Heart worries again….this time caused by alcohol

[Nyla]

I had some concerns over my heart a couple years ago (worried a virus had caused myocarditis) now I have other concerns. I now drink around the recommended units for a woman a week on average but last year a stressful period meant that this amount crept up to around 25units a week. I wouldn't have more than 2 glasses of wine an evening but it was most evenings a week I would have a glass on average with the odd days off. I seem to be feeling guilty about this now and convinced I have caused a problem with my heart related to long-term alcohol use.I used to go on nights out in my late teens and early 20s but I didn't drink at any other point during the week but I know this can be worse for the liver as its so much at once.
I'm 30 and average weight, I eat well and cook from scratch, I have never smoked or taken drugs so Alcohol and Coffee are my only evils in my diet I would say. I am fed up of feeling this way, worrying that I might be at deaths door :( I am at an exciting time of my life and things are looking good to anyone looking in from the outside but the last couple days I have felt crippled with the fear I may not wake up the next day because of my heart.
I have a tight chest and am having acid reflux frequently over the past week. My blood pressure is normal and heart rate slightly elevated.I am getting the odd flutter and pain in shoulder.
I guess I just want to see if other people worry about the same?

[Iwant2bhealthy]

Hi Nyla,

Sounds like a typical case of health anxiert to me. Heart worries are very familiar to me too. I even have 2 visits at the ER behind me, only to be told and realise I had a severe panic attack, and not a heart attack.

The symptoms you are describing also sound familiar. I had stomach issues, felt chest pressure, arm/chest pain, diziness and had a hard time breathing in. In fact, I still get thise feelings sometimes but I try very hard not to associate the sensations I feel in my body with the idea that something sinister is going on. Theraphy helps me to learn that, and meds help me to keep my anxiety in check.

As for the acid reflux, drinking alcohol is definately one of the reasons you get it... Did you try to avoid alcohol altogether for a few weeks, and seeing if youe stomach situation improves?

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[Nyla]

Thank you for your reply. It's comforting to know other people experience the same thoughts and worries. I have managed to thrash this one out, I think it was about the same time of year past two years the same concern creeps up so I must have started to associate it and its become a trigger. Also feeling guilty for having more wine than the recommended guidelines doesn't help. I have real health worry at the moment which has also pulled focus, I say real though it may be nothing but its real in that I can see it so it's not imagined like my heart worries may be.