palpations, anxiety

[kay2486]

ive been getting palpatations that last for a few seconds i think, what i mean is i feel like a fluttery feeling but when i put my hand on my chest my heart beat is normal, my anxiety has come back, i also get a weird feeling like my stomach is rumbling/vibrating too, i only get this when im anxious though,ive posted here before so yes i've ecgs when in a and e it was a panic attack and my heart doctor did one when i was calm that was fine, when i think of the time i  went into hospital i worry that something really bad is going to happen ive been back to my doctor and she said i was having pvcs in a and e and they were normal, what is the best thing i can do, i've been fine until i got sinusitus then back the anxiety came, i can't get v-fib out of my head either plz help thanks

[cindy707]

Kay you are too funny....i know exactly what you are talking about w. reading the medical books....i am a community member here but also have a fairly heavy duty medical background and many times was put in the position of having to read specific medical books like the PDR and after awhile i went thru the same thing you did...i swore i had half of the diseases i had to read about so i had to minimize what i read and did not "color outside of the lines" so to speak and stayed exactly where i needed to to accomplish what i had to...i think it is very normal to get that reaction...as humans we are so curious we want to know about everything the whats, whys and hows.....i limited my own personal exposure and it helped alot....you should have seen me before i had my ablation...i swear by the time i was done doing my research and reading up on everything i questioned why i even needed the doctor because i was sure i could do it myself LOL!!! Dumb dumb dumb....now i read happier things in my off time  and not a single thing i read says the words...."treatment", "symtoms", "clinical trials" now they all read....."likes full sun", "water moderately", "blooms in summer and fall"...too funny......

[kay2486]

i think ive read too much info on the heart, i used to read my medical book and when i got a headache i was running the doctors thinking i had brain tumour, silly me, thats how my anxiety started, i enjoy reading medical books but when i get palpatations or skipped beats i think on no im going go into v-fib

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

I'm really not good at dealing with my anxiety I'm afraid, I'm not so worried that my heart will stop, but I find the palpitations (PACs, possibly PVCs and tachycardia) so unpleasant that I tend to avoid the settings where it can occur. In other words, I choose to use my bike at home for exercise, I avoid going far from home and I dislike walking long stairs, unfortunately most of my friends live on 5th floor or higher (without elevator) :p and I usually stay away from alcohol (that's possibly not a disadvantage, but anyway..

I've accepted that my symptoms are caused by adrenaline excess (as they are lighter when I for example count backwards while climbing stairs, and I can get my heartrate up to 180 on my bike, doing maximum exertion, without palpitations). If I'm out running alone at night, they will 100% certainly show up.

I guess I always monitor my heart at a semi-concious level, noticing palpitations and somewhat elevated heart rate.

If I'm monitored on EKG (or the doctor is monitoring my blood pressure) my heart rate get "interesting" - with sinus tachy at 140 while on EKG and sinus tachy up to 200 while measuring blood pressure, due to panic attacks. I guess I just get a panic reaction if I'm going to do another cardiac workup (pretty sick and tired of them..)

[kay2486]

hi :)
thanks for replying, how do you deal with your worries about your heart? do you constantly think about it and worry if its gonna stop? i know it sounds daft but i think like that sometimes, i went on family day out to alton towers the other day and i worry that much about my heart i was too scared to go on any rides, its really silly because i should have been enjoying myself with my two kids and boyf but couldn't beause i was worrying too much, it started to get skipped beats and adrenaline rush cuz i was going on a fast kiddies ride then i started to panic, people have thousands a day and cope i get a few sometimes none at all for weeks and i worry it sounds daft

[kay2486]

thanks for replying, i try to ignore it as much as i can, but end up back to square one when i get a skipped beat, i do tell myself im fine because i went to a and e and my heart was beating at 120 at first then went up everytime they did an ecg it reached 153 bpm, but ive heard some peoples heart rate go up to 300 i that true? i had 5 ecg done when my hr was 150 and skipping beats like mad the doc looked at the results and kept repeating them every 20-30 mins, the nurse saw me and rang my partner and said im absolutely fine to go home, the stupid thing is i was too scared to ask what the funny beats were i just wanted get home asap, they would of kept me in if there were something up but the nurse told me she didnt know what was up i assume she meant they couldn't rule anything out? she asked me what happened so i explained the symptoms of panic attack she said, she had a word with the doctor and told me i can go home

[cindy707]

Hi i am sorry that you are going thru this but like CFS said the higher level of anxiety means the higher heart rate.  You need to find a safe place in your mind and heart with how to deal with this.  Sounds like you got the all clear from the docs so now its up to you.  I would definately take a look at the what may be your trigger point that is setting you off with these thoughts tho and number one i would not be reading or researching anything on line because it will make it worse for you.  I doubt any single one of us has not at one time or another been scared out of our wits and thought the worse and thought we were going to die.  That unfortunately to me would be a normal reaction when things happen to our hearts because we only have one and yes it is scary.  Try to find something that you really enjoy and when you start feeling the palps you should do something to distract yourself like go for a walk or take a shower or call a friend and talk about anything but your heart.  Maybe put on some music that you can sing to to distract yourself. Sometimes we are out own worst enemy i swear....good luck and try to stay away from anything w. caffeine, iced tea, chocolates, energy drinks and red wine.  Its also good to make sure that you drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated because that can set them off too...dehydration....good luck we're here for you

[CFS56]

The more you worry the more your heart acts crazy.  VFib in somebody with a healthy heart is not going to happen.  I ended up in the ER 5 times last summer and refused to believe that most of my problem was anxiety...but it was.  Anxiety can do horrible things to your body. Plus sometimes when I don't feel well or have an infection it does seem that my heart flops get worse.  As long as you have been checked out by a doctor and nothing is wrong with your heart..try to not worry so much about them.  Last time I was in the ER the doctor told me that PVCs and PACs are experienced by almost everybody.  I know it's hard to be calm when your heart is flopping all around but mine does it thousands of times a day and I'm still living and breathing.  I even went into aFib and lived to tell the tale.  My doctor gave me ativan, a mild tranquilizer, and when I feel myself getting all freaked out I take one and it seems to help.  Otherwise, the best thing to do is just stay otherwise occupied and try not to think about it all the time.  I know that is much easier said than done but it really does help to just get on with things.