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Stress induced tachycardia

Hi,

I have been having an issue with tachycardia associated with a stressful situation or minor emotional stress...I do not have panic disorder or generalized anxiety....It can be a normal day, and if any emotional stress, say a minor disagreement with my spouse, or a minor stress at work, and my heart immediately begins to race. This happens in immediate response to the stressful situation, and it happens even when I dont feel anxious emotionally in response to the stress. For a short time in my early 20s (15 years ago)  I went through a few weeks of panic attacks, so I am familiar with the fast heart beat and shortness of breath associated with panic attacks. I am not having panic attacks. The tachycardia seems to happen as a first response to a stressful situation, even before I have time to deal with the situation, and even before I have an emotional response. Again, the tachycardia does not happen AFTER I get anxious or very upset, but does happen immediatley when I am presented with a stressful situtaion and can last up to 15-20 minutes. I can try some breathing or relaxing (like I did with my panic issues when I was younger), but it doesnt make a difference. I just have to wait for my heart to slow back down. The first time it happened back in January 2010, I went to the ER. An EKG was normal, only showing sinus tachycardia. So I do not have a heart problem. They gave me nitroglycerm patch in the ER and then sent me home. I realize that the tachycardia must be in response the the stress hormones that we produce when a stressful situation presents itself. Does anyone here have similar experiences with tachycardia not associated with panic, but in response to stress, and have any idea why this is happening? Any advice would be appreciated
MM
4 Responses
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793815 tn?1285491456
It was prior ro ablation and they called it many things because this disease can come in so many forms. Transient paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The sick sinus meant that I could go from 29 bpm and then accelerate to 250-300 bpm.  couple of long runs took me rushing into the ER where they gave me a big injection of verapamil and no paddles because I was so tolerant of both the deadly low and the potentially fatal high moments. Post ablation I ran about 107 jumping up to 140 now and then, things settled down to the 80s, now after gastric bypass, my blood pressure and heart rate have been low! I lost 70lbs already and low by my standards is 65-77 bpm. Which at rest is normal to everyone else in the grand scheme of things. My blood pressure would take off along with the heart rate to 250/200. Now it is 105/69! The passing out feeling or hypoxia, only came round when the beats were 29-40 and my bp was 44/60. That was awful and induced thru medication prior to ablation because low is better than run away high as far as morbidity rate is concerned. That was tough for me as I continued to work the whole time. (about two months before I could get in to the medical center to have my heart ablated). I am so much better now and it has been over a year. Arrhythmia still present, but not the afib or aflutter anymore. I have sinus EKGs and then some borderline ones. This type of heart disease can morph into many different types of rhythm without any notice.....sometimes I wake up tachy or brady because sleep apnea had everything to do with messing up my electrical impulses to my heart so I was told by my EP and most of the scary tachy bouts came on while I was sleeping. Needless to say, I am on a CPAP machine. Stopping breathing during sleep can kill ya too! I breathe much better without the extra weight and with the machine. Pulmonolgist thinks that after about 40 more pounds, I can stop the CPAP too. Losing weight lowered my bp and hr and allowed me to stop taking about 6 medications. Your heart and lungs are a synchronized mechanism. One affects the other! Sorry for the long version.
Helpful - 0
1124887 tn?1313754891
Hi,

Just a quick question. What rhythm do you have when your heart rate is in the 300s? Do you pass out?

Is if A-fib with almost 1:1 conduction?
Helpful - 0
793815 tn?1285491456
I have afib, but the tachy bouts came on with stress, usually from my boss! I hate to say it, but because my rhythm would climb over 250-300, my EP commonly prescribes xanax. He stated that due to the surprise and unexpected nature of this out of control tachycardia, he often prescribes it to most of his tachy patients. Leaving my job and losing weight post cardiac ablation has made my life so normal again. I rarely need the xanax anymore.

Talk to your cardiologist or Cardio Electro Physiologist, if you have one.

Just my recommendation!
TachyAfraidy!!
Helpful - 0
1440914 tn?1285000973
What do you see as a stressful situation?

Possibly arriving late at work for example?
In this case you have to pack your stuff real quick in order for you to be on time.
During that moment of stress, there is not a fullblown panic attack, but there is
fear of being late and the fear of possible negative consequences.

It is possible to go jogging outside, but not be stressed.
Your heart will beat faster, the muscles will work hard, but no stress.
Then there is the situation of you packing your stuff really quick to get to work.

If you compare, then the body works much harder in the jogging...
yet because there is no stress, you will not have a feeling of "palpitations".

Every stressful situation has fear involved.
Fear of not performing enough.

Without stress life is just exercise.
With stress, life is like slavery.

Even when you are doing something really simple, like doing the dishes or typing a message to someone on the internet, you might be stressing yourself.
Because our society wants things to be done quick, we often do everything quick..
even things that we can do relaxed. So when taking those dishes in your hand relax your arms and legs..

Letting go of time... it's like doing what you have to do,
without envisioning the finished task
Without thinking about what you will do after you finish this task.

Thinking ahead often creates stress. It is better to be present in the place
where you are with the thing you are doing, and not somewhere else in the future or past.

In the present,  It is better not to put names and thoughts
to everything that is around you. If you try to understand everything and have
a full grasp of everything all the time, then you need to keep all that within you.

Your mind is working in overdrive, your muscles tense up and
your heartrate starts beating tachycardia.


-------

Breathing calmly doesn't work for everyone. I am one of those.
If i try to calm down with my breath i just obsess with the breath and start breathing too slow, or too fast (hyperventillation).

In my case i calm down by telling my self "i feel really calm", and at the moment of telling myself this i actually FEEL myself feeling calm. this is called autosuggestion and it works, but you have to actually believe what you are telling yourself in order to feel it.

this means you need to let go of the part that is stressing. it's like giving up a part of your free will,
and just allowing yourself to drift off into deep relaxation (or sleep).

Helpful - 0
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