Aa
I'm scared to death
I am a 22 year old female, mother of 2 and full time college student. I have been experiencing some very scary symptoms from my heart. About 2 months ago, I quit smoking. I started to have terrible insomnia and started to feel my heart "skip" a beat. It was only happening about once or twice a week but I decided to go to the doc anyway. The only medication i was on at the time was my Mirena IUD. The doc thought that I was suffering from anxiety (even though i did not feel anxious in any way) and started me on Zoloft 25 mg/day and gave me a heart event monitor to wear for 2 weeks. When I started the Zoloft, my heart palpitations increased exponentially. They were happening at least 1 every 5 minutes. It wasn't just the "skipping" any more but I also could feel my heart speed up noticeably for no apparent reason and also it would slow down the same way. It scared me so much I quit taking the Zoloft cold turkey after 3 weeks. After I quit taking it, I had serious panic attacks (never had one before in my life) and had to be rushed to the hospital for one of them. I went back to my doc and they insisted there is NOTHING wrong with my heart. all EKGs came back normal, blood work and ultrasound of my heart were all normal. The only thing the doc could come up with was that my holter monitor showed that I was having PAC's regularly and something called "sinus tachycardia". They could not tell me what it was coming from but started me on lorazepam and atenolol. I feel weak, out of breath, and scared to death to get out of my chair to do anything because of my heart. I don't know if the Zoloft played a part in this, or there really is something wrong with my heart. I can't think of anything else all day and night. It's affecting the way I take care of my kids, my work at school, and my relationship with my husband. I just can't get it out of my head that I feel like this is going to kill me before anyone finds out what's wrong with me. It's so bad that I just start crying when I look at my kids because they need me and i can't shake the feeling I won't be around much longer for them. Please someone help me I'm scared to death.
If this helps, I also stay away from the obvious: chocolate, coffee, soda, and tea. No cold meds either. And i eat a lot of bananas (i heard they can help steady heart palpitations)
If this helps, I also stay away from the obvious: chocolate, coffee, soda, and tea. No cold meds either. And i eat a lot of bananas (i heard they can help steady heart palpitations)
im going through the same its awful just going up the stairs makes mine go real fast i can always feel mine going in my neck its so scarey u think u are going 2 have a heart attack or something im only 24 and doctor said 2 day its sinus tacycardia just such a worry and gets u down i wanna know can it be dangerous?just want 2 feel normal.
thank you all for the advice. im starting to feel a lot better and my anxiety level has gone down ALOT. the negative thoughts still come and go but a lot less than they were. im still a little nervous to go out and do my normal routine. ive been in my house for the past week just staying at home hanging out with my parents and watching tv. its helped a lot but i dont want to leave at all. i only leave when i have to go to work and i go to my boyfriends house every now and then for a little. i just feel like my home is my safe haven and i feel most comfortable there. im afraid that when i go out and try to have fun all the anxiety will come back and i'll start to feel how i felt before and i really DO NOT want that happening again. Any thoughts?
I know what you are going through. It really ***** to even have to think about the things that you do. You just want to not have a heart condition and be like "everyone else". The thing is that "everyone else" has something else they have to deal with that you may not have to. It really is like going through the 5 grieving stages when being diagnosed with a chronic condition. #1 Denial-"this can't be happening to me", #2 Anger-"why me?", #3 Bargaining, #4 Depression-overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, frustration, bitterness, self pity, mourning loss of hopes, dreams and plans for the future. Feeling lack of control, feeling numb. #5 Acceptance-there is a difference between resignation and acceptance. You have to accept the loss, not just try to bear it quietly. It sounds like you are in the "depression" stage. The good news is that you are one step away from acceptance. The bad news is that the depression stage can take as long as it takes. Just know that there are others out there going through what you are and you are not alone, although it may feel that way. I hope this helped in some way and that you get the help you need. Good luck to you!
I'm trying really hard to overcome this because I truly know that I'm fine. I guess it's just in my subconscious. I just can't get rid of my negative thoughts about life and stuff and it really scares me. I want to be able to do it without seeking help I just don't know what to do. It's really wearing me down.
I know what you mean. It's tough and stressful to discover you've got a "heart issue." Especially at your age it can be a somewhat isolating feeling, as I'm going to assume your circle of friends probably aren't having conversations about beta blockers and ablations and such. Anyway, my advice to you for getting back to normal is to "fake it until you make it." It sounds like you trust your doctor's diagnosis that you're fine, so go with it. Force yourself to get off the couch. Do the stuff you enjoy, even if you're just going through the motions for the time being. These forums are here for you if you need to talk to others going through similar stuff (I know it helps me), and if you're still not getting out of the rut, I would also suggest seeking out some therapy for your anxiety/depression.
I am 23 years old and was just diagnosed with tachycardia about a month ago. It feels so good to know that other people are going through what I am. I have gotten myself so scared and worked up about it even though my doctor told me that im perfectly fine over and over again and all i have to do is take meds. For the first two weeks after i was diagnosed i didnt eat at all. i lost my appetite completely. i had trouble sleeping. it started to get better but it's really been weighing on my mind lately. negative thougbhts have been running through my head lately and ive been trying to think positive but its really hard. im really nervous all the time. i know im ok but for some reason that wont register in my mind. i would NEVER EVER hurt myself or anything, but sometimes the thought of "whats the point in going on?" runs through my head and that scares the crap out of me. i just dont feel like my normal self lately even though i try to go out and do normal things that i love doing. most of the time i want to lay down on the couch and watch t.v. can anyone give me advice on how to get back to normal?
I just wanted to let you know, that I suffer from frequent PVC's, and I'll tell you what happened to me & then you'll see why your EKG's come out normal.
I have been suffering with tachycardia for a year now. At first, it wasn't so bad, but as time went on, it got more frequent, and I was having two kinds of tachycardia.
First it was just the Sinus tachycardia (heart rate >100 pm), and then it turned into Supraventricular tachycardia (heart rate >150 bpm, mine was 180 and 200 bpm), and then, like you, started experiencing PVC's quite frequently, and still do.
Since my sister is an EMT, she hooked me up to a machine and did a rhythm strip on me. She looked at the screen for a while, and then looked at the strip after. She saw a couple of PVC's on the screen, but none of the strip. I had a completely normal Sinus rhythm at the time.
The reason why the PVC's showed up on the screen, and not on the strip, was because of the fact that the PVC's were too short to be recorded in that moment.
I know this is true because I do have EKG's that were able to capture something known as Ventricular Bigeminy. Every other beat is a missed PVC, it was taken at my first Cardiology visit.
Since then, I have had more EKG's. This time, they show that I have an enlarged left atrium (my P waves look like little M's), and I have flat ST and T waves.
For me, it all correlates to a disorder knowing as Mitral Valve Prolapse and Mitral Regurgitation. Because blood is flowing back, it is leaking into the left atrium, the blood pools into the atrium and as a result, there is an increase in size
I also have two other leaky valves, and I am seeing a Cardiologist and an Electrophysiologist.
I hope I explained everything properly.
I have been suffering with tachycardia for a year now. At first, it wasn't so bad, but as time went on, it got more frequent, and I was having two kinds of tachycardia.
First it was just the Sinus tachycardia (heart rate >100 pm), and then it turned into Supraventricular tachycardia (heart rate >150 bpm, mine was 180 and 200 bpm), and then, like you, started experiencing PVC's quite frequently, and still do.
Since my sister is an EMT, she hooked me up to a machine and did a rhythm strip on me. She looked at the screen for a while, and then looked at the strip after. She saw a couple of PVC's on the screen, but none of the strip. I had a completely normal Sinus rhythm at the time.
The reason why the PVC's showed up on the screen, and not on the strip, was because of the fact that the PVC's were too short to be recorded in that moment.
I know this is true because I do have EKG's that were able to capture something known as Ventricular Bigeminy. Every other beat is a missed PVC, it was taken at my first Cardiology visit.
Since then, I have had more EKG's. This time, they show that I have an enlarged left atrium (my P waves look like little M's), and I have flat ST and T waves.
For me, it all correlates to a disorder knowing as Mitral Valve Prolapse and Mitral Regurgitation. Because blood is flowing back, it is leaking into the left atrium, the blood pools into the atrium and as a result, there is an increase in size
I also have two other leaky valves, and I am seeing a Cardiologist and an Electrophysiologist.
I hope I explained everything properly.
Hello, I have had heart palps for approx 6-7 years now and I am 29. I understand that they are uncomfortable in many ways. They seem to be worse when I get excited or scared. I have had few test done ECHO, I have worn a halter twice for a 24 hours. I was told by my MD that I had OCD and anxiety disorder. I truly believe that the palpitations keep me this way. I believe educating yourself on these problems helps somewhat at least with the anxiety "It is truly amazing what stress can do to you". My doctor then prescribed xanax to help with the anxiety. I have two children and with my last pregnancy 3 years ago about five weeks before I was due, I began to have palpitations about every other heart beat. Well I freaked out and went to the doctor, I wore a halter for 24 hours and they said they were fine. I was dehydrated and they believe this could have been half the problem. I loaded up on water and was fine after that. I still have palpitations EVERY day. As sad as it may sound I am trying to learn to live with them. I was given advice from the doctor "no antihistimines, lower caffine intake, don't smoke, & drink plenty of water". One thing I must ask, do we believe the palpitations brings on stress or did stress bring on the palpitations? Good luck everyone.....
I'm a 35yrs.old female, 5'1" tall, and weigh 108lbs; I don't smoke (never did), I don't drink alcohol, and I even renounced coffee. I'm been having similar symptoms for about 7months now. It started suddenly in august 2008, when I had some sort of attack: I was working on my computer, and out of nowhere I couldn't breathe anymore (had to be rushed to hospital). Next couple of months, I continued to have this severe shortness of breath, doubled by very high heart rate (with palps). I got similarly scared and frustrated since no doctor could figure out what's wrong with me. After extensive medical testing (suspecting asthma, allergies, stress related disorders, lung and heart diseas), doctors concluded everything's ok. The symptoms have ameliorated, but they're stiill there; from time to time I take diltiazem (which a cardiologist prescribed), but it doesn't always help (my heart rate is still off the chart sometimes). And I too became less active than before (in the morning it's the worst).
Hi i was just reading your post,i FEEL for you and can understand everything your going thorough and feeling about heart fear ,i am in constant fear every single day and i can't stop thinking of my palpitations even when their gone .....someone just rang my doorbell it has a loud buzzer sound and in pit of my stomach i feel irregular beats start ,it lasted few minutesthis time few times this year i had irregular rhytm for hours ,i am now trying write a list of exactly how these beats are years ago i would get skip here and there now their irratic ,i'm SCARED out of my mind and Fear of this is disrupting my daily life ,i see a pyschiatrist councler my MD but seems i'm gettiong nowhere ....i suffer ocd these palps trigger my obsessions ,i wish i could say something to help you only that your not alone ,i feel bad for you ,i hope you get some peace with this ,so you can enjoy life too.....Best wishes Mady
I have been suffering from simarlar symptoms to what have been mentioned here. Im 34 yrs old, smoke about 30 cigarettes a day, of which i blow most of the smoke out before i inhale thinking im not smoking as much.lol but havent always.. and i used to drink quite a bit but dont nowdays.....Ive always worked very hard in a physical industry (sandblasting and spraypainting) which isnt a healthy job and very physically and mentally taxing when running jobs and men and makes home life hard as there is alot of time away. About 9 months ago i had to go to a job that was away from home as usual and wasnt feeling well, all i wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch t.v.But I pushed on and went.I thought i had some flu. On the job I noticed I seemed to have no energy and would run out of breath when talking in meeting etc.My chest felt tight and i couldnt concentrate,was having dizzy spells and had to push myself. One night at work i was sitting down and my heart began to beat extremerly hard,,,my vision went strange and my hand went cold and ringing ears.. I thought i was going to die of stroke or something.This past but i didnt feel right after and it happen on another occassion.Felt strange and tired, my body was hurting, palpatations. I would be walking and stop dead and wonder if i could make it to were i was going.I went to a doctor who said i was burnt out?? My blood pressure was 192/104 and 108 bpm.He put me on 50mg of Atenolol a day which had to be stepped up to 100mg and has resolved the heart rate and pressure. But i still get palpatations,anxiety,tight chest .I also feel that i cant see things properly.i see spots of light , floaters and my vision seems grainy.I havent worked for about 6 months due to the way i feel. I have improved in all areas i think as i can play golf etc and dont get puffed or fatigued but do at times get some sought of rush or panic come over me.I couldnt drive a car before as i couldnt concetrate and would feel like i couldnt breath when sitting.But i still feel i cant push to hard.I couldnt handle mental stress at all which has improved.Doctor said it was normal anxiety and i dont need any heart test done..Ive seen 3 different doctors who all said my heart is fine.But havent done any real tests. Any ideas out there??????????
when someone suffer's from palps like all of us here ,the fear they bring is truly immense .fear is an unpleasant and often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger fear is completely natural and helps people to recognize and respond to dangerous situations and threats. However, healthy fear -- or fear which has a protective function -- can evolve into unhealthy fear or worrying.we all do it i worry about my heart racing all the time but sometimes u just for a minute take a deep breath and put things into perpective and place these issues into boxes for a second .u have had a good few tests which show your heart is ticking away and in good condition {this goes into the good box} u have 2 lovely kids and husband [good box] u gave up cigs {yeah u get it good box} pacs are ok most will get them but dont feel them but can be upsetting {middle box} and the sinus tach ,which is a normal fast conducting rhythm ,{fear box} ,my fear box is svt and believe me i would love to jump on it but i cant ,so i open it out every now and then and let it give me a good fright and then i close it again ,and try like so many other;s to move forward and not let this control me ,i hope for you even though it is scary u can do the same ,i know it is difficult ,but soon u will regain confidence again in your heart,it is a powerful organ and it loves to run,skip,feel emotion,and also like's to throw the odd tantrum.....i sometimes don't complain cause i just think it is reminding me that it is just still beating ,,
i hope u feel better soon and this is brought under control for you .
best wishes
i hope u feel better soon and this is brought under control for you .
best wishes
i definetely know how you feel. i myself am only 13 and it gets depressing and even though im just a kid, i cant stop thinkin about me dieing from these. but truly if your heart rate isnt going over 100 bpm and you arent passing out dont worry. these things get to me more in the head than anything else. i think about them so much i create chest pains and what not.... oh ya a good tip dont go lookin on google or yahoo or anything like that cuz there are WAAYYYY to many people who think they know what they are talkin about and is all it does is scare u, believe me i learned it the hard way. and when u r having a lot of them breathe deep, dont lean or lay on ur left side, and most importantly dont think about them.
good luck
i know u can get thru this.... i'm only a kid so i know u can :-)
good luck
i know u can get thru this.... i'm only a kid so i know u can :-)
O I too know far to well how you feel! I have had these skipps pause out thumps and thud! feelimng like omg this is it I am gonna just drop over and die! I am still here 9 years later I have only had then consistenly for the past 6 years and they stink!!! I am still scared from them as all my doc just said if I am not passing out I am fine, I had a echo , ekgs 6v years ago and all was good then. Well I just had another baby 6 months ago and couple weeks ago they got real bad.. so I called my cardiologoist and went in yesterday for the first time I had a event holter for 24hr which I was freaked out thinking OMG what if something is really bad, it was along day , EKG on last monday which was normal and they are doing a echo this coming monday then t he wait for the results.. I keep thinking god how can I be fine with all these feelings.. but I am still here and like you hope to be for a long time to come. There are so nany people here who I and I am sure you will relate to !!! It is shocking that so many people suffer and feel the SAME exact way we do ! and it gives some ease to know we are not alone and we can reach out to other who truly understand!!!!! try to stay calm God I know its hard!!!! but try I have been taking zantac daily which has seemed to help me since my stomach plays a big role on making mine bad. PLease reach out we are all here!
Kelly
Kelly
Hi there - i've had this for 27 years and am still going strong - have a look at the post by dofnlvr recently which kicked off asking how long we had all been living with these symptoms and lots of us replied. You've done the right thing and been checked out so take it from me and so many other people on this site - DO NOT BE SCARED TO DEATH - cos this is not going to kill you.
So back to your post - you were ok before you quit smoking and then found it hard to sleep. Dolfnlvr told me on this site that lack of sleep is a major factor in PVC's so this alone could account for your 'missed' beats.
Then the medication obviously did not agree with you (I had the same problem) and it got worse. Then to top it alll with the fear your body would automatically respond 'fight or flight' which is 100% guaranteed to play havoc with your heart rhythmns.
So we have got to reverse the process - step 1 - read all the posts on this site and accept and believe that this is something that many of us have and we are still here living good quality lives.
Step 2 - knowing this then concentrate on realxation and breathing - practice abdominal breathing by placing a hand on your abdomen and breathing slowly and steadily aiming to feel your hand rising and falling slightly - while doing this visualise your childrens faces and feel your love for them.
Step 3 - get some sleep - the aim of this is to reverse the process that started this off apart from smoking which was a good move.
Also use this community to air your fears and knoe that we are all here to help you.
good luck
dave
So back to your post - you were ok before you quit smoking and then found it hard to sleep. Dolfnlvr told me on this site that lack of sleep is a major factor in PVC's so this alone could account for your 'missed' beats.
Then the medication obviously did not agree with you (I had the same problem) and it got worse. Then to top it alll with the fear your body would automatically respond 'fight or flight' which is 100% guaranteed to play havoc with your heart rhythmns.
So we have got to reverse the process - step 1 - read all the posts on this site and accept and believe that this is something that many of us have and we are still here living good quality lives.
Step 2 - knowing this then concentrate on realxation and breathing - practice abdominal breathing by placing a hand on your abdomen and breathing slowly and steadily aiming to feel your hand rising and falling slightly - while doing this visualise your childrens faces and feel your love for them.
Step 3 - get some sleep - the aim of this is to reverse the process that started this off apart from smoking which was a good move.
Also use this community to air your fears and knoe that we are all here to help you.
good luck
dave
I know how you feel. I was having pvcs over the summer and had several episodes of VT.
I am scheduled for an ablation in Nov. My Dr's all tell me to relax that I will be fine. If they thought it would kill me they would of put me right in the hospital and done the prpcedure then and there, I am also tired and out of breath a lot. It is def. the meds.
The stairs get me all the time.
I also let it take over my life. I was always afraid to be alone.I would try to be careful not to walk to fast or do anything that would get my heart rate up. I looked at my kids the same way until I realised this is something I can not control but what I could was letting it take over.
Try to keep busy enjoy your kids. Like they told me if it was life threating you would of been sent stright to the Hospital. Now when I get a pvc or just scared I tell myself to stay calm and just ride it out.
Im still here! Hope you feel better. Don't let it take over!
I am scheduled for an ablation in Nov. My Dr's all tell me to relax that I will be fine. If they thought it would kill me they would of put me right in the hospital and done the prpcedure then and there, I am also tired and out of breath a lot. It is def. the meds.
The stairs get me all the time.
I also let it take over my life. I was always afraid to be alone.I would try to be careful not to walk to fast or do anything that would get my heart rate up. I looked at my kids the same way until I realised this is something I can not control but what I could was letting it take over.
Try to keep busy enjoy your kids. Like they told me if it was life threating you would of been sent stright to the Hospital. Now when I get a pvc or just scared I tell myself to stay calm and just ride it out.
Im still here! Hope you feel better. Don't let it take over!
The atenolol will slow down your heart rate and is also used to reduce blood pressure. It can give you a feeling of tiredness and sounds like it is. I take 25 mg daily. Check out any new meds before you take them for side effects. Just hang in there.
I am going thru same symptoms. The only thing I can tell you is the same as my Dr, told me. It's not going to kill you. It's extremely scary and fear is one of the biggest things to try to overcome. I'm actually thinking about going to my primay MD today to ask for an antidepressant because, like you, it is affecting every part of my life. I feel ten yrs older, walk slower, afraid to do my regual daily chores. All in all, I feel a mess.
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.
