Racing heart all the time? (and more DVT/PE fears)

[tn13]

Hi everyone,

So it's been a world of contrasts for me this week... I went away to the cottage last Thursday and enjoyed myself, only had to take Ativan once. My leg has not been hurting as much but my concern shifted to my breathing, which has been aggravated by allergies lately, and being scared I have a blood clot in my lung. I got home yesterday and felt pretty good for a few hours until I started thinking about things and realized my heart was racing. I could barely sleep last night because I could not get my heart rate down. My mum said she felt my pulse while I was asleep and it was a normal resting rate. I went to the doctor today and finally broke down and told him how bad I've really been feeling. He counted the racing heart (which at most is up around 120) to anxiety but finally sent me for an ultrasound of my leg to put my DVT fears to rest. they did it at 2:30 today and he said he'd let me know about the results as soon as he got them. I haven't heard from him yet so I assume that's good and if there was a clot they'd tell me ASAP. Of course now I'm worried that it all travelled to my lung and heart. I've noticed that now that I'm worried about my heart my breathing worries have gone away. I want to tell myself it's anxiety because I've been through this before (and my GP next to said my meds aren't working anymore but he's leaving that to my pdoc who I see on the 26th) but I'm scared this is the one time it won't be. I thought that once I knew I didn't have a blood clot I'd feel better but I don't... does anyone else have a racing heart that won't go away (or at least not while I'm thinking about it?)

[Skye Winter]

I know EXACTLY how you feel! I've had blood clot worries recently too, in my leg and lung. It's been quite humid out recently and that makes it feel like I'm not taking in enough oxygen (even though I am and it's all in my head!), but this led me to believe I had a blood clot in my lung because I was having trouble breathing comfortably.

I also have heart worries to no end. Sometimes at night my heart just races and it ends up with me tossing and turning in bed and sweating. I hate it! But I'm just like you, when I do manage to fall asleep, I keep waking up.

What helps me is to sit up, open a window and put my head outside and just watch the world go by. Look at the sky, the stars and clouds. That calms me down quite a bit when my heart is racing. :)

Hope you feel better soon,
Just know that you're definitely not alone.

PM me if you ever need anybody to talk to.

[tn13]

Thank you so much Skye, I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I know heart worries are common for us HA sufferers. During my first bout with this two years ago I did worry about my heart but I didn't really take my pulse. Now I'm compulsively checking it.

I got my ultrasound result today and it was totally clear, my doctor said my veins looked very good and there was no evidence to suggest a clot. This gives me some relief, but I still worry, what if they missed it, what if it all dislodged and went to the lung (and I know the likelihood if that is low and doesn't even make sense since my leg still hurts! Been told it's sciatica which makes sense as it hurts when I stand from sitting a long time but once I move around it hurts much less.)

Today I went to a museum with family and walked around for several hours, I kept checking and my pulse was about 90-100 throughout. When I got home i continued checking and it seemed to stay around that while I was at rest. I downloaded a heart rate checker app and it had me between 90-112. This freaks me because two weeks ago I was using the heart app when I wasn't worried about my pulse (was worried about breathing at the time) and my pulse was in the 70s and 80s as it usually is. Taking it now that I am Lying in bed relaxed it is back at that normal level. I deleted the app and I am going to try my best not to check tomorrow.

Any tips for dealing with this heart worry? And is that normal, for your pulse to go up like that when you're fixated on it??

[poppy1]

I can feel my heart racing all the time around 115 last nt it lasted 2 hrs. I really thought 'this is it' surely your heart can't sustain the level of speed over long time? Really scared myself

[tn13]

Hi Poppy - when I was at the doctor's on Thursday he took my pulse and it was 110 sitting there in his office. He said it's pretty normal for someone who's anxious, and that it goes down when you relax, but if you sit there thinking about it being fast, it won't go down because you're perpetuating the anxiety. He didn't seem too concerned. You probably had a long panic attack?

Today my pulse seems back to normal. I was taking it a lot today and tonight and it was always in the 70s-80s. I'm still worried about why it was up for those two days. I'm also concerned because I have a pain by my ribcage in my back and a slight urge to cough every so often. I was a mess earlier tonight, but more crying than anything else. Took an Ativan and sat down to the computer and started focusing on other things and I feel almost normal! Now I need to stop checking.

i think I'm starting to believe that I really don't have a clot, though I'm still worried, and that scary thought persists.

[missing7]

I'm going through something similar right now. I had been having left leg and back pain for about a month. Then the doc discovered I had a bicuspid aortic valve, which isn't really a big deal. Especially at my age (25). But ever since them, I've become paranoid that the pain in my legs is a blood clot. Even though BAV isn't really related to an increased risk of blood clot, it switched my mind from pinched nerves to circulatory system. I had an ultrasound of my left leg, which came back clear. Then, like an idiot, I googled how accurate they were. Now I'm too paranoid to even take a hot bath. I did have an MRI of my back, which I'm waiting to get the results of. I'm hoping that the neuro will tell me my back is jacked up and that is the cause of all of my pain, and that it will convince me I don't have a blood clot. I'm going to the GP tomorrow to discuss being put on anxiety meds to help with the health anxiety and to probably try and get him to convince me I don't have a blood clot again :)