i am desperate for someone to reply...

[natalie5555]

I'm in a state i keep waking up with a high heart rate in the middle of the night so I've hardly had any sleep and my heart is now constantly fast i think its about 100. I had my heart tested with 24 hour monitor a year ago and it came back fine except ectopics which he said were normal. Ive also had ecgs and they have come back normal. I cant stop worrying i keep needing the toilet and feeling dizzy and just weird can anxiety do this? Make your heart constantly race im freaking out. Even having abit of chest pain

[kdf123]

Hi dizzyness and heart racing are both classic anxiety symptoms which I suffer with.just try and carry one as normal(easier said than done) and I promise it will all start to subside ,take care

[Aaahhfreakout]

Hi, it could well be anxiety. The effects of anxiety or excitement can keep the heart rate high for hours after the cause of those has passed.

A healthy heart can cope with 100 beats per minute for a very long time so don't worry much about that. That rate is natural for young children, for example.

Does your heart speed up and slow down gradually?

Heart arrhythmias tend to start and stop suddenly. It might go suddenly 165 beats per minute then suddenly normal again. Or suddenly erratic then normal.

If you find your heart rate in the middle of the night starts at, say, 130, then slows gradually to 100 over time, that's likely anxiety.

Also, I've found from ECG monitoring my own heart that I can think it's 100 beats per minute but it was really 85 and went up to 100 in the few seconds I went from thinking I should take my pulse to actually taking it.

You should, of course, get checked out by a doctor if you are worried, though.

But yes, 100 beats per minute, needing the toilet and dizziness are all easily possible with anxiety.

Try finding something which distracts you. Talking with someone, playing a videogame, anything which you know tends to occupy your mind for a short while. Then see if your pulse has slowed.

Also, oddly, I find drinking cool water helps me. So try that too, can't hurt. :)

[natalie5555]

i got checked before but should i get checked again?? I only recently had another ecg for reassurance that was only a few weeks ago and that came back normal. So i dont know what to do? I have generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder

[Aaahhfreakout]

The big questions are if you are heart rate is normal during some of the day, is regular and increases quickly -- but not instantly -- and slows gradually. Then it's likely anxiety.

Instant changes, constant high rates even when you know you're completely relaxed, fluttering for more than a second and any other irregularities are worth getting checked out.

What's it like at your least anxious state recently?

[oli44]

Dear Nathalie,
I can say you that anxiety is causing the kind of symptons you describe.
Try to rely on the facts:
- what did doctors say ? everything fine , isn t it ?
- risks : smoking a lot ? overweight and no activity ?
I got the problems you describe during around 7 years. You feel things and doctors say: everyting fine. After 7 years I decided to trust the doctors saying my problems are somatic ones. I had also headackes.
I started YOGA and meditation --> now I sleep much better; my headaches are gone and my heart calmed down so that some times I ve bad feelings but like everyone. Nathalie, you re probably in a phase where you think it s very difficult, but I know you will feel better. Trust your heart, trust your body, trust yourself.

[natalie5555]

it is slower when I'm relaxed.. But its the waking up with it fast which freaks me out and it doesn't slow down. I am on a anxiety forum and a few on there have said they have experienced the same thing. And yeah i think it increases quickly and gradually lowers i think.. I went threw similar stuff before. Just going threw a tough time. I dont smoke anymore.. I used to but i quit over a year ago.. But i dont exercise at all i used to for a few months then stopped as had abit of a breakdown again

[Carnation]

Hi Natalie. Try and do a little light Yoga and you can do your breathing exercises with this to slow the heartbeat down. You can get videos on You tube.
If you wake up in the night with this, you can do them lying down or sitting up. It will subside and the worst thing you can do is Panic over it, just tell yourself that you are going to be ok. Mind over Matter! :)

[natalie5555]

thankyou carnation. Will try and do the yoga i used to do yoga before but stopped