sputnikmoon
16-07-14, 23:50
Hi everyone,
Over the years I've been for all the tests due to weird turns I sometimes have and I've been discharged from the care of a Cardiologist with the summary - Sinus Tachycardia due to anxiety.
These strange turns seem to come in seasons, where I'll be fine for a few months with only the odd PVC/ectopic beat and then have a really bad few months of palpitations and a high degree of anxiety surrounding my heart.
Today I had my lunch and within 10min was needing to climb 4 flights of stairs to get somewhere, at the top of the flight I had around 5 seconds of continuous flip flops in my chest, which I put down to ectopic beats due to the full stomach and the apparent link of ectopics, the vagus nerve and the stomach... It freaked me out a little, but I was rational about it :)
Anyway, since that happened, I'd been getting little chest flutters throughout the day and my heart rate was generally a little high - totally put that down to anxiety, again, being rational about it and it wasn't concerning me too much.
A few hours later I met up with a friend, at this point my heart was actually racing a little and had gotten itself onto my radar as being a little off. It was around 120-130bpm walking around town, with lots of little flutters that I kept feeling in my chest as well as uncomfortable little wave like sensations, not painful, but not exactly comfortable, they were roller coaster tickle like sensations deep in my chest. My legs felt weak and I really wanted to just find somewhere to sit and collect my thoughts.
I was having a glass of water in a bar with my friend and noticing whenever I talked for a prolonged period or took a sip of drink my heart rate would go notably slow and heavy and then ramp back up to the 120bpm rate. At this point, in the period of 5min, I kept snapping in and out of feeling chatty and amenable and not quite right. I'd be getting a slight cramp in my chest that would be eased by a flutter.
Then the really scary moment hit me when I suddenly felt distant and odd, disengaged from the conversation and got an intense rush in my head that felt like the roller coaster stomach feeling, but in my brain - it grew and grew, lasting about 15-20sec and I was convinced this was me passing out.
However I didn't get any darkened vision, spots in vision, nor did I feel particularly unsteady or start veering to any sides, my breathing felt okay - anyone who watched me would have just seen my keeping very wide eyed and still. It was just a very intense whooshing/fizzing sensation inside my head and a fizzing in my body, almost like all the blood was draining from it... but without actually fainting.
As it eased, my heart rated started to pick right up and gallop away with itself in a very unnatural way... didn't feel like the racing heart from exercise, this felt ticklish and raspy, but evenly paced... at which point Ive shot out my seat, marching up stairs and out into the street preparing to call an ambulance.
I had a quick walk round the block trying to find a street name and it eased, not totally but enough to tolerate, so drove home hoping it was just anxiety... but now I feel whacked, my muscles and head are killing me and I keep having strange episodes that feel like mini versions of what happened at the bar.
Does this sound normal for anxiety/panic attacks, or should I maybe pop into the doctors tomorrow?
I want to just chalk it up to anxiety... but that head rush sensation was seriously prolonged and intense that I'm having trouble believing it wasn't cardiac in nature :(
Thanks for your thoughts!
Over the years I've been for all the tests due to weird turns I sometimes have and I've been discharged from the care of a Cardiologist with the summary - Sinus Tachycardia due to anxiety.
These strange turns seem to come in seasons, where I'll be fine for a few months with only the odd PVC/ectopic beat and then have a really bad few months of palpitations and a high degree of anxiety surrounding my heart.
Today I had my lunch and within 10min was needing to climb 4 flights of stairs to get somewhere, at the top of the flight I had around 5 seconds of continuous flip flops in my chest, which I put down to ectopic beats due to the full stomach and the apparent link of ectopics, the vagus nerve and the stomach... It freaked me out a little, but I was rational about it :)
Anyway, since that happened, I'd been getting little chest flutters throughout the day and my heart rate was generally a little high - totally put that down to anxiety, again, being rational about it and it wasn't concerning me too much.
A few hours later I met up with a friend, at this point my heart was actually racing a little and had gotten itself onto my radar as being a little off. It was around 120-130bpm walking around town, with lots of little flutters that I kept feeling in my chest as well as uncomfortable little wave like sensations, not painful, but not exactly comfortable, they were roller coaster tickle like sensations deep in my chest. My legs felt weak and I really wanted to just find somewhere to sit and collect my thoughts.
I was having a glass of water in a bar with my friend and noticing whenever I talked for a prolonged period or took a sip of drink my heart rate would go notably slow and heavy and then ramp back up to the 120bpm rate. At this point, in the period of 5min, I kept snapping in and out of feeling chatty and amenable and not quite right. I'd be getting a slight cramp in my chest that would be eased by a flutter.
Then the really scary moment hit me when I suddenly felt distant and odd, disengaged from the conversation and got an intense rush in my head that felt like the roller coaster stomach feeling, but in my brain - it grew and grew, lasting about 15-20sec and I was convinced this was me passing out.
However I didn't get any darkened vision, spots in vision, nor did I feel particularly unsteady or start veering to any sides, my breathing felt okay - anyone who watched me would have just seen my keeping very wide eyed and still. It was just a very intense whooshing/fizzing sensation inside my head and a fizzing in my body, almost like all the blood was draining from it... but without actually fainting.
As it eased, my heart rated started to pick right up and gallop away with itself in a very unnatural way... didn't feel like the racing heart from exercise, this felt ticklish and raspy, but evenly paced... at which point Ive shot out my seat, marching up stairs and out into the street preparing to call an ambulance.
I had a quick walk round the block trying to find a street name and it eased, not totally but enough to tolerate, so drove home hoping it was just anxiety... but now I feel whacked, my muscles and head are killing me and I keep having strange episodes that feel like mini versions of what happened at the bar.
Does this sound normal for anxiety/panic attacks, or should I maybe pop into the doctors tomorrow?
I want to just chalk it up to anxiety... but that head rush sensation was seriously prolonged and intense that I'm having trouble believing it wasn't cardiac in nature :(
Thanks for your thoughts!