At the moment it feels like my chest is really tight all the time around my heart and I can be a bit short of breath just going up stairs- which obviously leads me to being anxious about having a heart attack. I've had ECG's, ultrasounds, blood tests and X rays recently and they said that my cholesterol was very high (9.5!!), that I have a heart murmur (which is apparently pretty harmless) and that my thyroid is slow, which can affect your weight and energy levels and, I have just read, can have an effect on cholesterol and be one factor that leads to depression. Stress can also raise cholesterol, I believe.
I'm trying to tell myself that heart attacks are caused by furring of the arteries and that the only part that stress plays in it is by raising cholesterol, which causes the arteries to narrow. I've been checked for all that and the only reason I'm on cholesterol reducing tablets is so that I don't develop problems in the future.
I know that it's probably just anxiety as the doctors can't find anything wrong. But it just plays on my mind that they might have missed something and what else can it be when I have the symptoms of heart trouble? Can stress play a more direct part in the function of your heart?
One reason why this is so upsetting is because in my head I feel better than I have done in a long time and I'm being really proactive with volunteer work. I've just had two days off work and I really wanted to relax, but I just feel really anxious and stressed. I keep thinking 'should I go back to the doctor?', but they have done all the tests on me already- so I should be reassured by that, right? Is it in my head or do I have a real problem?!!
Ships in harbour are safe..but that's not what ships were built for.