Sudden cardiac death and heart worries coming back again :(

[alwaysworrying19]

Hi
I haven't posted on here for a long time as my worry of something called Sudden Cardiac Death in young people went away but now I feel its coming back to haunt me again! :(

I have started to worry again that there is something wrong with my heart and that I will just drop down dead or die in my sleep. I've read many stories about this happening to young people around my age and this all adds to my panic. The stories in the news always say the same thing 'they didn't have any symptoms before this happened' and this worries me terribly. If there were symptoms, I think I could get over this fear a little bit more.

Recently, whenever I do anything around the house, such as make the bed or walk up stairs, my heart feels like it is beating so fast and so hard. After a few minutes, it returns to normal. I think this is some of the reason my worry has started to come back.
Is this okay and classed as normal in a heart?!

I have had 1 ECG, blood tests and 2 doctors listen to my heart and ask about my family medical background. I'm not sure whether all these heart disorders such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Long QT syndrome which are known to cause sudden adult death run in families and if so, I don't have any known family history of these.

Basically, I just don't want this fear to come back. It's the worst fear possible in my eyes as I constantly feel like my heart is just going to stop and I'm going to drop down dead :(

Has anyone else ever had this fear and does anyone know anything about the conditions that can cause these sudden deaths and whether symptoms do exist with them?

Any help would be appreciated!

[Halcyon]

I have similar heart symtoms to yourself and it turns out they are caused by a combination of anxiety and a completely benign condition called supraventricular tachycardia. All that means is that my heartbeat is sometimes uncomfortably fast and I have occasional palpitations but it isn't dangerous at all and it isn't related to any of the problems you've mentioned. I had exactly the same fears as you about my heart but having two ECGs which didn't show any major abnormality apart from the thing I mentioned has set my mind at ease.

If you had one of those serious conditions, it would almost certainly be detected on an ECG. It's very understandable to be worried about your heart but there are other more likely explanations for your symptoms.

[Scared_11]

This is a fear I have been plagued with since I was 18! I am 25 now! It was at its worst around the age of 20. I could not leave the house as I convinced myself that I was going to just drop down dead! I seen someone collapse on holiday when I was 15 and I think this started this off.

I spent hours googling and had all kinds of tests done. All my results came back clear and I had no problems. I decided to believe the doctors and stopped googling! If u had any condition then it would show up on an ECG most definitely! If there was anything that the doctor was concerned about they would have given u treatment.

It is a very scary thing and I have sort of gotten over this fear for about 4 years but it does come back now and then, for example if I hear of it happening to some one or I read anything about it. It takes up some time but I just keep reminding myself that it is very rare and I have has the tests done and so have u and so it's not going to happen.

Everyday is different and you may feel different tomorrow. I feel pretty worried about it at the minute because I have read ur post and it has brought back so many memories for how I felt but I know once I distract myself I will be fine.

Once you have obsessed about something's it is always going to come back now an then but u have had the tests so don't need them again. A little relapse is something that every anxiety sufferer experiences so don't worry too much u will start to feel better soon.

Take care xx

[pablo22]

i had to add my voice to this! i have these fears also, it terrifies me, but an ECG surely would have showed anything up. If your doctors arent worried, you shouldnt be worried x

[jackanory84]

I am in the same boat as you!

I am a 27yr old female and I have been suffering from the above problem for a few years now. Every little twinge I have, I automatically think it's something sinister. I have had bloods done, echocardiograms, scans and they have all come back normal. I suffer from palpitations and the doctor has reassured me that these are normal and that a lot of people suffer from them; somehow my brain will not process this information and I still end up panicking.

Things got so bad that I started taking Citalopram to try and combat my anxiety; six months on, I feel better, but last night was the first horrific night in a long time.

I could not sleep as I had pain in my left shoulder which was radiating down my left arm; I can only describe this as a throbbing pain; I automatically assumed there was something wrong with my heart; I have run to the A&E before and have been turned away once examined and I didn't want to do that again, so I ended up Googling my symptoms and that just makes me feel 10x worse!

I need to realise that the doctors know more than me and if they say nothing is wrong, then nothing is wrong.

I hope you are feeling better soon.

[alwaysworrying19]

Thank you all for your replies. Scared_11, my fear of this stated when I first heard about a local footballer dying in his sleep at the start of last year. I was 19 and 20 now. Up to that time I had never worried about dying and so it seems this triggered something off in my mind and from then on I've always thought that no one knows what's around the corner!
I just feel that the doctors could have missed something on my ECG but surely if I had a really bad heart condition that could cause me to drop down dead, it would be obvious on a ECG, not just a slight change on it?
I find that a lot of these stories involve young athletes. Do you know why this could be? Is it due to the stress they add to their heart when exercising and if they have a undiagnosed heart condition, it just makes it worse?

[Scared_11]

Yes I think it would have shown up on an ECG. I ha my ECG when I was 20 I think and I am 25 now and now I think well maybe I was ok then but I'm not now! I have tried to not google it this time because I know it will make me 100 times worse but I remember reading about long QT syndrome and this is something your born with and not something u can develop.

U have no idea why it happens to athletes. I think it might just be something that happens to anyone but we just hear about athlete in the news etc. it makes me not want to exercise. I told the doc this last time and he advised me too exercise!

I haven't had this fear since then and now I feel it coming back and don't know what to do!