Confused question

[Mattheiu]

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I'm freaking out and trying to figure out if I'm having panic attacks or what. I'll be here totally calm and happy and suddenly my heart will have an ectopic beat and I'll have a second of terror and then it's gone. Are these panic attack? I've been diagnosed with a health anxiety disorder about two weeks ago and was put on Sertraline which increased my anxiety really badly for about a week but I think it's normalizing now, I just don't know if what I'm experiencing are due to my anxiety because they're different from what they were before. There's no heavy breathing, no speeding of my heart, no feeling of dread(That I'm aware of), just what feels like suddenly very strong heart beats that seem to fully grab my attention.
Any help would be really appreciated, I've had an ECG that came normal and I've spent several full nights in the hospital within the last two months for unrelated issues and nothing ever showed up heart related. I'm sorry for the long post, I'm just scared right now.

[ana]

Have you had your thyroid checked?

A lot of people experience heart palpitations and arrhythmia at various points in their lives, and in most cases, there is no real cause for concern.
I used to have a similar issue to yours where I'd lose my breath as my heart would skip a beat, and in that split second, I'd feel like I was definitely going to die. All my heart exams came back normal and since being reassured by cardiologists that nothing was wrong, I've not experienced any heart issues since.

It may be the case that your irregular heartbeats will just normalise in time. You're too focused on your heart now which is why you're perceiving things about it that would usually go unnoticed.

Panic attacks are accompanied by a sense of dread, heavy breathing, perspiration, shakiness, etc. not just a racing heart or irregularities in one's heartbeat. Saying that, everyone's different, but you got yourself checked out by medical professionals who think there's nothing wrong with your heart, so perhaps you could try focusing on trying to relax about it all. :)

[Mattheiu]

Have you had your thyroid checked?

A lot of people experience heart palpitations and arrhythmia at various points in their lives, and in most cases, there is no real cause for concern.
I used to have a similar issue to yours where I'd lose my breath as my heart would skip a beat, and in that split second, I'd feel like I was definitely going to die. All my heart exams came back normal and since being reassured by cardiologists that nothing was wrong, I've not experienced any heart issues since.

It may be the case that your irregular heartbeats will just normalise in time. You're too focused on your heart now which is why you're perceiving things about it that would usually go unnoticed.

Panic attacks are accompanied by a sense of dread, heavy breathing, perspiration, shakiness, etc. not just a racing heart or irregularities in one's heartbeat. Saying that, everyone's different, but you got yourself checked out by medical professionals who think there's nothing wrong with your heart, so perhaps you could try focusing on trying to relax about it all. :)

Thank you so much for the reply, it does seem to really only be worse when I'm thinking about it, and googling it doesn't help just makes it worse. I'm going to try and keep calm, again, thank you so much! :hugs:

[ana]

You're welcome. :) I find it hard to resist consulting Google, but every time I give into temptation, I regret it as I get convinced I'm dying of 10 different terminal illnesses! :wacko: