My heart skipping beats a lot

[kai]

This is probably one of my least favorite symptoms, and it's happening a lot right now. When it happens, I'll freak out and cough..and then try to walk and get my heart rate up because I have the fear of my heart stopping. It's just really uncomfortable, does anyone else get this a lot?

[kaynbrian]

yes...

[leeann]

Yes I do and its the most frightening symptoms ever. Some times I can be having a good day and then suddenly my heart skips a beat or feels like it does 2 beats to fast. And then Im left in a state of panic. I hope your ok

Leeann x

[hypnogood]

Once you have panic attacks, the biggest fear is when you will have another one. Because panic attacks have no real triggers, it is impossible to tell when you might have another. Most sufferers begin to connect the place where they last had an attack with having another, thereby avoiding that place in hopes of avoiding another attack. However, don’t keep preparing yourself for the time when you will have another attack. The stress of waiting for another attack can actually bring one on. Start living free of the fear of an impending attack. You can learn how to stop panic attacks. yeah, that's my opinion and hope to be helpful~~

[pk]

the heart-based symptoms are the ones that terrify me the most. it's got to the stage that I can't sleep with the side of my head on my pillow because all I can hear is my heartbeat - and every slight change in speed sets me off panicking!

I suppose the thing to remember is that there's always going to be small changes in your heartrate, and that doesn't necessary mean that there's anything wrong with your heart

[Maybe_Baby]

i had this all day yesterday. It absolutely scares the sh*t out of me. When it happens i think, thats it im going to die, then my heart starts racing, then that brings a panic attack on :(

[bel25]

I never got that the first time around. When i first got them my heart would pound really hard constantly, which is also scary. I learnt a breathing technique to overcome this and started goin to the gym and never got them for a while but recently my life became quit hectic and they came on again- but in different ways. I my heart skipped a beat quite a lot, depersonalisation, dizziness, light-headedness and it all scared me but yes, i agree that the heart skipping a beat is the most frightening. When i told the doctor this he actually explained it to me- when it does that it is a muscle acting as a safety mechanism (or something like that) so your heart stop this way. Also (as i think someone may have mentioned) people who don't have panic attacks get this so it isn't dangerous but as i've said, it is very scary.
xxx

[Boos Mum]

I hate it, the pillow thing too. if you get it checked out and they dont pick it up its annoying

try drinking extra water, helps some

[carrie_86]

this is the worst thing for me, I get them every day, it feels like my heart stops, then beats twice as fast to catch up. I went a period of a few months where i didnt get them, but the most I'll go now is about 3 days

[Meltdown]

I used to cough when I had a skipped beat. I stopped doing that a long time ago, when I realised that it doesn't really make any difference.

Skipped/extra beats are in my opinion the most frightening symptom of panic. Claire Weekes has an excellent description of how a sufferer notices a skipped beat, or palpitation, then lives in fear of another. When this happens (brought on by a heightened state of anxiety), this leads to more fear, more anxiety, and eventually to panic.

Apparently most people have missed beats at one time or another, and this becomes more common as we get older. Many people don't even notice them!

The best thing is to try to ignore them. not easy, I know, but by doing this I have gone from having around 50 palpitions a day to probably one every other day. Beta blockers help (proprananol), but I only take these on really bad days.

I can now ignore the odd thump, or double beat. The longer lasting multiple beats or flutters, which go on for 5 or 10 seconds, however, still scare the wotsit out of me! fortunately, this only happens rarely, and I try to forget about them as soon as they have happened.