can i talk to you about arrhythmia?

[hartleysjam]

ever since that lady passed away during the marathon it was suggested she had a arrhythmia, now I've wound myself up to think I have as well, the joke of it is I have even checked the nhs website (as you do:doh:) and dont suffer the symptoms after excercise, I have had anxiety for yonks and I went though a phase of my heart doing that weird 'miss a beat,then catch up' and had an ECG when I was about 20ish all was fine, however, you know what it's like, 3am this morning I'm completely convinced I have arrhythmia and they've missed it because of the anxiety.
Gah!! I hate HA!!!
I'm on 40mg of Citalopram a day and been doing well, Why has it come back again???? THe depression seems to have lifted but I cannot shift this nagging HA again.:weep:

[hartleysjam]

anyone? :(

[Rachel W]

I have terrible palpitations where I will miss a complete beat and then it feels like I have a dropping feeling in my chest. You are not alone. I have always had it but it got a lot worse during the past few years as I have been pretty inactive and spending a lot of time being stressed over college (I am a mature student 41). I went out for a walk yesterday though and no issues.

The fact that you had everything checked should comfort you. I don't think they would miss something serious at all. Anxiety can affect everything and so many people on here have palpitations and missed beats it seems like a major symptom of anxiety.

[kinnygirl1]

I totally understand - had 3 ecgs all clear but still worry about heart problems. I also worry something has been put down to anxiety when it is something else but I think you have to try and trust that the professionals would know when something else was wrong. I know its hard though

[honeyb]

I totally understand too. Ever since that footballer had a heart attack on the pitch, then the girl in the marathon, then i heard the other day that a swimmer had died too. I've really worked myself up too thinking i have arrithmia. I constantly feel light headed and dizzy, strange sensations in my chest, palps, strange vision etc. I'm going to the drs on friday just to put my mind at rest. I've had ecgs and bloods before and they have come back fine (Still convinced they have missed something). It's starting to effect me and i'm going on a long haul flight in a couple of weeks are really worried that i will develop DVT because of my heart.

[Breezay]

An ECG would definitely picked up anything serious. The girl who was running the marathon knew about her arrhythmia & knew that running that far could kill her. Yes, these things can go undiagnosed, but chances are if you've had an ECG then you're ok. My brother had wolf parkinson white syndrome picked up from a regular ECG :) The Drs know what to look for. Even if you're anxious, your heart won't be skipping beats - that's just how it seems.

Honeyb - If you're worried about DVT, ask your GP about wearing flight socks, they might help? Also, walking around the plane will lower your chances. DVT is still very uncommon, even on long haul flights. :)

[honeyb]

Thanks Breezy, I'm just so worried. I keep reading things about problems being missed by ecgs and that scares me even more. I've had about 5 of them over the last 4 years.

[candy_floss]

I used to be obsessed with the idea that I was having a heart attack, until my grandad died of lung cancer and now all of my energy is focussed on the various types of cancer I may die from (at the minute it's skin cancer after deciding that one of my moles looks weird...:blush::weep:).
Anyway, after a boy at my school died of an undetected heart condition at the age of 13, I begin to get palpitations, skipped beats, chest pain and arm pain. This went on for a few years 'til I was brave enough to go to the doctor and have an ECG done. It came back completely normal.
Bizarrely, my doctor told me to be reassured that I had these symptoms because a lot of those with heart conditions don't actually have any symptoms or warning signs at all before it's too late. He was right of course.
10 years later I still ocassionally get these pains and palpations but know they are from anxiety and so do my best to ignore them now. If the pain was heart related then I very much doubt I'd still be walking around fine, so many years later with no ill effects!
Also, since this started in my childhood, I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have been able to participate in PE lessons without any issues.

I know arrhythmia is a different condition than Cardiac arrest or heart attack but the principal is the same in my opinion. The skipped beat sensation is very common, especially in those of us with anxiety. My mum gets them all the time and couldn't care less whereas when I used to get them, I was sure it was a sign of some kind of terminal heart condition....

[honeyb]

I get skipped beats, but also it races too.