Fear of Hyperventilation

[sidsuae]

I am male 46 years old with severe health anxiety since 12 years. Since childhood I have been a worrier, very sensitive & fearful. I struggle with unemployment after marriage & HIV fear for 2 years. Since last 12 years I have obsessing about heart related fear, heart attack, heart disease, arrhythmia, angina etc. Time to time I was being occupied & living with fear that, something happened to my heart. I did 3 Echocardiography, 3 stress treadmill test, 4 24 hr holter monitor test, several ekgs. I have Mitral valve Prolapse with Trivial MR, which was diagnosed 5 years back. I am been googling that, anxiety chest pain/chest tightness or palpitation are harmless to be relaxed from anxiety & mvp & came across many unwanted  heart related symtoms, which made me very obsessed & fearful. I was trying to get assurance on one symptoms, another symptoms I will pickup from the internet, like this cycle continuing, While browsing the anxiety I came across a word Variant Angina(which is without blockage, your arteries will go to temporary spasm/stop blood) I somehow manage to overcome this fear after lot of efforts but, one setback came, that, the way to diagnose is to hyperventilate the patient & do EKg. Since then i got more feared. Now i am fearing if i hyperventilate i will get coronary artery spasm & will dies. I know that it is wrong, but i started obsessing about the word hyperventilation. If it is like that, all anxious people who hyperventilate will get coronary artery spasm & die. I am trap in to fear. plz help me to come out of the vicious cycle of fear. I will be grateful to you all my life. I have two kids & wife. I don't have any help from anyone. I was coping with the anxiety symtoms (chest pain/palpitation/chest tightness/dizziness/lightheadedness/jelly leg etc), by reading Dr. Claire weekes book, that, anxiety will not kill you. Now I came to where I was in the beginning. I started to worry about all anxiety symptoms & fearing that it will cause coronary artery spasm/heart attack. I know anxiety causes hyperventilation, i am misinterpreting all this symptoms. I am coping with the fear of coronary artery spasm that, it is similar to heart attack & chest pain should be severe for more than 10 mintues & mostly are young females, but whenever I think of word hyperventilation or whenever I feel anxious, suddenly it comes to my mind. I ask one cardiologist whether, hyperventialation can cause coronary artery spasm. He replied me No hyperventilation does not cause coronary artery spasm or variant angina. but still it is not going from my mind & obsessing. I became obsessed with the word hyperventiation & when ever i feel little anxious, i am thinking coronary artery spasm will come. Plz help me how to fight with this fear. I was coping with anxiety that, it is harmless & suddenly a setback came. How to come out of this. can u give me some tips.

[sharon6922]

Hi Hun,

I am in the same boat as you. I get regular pins & needles in my left arm, chest tightness and jaw pain. I have this crazy fear of having a heart attack. I find myself going on google to google my every symptom. Although there is a thousand and one other reasons for my condition I am adamant that this is heart related despite going to a&e (emergency room) & being tested twice & all normal, doctors are going crazy with me as I an there 24\7. All I think about everyday is "will I have a heart attack today?", I'm literally scared out my mind. Awaiting future investigations to find what's causing this. I do have bad health anxiety and I 100 percent know what your going through. Hang in there!!!! Xxxx

[sidsuae]

Thanks for the reply, you removed my doubt. I would like to ask one more question, i was reading One article how to prevent heart disease or heart attack, as i have severe anxiety, In the article it was mentioned if somebody has 50% of blockage and within matter of hours it can be 100% blocked. How is it possible the plaque which was 50% blocked can be automatically blocked by 100%. I got very feared after reading this article. I think it can be due to rapture of plaque which can cause blockage. How the plaque automatically becomes thick (double) all of sudden to increase it by 100%. Can u plz help remove my doubt. I will be grateful to you.