constant fear of sudden death syndrome

[white1989]

I don't know if anyone on here is the same, but recently I have been totally plagued by the fear of adult sudden death syndrome. I seem to have seen a number of cases in the news/on social media about young adults just dying for no reason, its frightening the life out of me. I know it is a really rare condition and is highly unlikely, but I can't stop worrying myself about suddenly loosing a member of my family or my boyfriend, I genuinely wouldn't be able to continue life without them. I also panic about undetected heart conditions doing the same, and keep asking my boyfriend to go get a full heart check but he thinks I'm being silly (understandably). How do I stop myself feeling like this? It's sucking all the joy out of everything at the moment :weep:

[Gregg_]

I used to have this quite badly too.

I remember it starting for me. It was December 2007 (random I know) and I remember reading an article about a young, fit, healthy guy going to bed and dying in his sleep. It was the first time I'd heard of anything like that. As the years have gone on, like you said, there have been various stories about the same thing happening to other people.

I got to the point where I was convinced I was going to die, I was convinced I could feel my heart out of beat. Eventually in September last year (almost 7 years after I had my first fears), I went to the doctor and got an ECG scan on my heart. It all came back totally normal. This was 7 years of worry and panic.......for nothing.

The one thing I would say is, this is SO incredibly rare, that when it does happen you do usually hear about it. You could always go and request an ECG scan? It's very quick and will put your mind at rest, although like I said, I would try and not worry about it too much as it's rare.

[Cags48]

Isn't is extremely rare ?

[2Anxious]

I used to have this quite badly too.

I remember it starting for me. It was December 2007 (random I know) and I remember reading an article about a young, fit, healthy guy going to bed and dying in his sleep. It was the first time I'd heard of anything like that. As the years have gone on, like you said, there have been various stories about the same thing happening to other people.

I got to the point where I was convinced I was going to die, I was convinced I could feel my heart out of beat. Eventually in September last year (almost 7 years after I had my first fears), I went to the doctor and got an ECG scan on my heart. It all came back totally normal. This was 7 years of worry and panic.......for nothing.

The one thing I would say is, this is SO incredibly rare, that when it does happen you do usually hear about it. You could always go and request an ECG scan? It's very quick and will put your mind at rest, although like I said, I would try and not worry about it too much as it's rare.

This is a very good point. Imagine if EVERY SINGLE time someone died in a car accident it was on the news. People would never leave their houses. And that's no way to live.

Hadn't seen you for a while White and thought you might had found some peace. I really feel for you.

[WiganLad]

Its called sads sudden arrhythmia death syndrome very very rare but a guy who went to the gym where I was going died from this I was scared bout this also. I am not trying to scare anyone now but a full heart check won't pick it up hence sudden its where the main vain to the heart shuts down but like I say you have more chance of winning lottery

[white1989]

I used to have this quite badly too.

I remember it starting for me. It was December 2007 (random I know) and I remember reading an article about a young, fit, healthy guy going to bed and dying in his sleep. It was the first time I'd heard of anything like that. As the years have gone on, like you said, there have been various stories about the same thing happening to other people.

I got to the point where I was convinced I was going to die, I was convinced I could feel my heart out of beat. Eventually in September last year (almost 7 years after I had my first fears), I went to the doctor and got an ECG scan on my heart. It all came back totally normal. This was 7 years of worry and panic.......for nothing.

The one thing I would say is, this is SO incredibly rare, that when it does happen you do usually hear about it. You could always go and request an ECG scan? It's very quick and will put your mind at rest, although like I said, I would try and not worry about it too much as it's rare.

Thanks for your reply Gregg, it was really helpful to read. I can totally relate to everything you said you used to feel! I've actually had a lot of ECGs done over the past 2 years since my anxiety started, as I frequently feel irregular beats/palpitations/chest pains but my tests have always been normal to my relief.

I think you're definitely right when you say that you hear about every story in the news because it probably is so incredibly rare. Think i'll try and stay away from the news to stop getting myself in a flap!

---------- Post added at 09:33 ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 ----------

Wiganlad and 2anxious,

thank you for your replies, you're right it sounds like its extremely rare in comparison to the amount of people in the world, and the small amount of cases you see on the news. that definitely makes me feel a little better.

and I'm not too bad thanks 2anxious, still suffering a lot with my anxiety and awaiting more cardiology tests to check what's causing all my chest pain and irregular heart beats. praying for a positive result! best wishes to you x

[Emilym80]

The preponderance of people who pass away from SDS are young athletic men who have never actually had any cardiological testing. The fact that you've even had an ECG would preclude you from the vast majority of arrythmias that can cause sudden death.

These arrythmias are also congenital and so most people who have them would also have quite a considerable family history of sudden, unexplained deaths.

They personally would probably have had fainting with no warning following exercise or exertion. And, as someone else said, you have a better chance of winning the lottery.

Even for those who do have these conditions, the vast majority go undetected and they die of some other cause.

So... even though it's hard, I would try not to worry too much.

[Daniel28]

I recently had an ecg and was told I have elevated "T-Wave" i can't remember what was being said at the time as I was in a state of panic but could someone here elaborate? Does it mean I'm at higher risk of SD?

[JMorton]

Its called sads sudden arrhythmia death syndrome very very rare but a guy who went to the gym where I was going died from this I was scared bout this also. I am not trying to scare anyone now but a full heart check won't pick it up hence sudden its where the main vain to the heart shuts down but like I say you have more chance of winning lottery
The conditions that cause this are electrical abnormalities of the heart (e.g. long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome) which ARE visible on an ECG, which measures the electrical activity of the heart. You might occasionally get a false negative, but if you've had multiple ECGs that is virtual proof that you don't have one of these conditions.