Heart worry

[Emma_student]

Hi all,

So recently my heart worries have come back in full force for some reason. Within the past couple of months, ive noticed my heart rate is quite elevated even when resting, i get a lot of skipped beats and i am constantly aware of my heart (so much so that ive started checking it again) This has recently been exacerbated because of exams/family stress. However, i know heart symptoms are common with anxiety, an i am trying to tell myself its because im under a lot of pressure (plus my exercise regime has gone out the window and my diet is terrible)

Since been diagnosed with anxiety, I've only had a blood test and an ECG which was taken during my first panic attack, alongside multiple trips to The GP regarding my heart. However, its been two years since, and with my renewed fear i wonder if its worth having new tests done, just to reassure myself. Im not sure if theres some sort of limit on how long ECG and blood test results are for, so i wonder if its worth visiting my doctor just to check if everything's ok.

Any advice much appreciated

[JMorton]

I wouldn't advise against getting more tests done, not because I think you're ill but I suppose it's possible that they could reassure you enough to end your worrying, but I can tell you that even after getting about 6 ECGs over the past two years and recently a 24 hour Holter monitor, which was normal, I still don't feel much better. The reassurance of testing has been largely temporary for me.

[Beat_It_UK]

Hi all,

So recently my heart worries have come back in full force for some reason. Within the past couple of months, ive noticed my heart rate is quite elevated even when resting, i get a lot of skipped beats and i am constantly aware of my heart (so much so that ive started checking it again) This has recently been exacerbated because of exams/family stress. However, i know heart symptoms are common with anxiety, an i am trying to tell myself its because im under a lot of pressure (plus my exercise regime has gone out the window and my diet is terrible)

Since been diagnosed with anxiety, I've only had a blood test and an ECG which was taken during my first panic attack, alongside multiple trips to The GP regarding my heart. However, its been two years since, and with my renewed fear i wonder if its worth having new tests done, just to reassure myself. Im not sure if theres some sort of limit on how long ECG and blood test results are for, so i wonder if its worth visiting my doctor just to check if everything's ok.

Any advice much appreciated

For me - getting the reassurance has helped immensley that my heart is perfectly fine. So if you think you need to do it - then do so.

[D4veyboy79]

Hi Emma,

Sorry to hear about your anxiety rearing it's head again.

I was chatting to a CBT therapist the other day about reassurances & particularly how short lived they seem before another worry pops up. He suggested to me that I try & break the cycle by not seeking reassurance from anyone. But instead questioning myself...is this a real worry? Has it happened before? What was the outcome last time?

I must admit l...in a bizarre way it seems to be working for me, although it's extremely difficult to start.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

David

[Brian123]

Hi Emma,

Sorry to hear about your anxiety rearing it's head again.

I was chatting to a CBT therapist the other day about reassurances & particularly how short lived they seem before another worry pops up. He suggested to me that I try & break the cycle by not seeking reassurance from anyone. But instead questioning myself...is this a real worry? Has it happened before? What was the outcome last time?

I must admit l...in a bizarre way it seems to be working for me, although it's extremely difficult to start.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

David

I agree with this, if you have been given the all clear in the past, its time to try and control it yourself, otherwise I would think it would an endless loop, of seeking re assurance, just tell yourself its not going to harm you, and that it will eventually ease as time goes on when the anxiety levels ease, we are the lucky ones that feel these skipped beats, its just our physiology as I have been told by my cardiologist, I have always had these ectopic beats, when my anxiety levels rise they get worse, when the anxiety levels drop they ease off, I am learning to control it myself, its hard, but you have to stick at it, it wont do you any harm to get further re assurance, if you do, and they give you the all clear, then tell yourself this is the last time you go for re assurance, and try and work at it by controlling it yourself, once you loose the fear of these damn skipped beats, then it will get easier to get the anxiety levels down, it wont do you any harm to go to your gp and ask him for something short term to control your anxiety when its at its worst, but believe me, once you loose that fear of something up with your heart, then your anxiety level will go down.

[Emma_student]

Thank you all for your help!

Just to update you all; i went to see my GP today and was sent immediately for an ECG (God bless the NHS), even though all was normal. They still want to run some bloods just to check my cholesterol levels and iron etc. But yeah, all is well and its now time to me to get re acquainted with my rational brain ahhaa.