Palpitations! Extremely worried!!

[Scared_11]

Hi all,

My heart failure fear is back again and u fit know what to do I am so worried.
I hate myself for googling.

I know most people who suffer with anxiety experience horrible palpitations.

Mine feel like a thud sometimes but most of the time they feel like a flutter and I have read that this can develop into artirial fibrillation which can cause sudden death. Some times the flutters come and go for hours and I am just extremely worried that these are dangerous.

I just want to cry.

[bignik]

I suffered from these when anxious ie the flutter and Dr prescribed a beta blocker called atenolol to help as my BP was too high also , only been taking them 2 weeks and had only a single episode since so was of help and can understand the fear , its a horrible feeling

[miss_t]

I have palpitations most of the time.

Mine sometimes feel like flutters, sometimes they feel like my heart stops for a second them "flips" over in my chest.

Maybe see ur Gp and ask for an ECG, and some propranolol (or something similar) to stop the palps.

I take 40mg of propranolol when mine are bad and it really helps.

[screwpanic]

I also experience these but they are not harmful. Af is an irregular hearbeat but is easily treated and controlled, highly unlikely u will have this but an ecg will help ease your mind. I took betablockers for just 5 days but havnt needed to take them since my anxiety has faded.

[Scared_11]

I had an ECG an an echo about 5 yeas ago but did not have any palpitation at te time of being tested. Tests came back fine and the cardiologist told me to exercise again. Reading most posts I see most people get the thud it the racing heart but this flutter is realy terrifying me.

Is this the most dangerous one?

[pablo22]

i doubt it! i always get missed beats!

[Scared_11]

Are missed beats different to a flutter.

I can't help but think heart flutter is going to develop into artirial fibrillation.

I feel sick.

[screwpanic]

the flutter is merely a sensation your heart is not actually fluttering as in the condition atrial flutter which is similar to af - neither by the way are directly associated with sudden death. go get an ecg it will no doubt show up nothing as your symptoms are due to anxiety but at least it may reassure you.

[kinnygirl1]

Hi there. I get these all the time too and am battling the fear of a heart problem at the moment. I had a 24 hour ecg which picked up my flutters but still said that there was no evidence of a rythum disturbance in the heart and that I should be reassured, and sometimes I am fine but sometimes when my anxiety is high I convince myself that they must have missed something and that heart failure is not far away. We just have try to tell ourselves that we are most likely fine - its easier said than done though.

[Scared_11]

Thank you for your replies.

I think googling heart flutter is the worst thing to do but I don't know what I was expecting to read. I have read it all before so dot know why I do it again. I am going to try and get another ECG and just voice my concerns with the doctor because I never asked any questions last time. I know I will wait a while for an appointment.

I am sorry others are going through the same thing. It's terrifying and these palpitations just cause so much worry. They make me not want to move.