Nurse said I've had tachycardia

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi,

I've been wearing a 24 hour ECG for chest pain, and had it taken off today. The nurse looked at it and said I a few times I went tachycadic... There was a button on the machine that I had to press when I felt the pain and she said it matched with the tachycardia.

This sent me into a panic, my vision started going funny, like tunnel vision, i started shaking, fast heart rate etc.

The nurse went to show the Dr, and whilst I was waiting in her room, thoughts of imminent heart attack, open heart surgery, being rushed to hospital right there and then were streaming through my mind.

She came back and said the Dr said it all looked fine and it's normal for your heart to go faster sometimes.

She said I don't need a follow up appointment or anything like that. Is tachycardia serious? Has anyone else had it? Are they dismissing something that could be life threatening?

Thanks, and sorry for the long post, I'm still in a bit of a panic

[nomorepanic]

Loads of people get this and don't even know about it.

No it isn't serious - my partner gets it too.

[flori]

I get it too with anxiety, but medication I am on for asthma also causes it.

[fluff]

I have had is before aswell :-) im ok

[Edie]

Tachycardia simply means a rapid heartbeat. This is a common symptom of anxiety, and the fact it happened to you when you panicked at your appointment shows that you do get this symptom when you are anxious. If the doctor has looked over your ECG and is unconcerned, then I do think you have to chalk this up to your anxiety. There would have been other abnormalities on your ECG if you had a heart condition.

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies. My heart rate regularly goes above 140 bpm when I'm exercising, but it happened 5 times I think in 24 hours, and certainly didn't exercise that much.

I get fluttering feelings in my chest quite often, so I assume that it's that? Like a vibrating feeling from my chest.

I've tried to stay off google, but I did have a moment of weakness, and I read that exercise induced tachycardia can cause heart attack and sudden death... :-(

I've got a follow up with my GP in two weeks, but that's quite a while for me to struggle through this.

When the nurse first said I had tachycardia she said the Dr would probably refer me to a specialist, or maybe deal with me there at the surgery. But then when she got back from showing the Dr the results, she said everything was fine....

I went from being told I might have to see a heart specialist to, everything is fine go home, in the space of 10 minutes.

It's just really confused me and worried me at the same time. I'd assumed my chest pain would be down to me being obese... but now this is scaring me :-(

[flori]

Try not to worry, easier said than done, I know. Mines has been beating fast nearly all day.

Trust you doctor and stay off google, it`s only making you worse

[Freaked]

Normal tachycardia isn't dangerous unless it's CRAZY fast, as in over 220ish bpm for a sustained period afaik. I have a condition that causes me to have tachycardia (ie a heart rate over 100) every time I stand, and some people have it 24/7. It can be awful and debilitating, but apparently not dangerous in a healthy heart. Everyone gets tachycardia when they're doing anything strenuous or are really excited/anxious; that's normal.

[Vida]

Tachycardia goes hand in hand with anxiety. Your anxiety AND the fact that you are in a nurses office awaiting results can really get your adrenaline going causing your heart to beat faster. These are things we just can't control. I see it all the time in the ER.. Of course ECG is first go to on any tachycardia or chest pain case but if the doctor read it as unremarkable then I think you should try and accept that, as hard as it is. Especially when symptoms are real. Instead of googling tachycardia, google anxiety symptoms and you'll see a long list of symptoms that anxiety can cause. Tachycardia being one of the many.
It happens to me many times and I find myself checking my pulse often.

[marlowe78]

I'm having this same problem today. I keep having crazy dreams where I'm in anxious situations alone with no one to help me. This morning I dreamed that I was on a bus to school (when at university I traveled by bus) and when looking at my tickets I realized that the second leg of the trip had a faraway city printed on it - in other words, there was a mistake made by the ticket agent. The bus station was out in the middle of nowhere so my memory knew that I could have problems getting where I needed to go.

I woke up with a quick heartbeat, which I've had quite a lot of the past few weeks. I was also uptight on my way to work. To make a long story short, a few years ago I had a reaction to a shot that I was given in the doctor's office and nearly passed out in the street on my way to work. I've always felt uptight in passing through that area since then but with the panic issues I'm dealing with, I seem to be afraid to travel on my own.

My heart was beating fast for a couple of hours. I was able to do things at work (I work at a desk job) but I was really uneasy and naturally, you start worrying about what it's doing to your heart. I'm feeling better now, but it feels like it won't take much for it to come back. :unsure:

I had just gotten a physical. My doctor said my heart sounds fine and an EKG said that everything is OK, so I'm writing it off to anxiety. But I often wonder how much of this a person's heart can take.

[Serenity1990]

Tachycardia isn't an illness, it simply refers to your heartbeat rising above the 'normal' resting range, usually defined as 100bpm. Firstly note that on a 24 hour monitor you won't have been "resting" all the time, you'll have climbed stairs, walked down the road, etc. When we exercise out heart rates climb substantially. Before I became ill with anxiety I was a regular gym-goer, and despite having a very healthy rhr of 60 my heart rate would rise as high as 180 when sprinting.

Also note that one of the most defining features of anxiety is an inappropriate fight or fight response, meaning your heart rate rapidly rises for no logical reason other than anxiety. I dare say a great majority of the people on this forum slip into "tachycardia" many times a day as a result. I know I have!

There are various tachycardia syndromes, whereby you have a permanently raised heart rate, or it raises according to posture, or other such things. The doctors obviously don't think you have these, but just in case you start googling they're all totally benign.

Check out the link below. It was a forum set up by an ex member of here, who was a retired doctor in his nineties who sadly hasn't been heard from anywhere for a couple of years. There should be masses of information on there to put your mind at rest.

http://palps.chemicalforums.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl

[marlowe78]

Thanks for the reference. :)

[Yossino]

"A heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute (BPM) in adults is called tachycardia."

If you could count all the times a human has been tachycardiac... :)

[ankietyjoe]

Your heartrate probably raised after you experienced the pain and pressed the button (you were focused on it then) simply because of the sensation.

It's really nothing to worry about, and it's something I've experienced literally hundreds of times over the last year or so.

[Masqued]

I've had this. I also know mine was triggered by stress and excess caffeine.
I never received treatment either.