How can I calm down and stop worrying about my heart?

[WittyFool]

I've been suffering from terrible health anxiety for the last week, mainly about my heart. Last Wednesday I went to the doctors and he listened to my heart which was fast because of the anxiety but fine otherwise. He gave me 10mg of Propanolol to take twice a day. However they didn't really help and the anxiety got worse, I went back today and he gave me 80mg of slow release Propanolol to take once a day. This has scared me a bit, I'm only 16 and this is the first proper medication I've ever had to take.
I feel constantly on edge like I'm about to have a heart attack or a stroke at any moment, it's worse at night when I'm terrified that I'm going to die in the night. I've been getting worked up at every twinge in my chest or back and I've been having heart palpitations which have really scared me. I'm convinced that at any moment I could have a deadly heart attack or stroke and this has been causing me to have panic attacks. My chest and abdoment feel tight and my face is feeling a bit numb and tingly which has me convinced that I'm either having a stroke or a heart attack. I'm super sensitive about my left arm as well since I learned that it could be a symptomn of a heart attack, so any ache I get scares me.
In the last 5 days I have been worrying and on edge constantly and I feel exhausted and terrified. How can I stop worrying and calm down?

[Mindful]

Might be worth mentioning that if you were having a heart attack it happens within 15-30 minutes of the symptoms first appearing, the fact you have been on the verge ( or so you think :( ) of having a massive heart attack for 5 days says it isnt that. Plus the doc has had a listen and is happy.

Did you know that a panic attack is as good a work out for the heart as is a good run or swim or some other form of exercise.. chest pain can have many causes, trapped wind, pinched nerve, tensed muscles ( likely when we are anxious) a knock or sleeping in a funny position to name but a few x

[WittyFool]

Thanks, I guess I realise that nothing's really wrong, it's just that when I start panicking common sense tends to go out of the window and it's difficult to get out of the habit of worrying and noticing every single thing.
At the minute I'm panicking about the fact that my forehead feels a bit numb and is twitchy. I was convinced that I was having a stroke until my mum explained that you're either having a stroke or not, it doesn't take two hours to build up to one.

[joans60]

Hi there I understand what you are going through I have a phobia of Heart attack or stroke when my heart starts to beat fast which I think it is going fast and it is not I start to panic as well.
What I try to do is do some deep breathing and try and slow it down. If there was anything up with your heart the doctor would have found that out when he listened to it
Are you on any other medication besides the proponal.
If you are still panicking get your doctor to do a ECG and that would tell.
Also when you are anxious your heart does start to beat very fast and also when you are having a panic attack it can seem like it is your heart.

Joan

[WittyFool]

The only other medication I'm on is Myocycline the help my acne.
I wouldn't say it beats very fast, when he took my pulse it was 120 and I don't think I've ever felt it beat faster than while he was doing that. I probably imagine that it's going faster than it is.
Right now I'm worrying because my forehead was feeling a bit weird and numb and I was raising my eyebrows a lot so stop it going completely numb and now I can't seem to raising my eyebrows. I've always had a tendency to develop twitches so it's nothing unusual for me though

[Lisamarie]

Hi there I also have this fear I used to have chest pains and fast heartrate all the time I constantly bugged my doctors and each time they would say I was fine.

I know how it feels and it is very scary but believe me the more you concetrate on your symptoms the worse they will feel. I no longer have chest pains all the time I get a twinge now and again but i dont worry and it goes.

Try breathing excercises they really help especially if your tense.

Its an ongoing battle this health anxiety I at the minute think there is something wrong with my head as it keeps tingling and giving me a neck ache but im gonna have a bath and try forgetting about it.

If you are concerned then get doc to do an ecg just for your own piece of mind but i promise you i really dont think its your heart.

Also Propafnol usually makes things work and masks the anxiety my CBT counciller took me off of them and I have learnt to control my heart rate.

Good Luck and Big Hugs

[Sabre]

Hi WittyFool
I can fully relate with you on how you feel at this moment in time! I use to constantly fear i was having a heart attack and constantly panic!
It was the hospital that started me on beta blocker for my fast heart as it was at 189bpm due to my panic attack i stayed in for 2 nights and they precribed me bisoprolol beta blocker to take home, my GP changed it from that to propranolol 40mg 3 times a day, then the 80mg slow release 1 aday and now i just take 10mg twice or three times a day depending on how i am feeling, my heart is still usually over 100bpm when my GP checks it but i tend not to feel it too much now, the beta blockers certainly helped me with my physical symptons i would say give them ago only side affects i got was nightmares and diarrhea everybody reacts differently to any kind of medication and i like yourself am only young and didnt want to taken any medication as i had never done in my life before.
Hope you feel better soon.

[WittyFool]

Thank you for your replies Lisamarie and Sabre. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who suffers from this fear. It's very scary because I feel like something could go wrong at any moment.

[sebinkent]

I've been suffering from terrible health anxiety for the last week, mainly about my heart. Last Wednesday I went to the doctors and he listened to my heart which was fast because of the anxiety but fine otherwise. He gave me 10mg of Propanolol to take twice a day. However they didn't really help and the anxiety got worse, I went back today and he gave me 80mg of slow release Propanolol to take once a day. This has scared me a bit, I'm only 16 and this is the first proper medication I've ever had to take.
I feel constantly on edge like I'm about to have a heart attack or a stroke at any moment, it's worse at night when I'm terrified that I'm going to die in the night. I've been getting worked up at every twinge in my chest or back and I've been having heart palpitations which have really scared me. I'm convinced that at any moment I could have a deadly heart attack or stroke and this has been causing me to have panic attacks. My chest and abdoment feel tight and my face is feeling a bit numb and tingly which has me convinced that I'm either having a stroke or a heart attack. I'm super sensitive about my left arm as well since I learned that it could be a symptomn of a heart attack, so any ache I get scares me.
In the last 5 days I have been worrying and on edge constantly and I feel exhausted and terrified. How can I stop worrying and calm down?

I know exactly what constant worrying about your health can do - thats why I'm on this site but you have to tell yourself that at the age of 16, the chance of there being anything wrong with your heart is SO small. Unless you abuse your heart with a lot of smoking and a bad fatty diet and you have a family history of heart disease - your heart will carry on beating for years and years and years. Anxiety will cause heart palpitations and a fast heart rate.
Hope that helps.

[jamesthecat]

I can completely relate to feelings of worrying about your heart! i have this constantly and start panicking about loosiong control infront of people and collapsing and worrying that no one will help me. I feel safer when im in my office as theres a difibralator around and we're no far from the hospital! i also have a physical feeling of soreness around my chest area. i try to go running every now and then and what i find most weird that while i run my heart rate is abviously high but it doesnt worry me then! i find distracting myself by playing some kind of game on my phone or doing the crossword helps but the feeling never really goes away! I hoping to start CBT soon, i want to re-wire the way i think about my health!