitor until the results of my echocardiogram. The echocardiogram came back good, everything was normal for my age.
In the 50 or so days it took for all the test results to come back i had lost around 50-60 pounds, i went from 280 pounds to around 225 now, and from a 38 waist to a 36. After finding out there was nothing wrong with my heart i got blood pressure readings around 118/68. My doctor gave me a prescription for 10mg citalopram for 30 days and then another appointment. I also stopped taking the perindopril and indapamide. I went for the appointment about a week ago and got a blood pressure reading of 109/69 which my doctor was really happy about however the average reading out of 6 was around 125/70. My hearts rate however on the first reading was 160 and went down to 78 on the last reading (which was 109/69) It seems my BP goes up with the heart rate (is this normal) and I never have high diastolic pressure. I am now on a higher dose of citalopram and definately have bad anxiety. I can sometimes see my pulse in my neck in the mirror (was told this was anxiety) and sometimes my pulse feels really strong. Normally, at home my HR is around 60-72 resting.
I feel compulsed to check my pulse almost every 15 minutes. At work my mind is usually off of it but at home i can't relax. It is just so hard to believe it's anxiety and i seem to think i have a heart condition. Is there anything you can tell me to ease my mind?
Best Answer
The best thing you could have done for your heart is losing the weight! Anxiety can cause our BP to skyrocket and the more you think and worry about it, the worse it will be. You have an excellent resting heart rate and BP! The Citolopram is easing your anxiety and this is why your heart rate has improved. Let this show you how important it is that you get this under control. Many people with anxiety suffer from heart attack like symptoms, this shows how badly anxiety affects us! You may want to get into therapy to learn how not to worry so much about this, and how to accept that you are okay. STOP checking your pulse, this isn't helping you at all. Do things in the evening to occupy your mind, and exercise even if just walking. Exercise is very good for anxiety. I think this all started with you reading about the effects of using coccaine, you survived trying it, now stay away from it. Take care.
Paxil is in the same class of drugs as citralopam is it not? I could use something stronger but i'm doing fine on mind power and small dose of citalopram.
I never did any therapy only the Paxil medication. I wouldn't mind it too much if I had to take Paxil forever. That's how good the results are for me. I check my pulse every now and then, usually if I consume a lot of caffeine. Something I could not even have a mouthful of before the meds.
Yeah, I'm on 20mgs of citalopram right now, which seems to be helping and i'm also going to be starting therapy next month.
I was the exact same if not worst. Everything you mentioned plus lots more. You can either continue to live with it, or fix it.
Thanks for the comment, I know how you feel. I KNOW there's absolutely nothing wrong with me however I still can't stop fixating on my heart. My anxiety is horrible.
Anxiety can cause whatever you can imagine, even if it's subconsciously.
Panic attacks usually cause symptoms of these:
-Heart attack and you get every symptom that you've heard about.
-Stroke and everything with it.
-"Impending Doom"
Anxiety was definitely triggered from the cocaine along with reading about it later.
Suggestion:
Therapy and/or Medication.
* "I feel compulsed to check my pulse almost every 15 minutes. " -Anxiety.
* I also did have a heart problem. Doctor said there was an extra nerve on my heart from birth. He fixed it with a simple procedure, but I still suffer anxiety.
Panic attacks usually cause symptoms of these:
-Heart attack and you get every symptom that you've heard about.
-Stroke and everything with it.
-"Impending Doom"
Anxiety was definitely triggered from the cocaine along with reading about it later.
Suggestion:
Therapy and/or Medication.
* "I feel compulsed to check my pulse almost every 15 minutes. " -Anxiety.
* I also did have a heart problem. Doctor said there was an extra nerve on my heart from birth. He fixed it with a simple procedure, but I still suffer anxiety.
Yeah I really never ever should have done cocaine, I was never close to having health related anxiety before that. But atleast the anxiety provoked me to start eating healthier and lose weight. It's hard for me to stop checking my pulse because i can always feel it, I know that it's normal and I'm healthy, It's just hard to shake the anxiety. I am, however, going to start attending group anxiety therapy next month.
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