Anxiety attack and skipped beats- question

[Ethansmom]

Yesterday I posted about going to the doctor for shortness of breath. Well, the anxiety about seeing her built up so bad that I had a small anxiety attack leading to a fast heart rate that kept skipping beats for several minutes- UNTIL I took a xanax which made it go away in a minute or two. Why the skipped beats and not just a fast heart rate? Is this normal. Does anyone struggle with this?

[ServerError]

You don't actually skip beats. It just feels like you do.

It's caused by the biology of the anxious body. It's not harmful in a healthy heart. It's simply triggered by adrenaline and nervous activity.

It happens to me even now, from time to time. I'm alive and well.

[Fishmanpa]

Anxiety can and does cause a plethora of physical symptoms. While I'm not a sufferer per se', I can tell you first hand that the mental and physical stress of dealing with my wife's illness the 5 months has caused all sorts of symptoms from weight loss to insomnia to headaches to muscle aches to you name it! I know what it is and what's causing it so I work on reducing the stress as best I can and yes, Xanax helps!

Take a moment and read through the Symptoms (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms) page. you'll find many of the answers you seek there. Also, a quick search using the search function will yield pages and pages of similar threads (there are similar threads listed at the bottom of the page also).

That being said, knowing it's anxiety doesn't always lessen the symptoms. If you're not getting professional help to teach you to cope with your anxiety, I would implore you to do so. It's apparent you're struggling pretty bad right now :(

Positive thoughts