Aa
heart rate of 214 and anxiety
I have started having epsoides where my heart will race and my jaws up to my ears will hurt, I have been to a cardiologist and have had many test including a heart cath, he can not find anything wrong with me. My heart will race to 214 and last about 10 minutes is this caused by my anxiety disorder? How long can my heart rate go to 214 before it burst?
i am tuned into my heart all the time, the slightest it goes fast i get anxious, everything you said is of great help,
Palpitations
Palpitations are short, abrupt periods in which the heart suddenly starts beating fast. If you’re in a sensitive state, this can ring alarm bells because you fear a sudden heart attack. The more you panic, the faster the heart beats. It’s therefore understandable why many people in this situation jump to conclusions and call for medical help. What you have to remember is that palpitations are perfectly natural and can often be caused by exhaustion or stimulants like caffeine. Your heart is an incredibly strong muscle, and it won’t stop or explode simply because it’s beating hard and fast. A healthy heart can beat fast all day long and not be in any danger.
Missed Heartbeats
The medical term for missed heartbeats is extrasystoles. A missed heartbeat is usually an extra beat between two normal beats. Given the pause that follows this premature beat, it just seems as if one beat was missed. And because the heart’s lower chambers fill with a greater-than-usual amount of blood during the pause, the next regular heartbeat can feel like a bit of a jolt. When you feel this sensation, you often freeze and wait in terror to see if your heart is in trouble.
Such missed beats are generally harmless. It can help to sit down when you feel this sensation, but if you wish to keep moving, do so. Exercise won’t cause the situation to get worse, and don’t convince yourself that going home to lie down is the only way to help the situation. If you retreat every time you feel an unusual sensation, that behavior can reinforce a negative idea that your home is the only safe place to be. Our hearts are not atomic clocks that always keep time; they speed up, slow down, or occasionally beat in an irregular fashion. People with anxiety are very keen observers of all bodily functions. From time to time, you may notice an irregular beat or two. This is nothing to get upset about.
Sometimes, individuals go through similar worries about their heart as they do with their breathing. People convince themselves that if they worry enough about their heart, or concentrate too much upon its actions, it may somehow get confused and forget how to beat correctly. It’s quite common for people who suffer from panic attacks to check in on their heart at regular intervals to make sure it’s still beating away.
If you simply can’t stop obsessing about your heart, here are some tips:
• Get a full medical examination. If you don’t, your mind will always bring up the “what if something really is wrong” card. When you get a clean bill of health, trust in the results and don’t second-guess them. If you really must, get a second opinion—but after that, stop doubting your good health.
• Remember that your body has incredible internal intelligence. Simply telling your heart, out of panic, that it might stop doesn’t mean that it heeds your fears. Learn to become more comfortable with your heart, and let it do its job. Listen to it when you’re relaxed and also when you’re exercising. The more comfortable you are with the diversity and range of your heartbeats, the more confidence you’ll have in it.
• Allow your heart to beat in whatever rhythm it sees fit. Don’t try to control the natural rhythms of your body by always insisting on a calm heartbeat. The more you allow your body to flow in the manner it so chooses, the faster it will return to a state of rest.
Very often, your heart only wants to palpitate a bit, thump a few beats harder. Why? That’s the heart’s own business. It’s your mind that interferes and panics, causing the adrenaline to kick off a longer cycle of rapid heartbeats. So from now on, make a verbal agreement with your heart that you’re going to stop interfering and obsessing over its health and trust in it 100 percent. Then hand over the controls. Let go to whatever way your heart wishes to behave. By allowing the sensations to happen and simply getting on with your day, you release the anxiety that you hold around your heart as well as the cautious monitoring of every heartbeat.
Palpitations are short, abrupt periods in which the heart suddenly starts beating fast. If you’re in a sensitive state, this can ring alarm bells because you fear a sudden heart attack. The more you panic, the faster the heart beats. It’s therefore understandable why many people in this situation jump to conclusions and call for medical help. What you have to remember is that palpitations are perfectly natural and can often be caused by exhaustion or stimulants like caffeine. Your heart is an incredibly strong muscle, and it won’t stop or explode simply because it’s beating hard and fast. A healthy heart can beat fast all day long and not be in any danger.
Missed Heartbeats
The medical term for missed heartbeats is extrasystoles. A missed heartbeat is usually an extra beat between two normal beats. Given the pause that follows this premature beat, it just seems as if one beat was missed. And because the heart’s lower chambers fill with a greater-than-usual amount of blood during the pause, the next regular heartbeat can feel like a bit of a jolt. When you feel this sensation, you often freeze and wait in terror to see if your heart is in trouble.
Such missed beats are generally harmless. It can help to sit down when you feel this sensation, but if you wish to keep moving, do so. Exercise won’t cause the situation to get worse, and don’t convince yourself that going home to lie down is the only way to help the situation. If you retreat every time you feel an unusual sensation, that behavior can reinforce a negative idea that your home is the only safe place to be. Our hearts are not atomic clocks that always keep time; they speed up, slow down, or occasionally beat in an irregular fashion. People with anxiety are very keen observers of all bodily functions. From time to time, you may notice an irregular beat or two. This is nothing to get upset about.
Sometimes, individuals go through similar worries about their heart as they do with their breathing. People convince themselves that if they worry enough about their heart, or concentrate too much upon its actions, it may somehow get confused and forget how to beat correctly. It’s quite common for people who suffer from panic attacks to check in on their heart at regular intervals to make sure it’s still beating away.
If you simply can’t stop obsessing about your heart, here are some tips:
• Get a full medical examination. If you don’t, your mind will always bring up the “what if something really is wrong” card. When you get a clean bill of health, trust in the results and don’t second-guess them. If you really must, get a second opinion—but after that, stop doubting your good health.
• Remember that your body has incredible internal intelligence. Simply telling your heart, out of panic, that it might stop doesn’t mean that it heeds your fears. Learn to become more comfortable with your heart, and let it do its job. Listen to it when you’re relaxed and also when you’re exercising. The more comfortable you are with the diversity and range of your heartbeats, the more confidence you’ll have in it.
• Allow your heart to beat in whatever rhythm it sees fit. Don’t try to control the natural rhythms of your body by always insisting on a calm heartbeat. The more you allow your body to flow in the manner it so chooses, the faster it will return to a state of rest.
Very often, your heart only wants to palpitate a bit, thump a few beats harder. Why? That’s the heart’s own business. It’s your mind that interferes and panics, causing the adrenaline to kick off a longer cycle of rapid heartbeats. So from now on, make a verbal agreement with your heart that you’re going to stop interfering and obsessing over its health and trust in it 100 percent. Then hand over the controls. Let go to whatever way your heart wishes to behave. By allowing the sensations to happen and simply getting on with your day, you release the anxiety that you hold around your heart as well as the cautious monitoring of every heartbeat.
If your cardiologist knows that your heart rate reaches 214 (which is very high) and didn't seem concerned, I would definitely sit down with him again and discuss this. If this rate is reached only during anxiety attacks, it is still too high and you need to learn ways to bring it down quickly.
While I don't believe my heart rate ever got that high during a panic attack, it was MY cardiologist who suggested breathing into a paper bag held tightly over my nose and mouth and breathing slowly and calmly into that for a few minutes. It has to do with balancing the oxygen/carbon dioxide levels in your bloodstream which will cause your HR to slow sown. During an anxiety/panic attack, we tend to hyperventalate, which means we are breathing too quickly and too shallow and the chemistry gets out of balance. By re-breathing the carbon dioxide we exhale, it will slowly begin to balance that ratio out and your heart will begin to slow down. I can tell when I need to stop breathing into the bag as my heart will slow down, it will no longer feel like it's going to burst out of my chest or explode! It's not a very "high tech" method, but it beats taking yet another med. But, before you attempt this, I would definitely speak with my cardio again about your heart rate and get his opinion about the re-breathing.
I don't know how long a heart rate can be at 214 before "something" may happen. Your cardio can answer that for you. But it IS my humble opinion that it is being caused by your anxiety since your heart cath showed a perfectly healthy heart.
Let us know how you're doing and what your cardio says. There are some of us here who would be very interested.
Peace
Greenlydia
While I don't believe my heart rate ever got that high during a panic attack, it was MY cardiologist who suggested breathing into a paper bag held tightly over my nose and mouth and breathing slowly and calmly into that for a few minutes. It has to do with balancing the oxygen/carbon dioxide levels in your bloodstream which will cause your HR to slow sown. During an anxiety/panic attack, we tend to hyperventalate, which means we are breathing too quickly and too shallow and the chemistry gets out of balance. By re-breathing the carbon dioxide we exhale, it will slowly begin to balance that ratio out and your heart will begin to slow down. I can tell when I need to stop breathing into the bag as my heart will slow down, it will no longer feel like it's going to burst out of my chest or explode! It's not a very "high tech" method, but it beats taking yet another med. But, before you attempt this, I would definitely speak with my cardio again about your heart rate and get his opinion about the re-breathing.
I don't know how long a heart rate can be at 214 before "something" may happen. Your cardio can answer that for you. But it IS my humble opinion that it is being caused by your anxiety since your heart cath showed a perfectly healthy heart.
Let us know how you're doing and what your cardio says. There are some of us here who would be very interested.
Peace
Greenlydia
If you haven't told your doctor about your pulse I diffenitely would. Also If your take certain medications or have problems like high blood pressure this could also contribute. I'm not sure what meds would cause your heart rate to go up though, and like I said it's something you should deffinetly tell your doctor about. I hope your feel better soon and take care.
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