Heart worries

[knedo]

Hi all,

I'm a 19 year old male. I'm slightly underweight, I drink a moderate amount most nights, but I don't smoke and don't take any drugs (prescribed or otherwise). I usually have one coffee in the morning, but no other caffeine throughout the day.

About 8 months ago I was worried my heart was beating too fast. After some googling, I (spending significantly more time reading the results mentioning things like "sudden death") convinced myself I had some kind of embolism, possibly related to one heck of a bruise I had from falling from a garage roof earlier in the day.

I ended up in hospital in a state of panic (gee, thanks Wikipedia) where they decided to keep me overnight due to my heart rate, giving me Diazepam and something to slow my heart down. For some reason, possibly because I thought I was being stupid, I did not tell them about my concerns of an embolism, and they let me go in the morning with a course of Univer (Verapamil) and said they would get back to me. They later - about six months ago now - had me back for an Ultrasound (I think) observation of my heart and a 24-hour ECG, concluding that nothing was wrong with my heart and just suggesting that I get more exercise. They also said I could stop taking the Verapamil.

I didn't think any more of this until what I think was about a month later, when I started experiencing skipped heartbeats, which I'm fairly sure I'd never had before. Then things started to get really bad with the hypochondria (panic attacks, afraid to be alone, afraid to sleep, etc...)

The symptoms that lead to my "freaking out" are the PVCs, occasional chest pains (rational: pulled muscle and/or imagining them), occasional shortness of breath (rational: I have asthma), bad circulation and pale skin (rational: office job), and lightheadedness (rational: fatigue). After reading my own post, I know exactly what I'd respond, but I guess I'm just looking for confirmation. Could there be anything wrong with my heart? Can I go to sleep at night without thinking I'm going to die from SADS?

Thanks in advance,

Someone who really wants to get on with their life...

[mdg11]

Hello Knedo!

I know how scared you must be, but I want to assure you that having palpitations doesn’t mean you will die. I have been living with them since I was 15, I am now 38. I had every heart test you can think of and they all come back normal. if it makes you feel better maybe you should see a cardiologist and have him/her run some more test…and most important have the doctor explain everything to you. But just know often times palpitations are nothing more than annoying.

If you have any questions about palpitations let me know…I’ll do my best to answer them.