Heart worries

[Frog song]

hi. I'm pretty much brand new here, but have been reading threads for a while. I have health anxiety, and I'm pretty sure general anxiety too.

I had cancer a few years ago and was damaged during the operation, so now I have a broken endocrine system. It sucks. I get so many odd symptoms to do with that, but I'm finding it hard to differentiate between anxiety symptoms and 'other' symptoms. I'm terrified of more cancer and other illnesses taking me away from my children. My youngest was only 7 months old when I was diagnosed.

I ended up in coronary care 18 months ago after my calcium levels crashed very low, to 'emergency situation' low. The guy in the bed next to me was having a heart attack while I lay there and listened to all the action that goes along with that. It's seared into my memory when I heard him ask the doc "Am I alright???!" Just as the ECG results were printing. The doc was trying to stay calm but he was moving very quickly and all hell broke loose with alarms etc.

Since then I've been terrified of my heart. I get ventricular ectopic beats which have been picked up on a 24 hour monitor. I've had a heart ultrasound and it all looked fine, about 12 months ago. I do get chest pain and dizziness and basically all the other heart attack symptoms, yet I've survived thus far. Every time I've been to ER the ECG s are normal.

My heart races for no reason, it pounds very strongly, it flip flops and thuds and keeps me awake at night. I have developed an invisible tremor which feels so awful and it feels like it's become quite strong.

I'm not really sure what I need to hear, but I guess I'm just sharing and seeing if anyone has the same. I've had so many tests ( brain MRI, gastro, heart, etc etc) and see my endocrinologist every 3 months.

I just can't seem to shake the fear. If the heart ultrasound was clear a year ago, it'd still be good wouldn't it? Is it only blockages that cause heart attacks? I worry about strokes too, and my blood pressure is high every time I get tested. I'm going on a 24 hour cuff tomorrow to see if it's actually high, or just white coat high. I'm anxious about that too though! Really don't want it to be high.

I'm 32, healthy weight, female, non smoker, non drinker. Non exerciser too really. Other than a mild walk with the dog.

Thanks for reading. My anxiety is becoming paralysing and life sapping. I feel like I'm short changing my children and my husband yet I can't seem to escape it.

[popejoan]

Hello welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry you had cancer and good to hear that it's gone.
About your symptoms, I had them few years ago. I had very fast/very slow heartbeats all of a sudden, my heart was skipping beats and it was pretty bad. I had loads of ecgs, a 24 hour holter monitor, ultrasound and they even made me run in one of those running machines. Nothing showed up, and I think in the end it was just anxiety. I was going through a difficult time. It still happens sometimes but now I know it it's anxiety or maybe trapped wind and I ignore it. Hope this helps.

[hanshan]

Hi Frog Song,

You've been through some scary stuff - cancer and then heart problems. You have a right to feel anxious and worried.

The heart echo-cardiogram can show if there are structural problems in your heart. If it comes back clear, that's one relief.

The echo-cardiogram won't show electrical problems. However, those problems will show up on a normal electrocardiograph. The problem is that electrical problems are usually intermittent, so you need to wear a halter for a day or so. However, many people experience irregular or racing heartbeat without any underlying problem.

Are you close to a teaching hospital staffed by experienced cardiologists? If so, I would follow their guidance and care, and try to make follow-up appointments, if possible.

Best of luck, please keep on posting (and yes, I've spent time in the coronary ward).

[Frog song]

Thank you both for your replies.
Hanshan, no I'm not near a good teaching hospital. Closest one is Sydney but my endo is excellent in referring me for tests if he thinks they're necessary. He's very understanding of the importance of peace of mind for wellness.
Thank you.

[hanshan]

Hello Frog Song,

Can you hear the frogs at night where you are? No frogs where I am - the sound would be nice.

I'm not a doctor, but my understanding is that if an echocardiogram shows a structurally sound heart, and you are 32 and healthy, then a traditional heart attack is very unlikely at your age. A thrombosis of the DVT kind is always possible, but very unlikely if you keep moving every day.

A racing heart, ectopics etc can be due to an underlying electrical problem in the heart, or just plain anxiety.

In your case, you may have had both. Depletion of electrolytes like calcium can affect electrical transmission in the heart - it's something you need to keep under control. Your endocrinologist should be able to advise you here. Otherwise, anxiety can also send the system haywire.

You have had some serious scares, so I can understand you not being able to decide whether it's a physical problem. However, if the doctors can't detect anything physical, it"s probably anxiety.