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View Full Version : Fear of heart attack/stroke/ aneurysm


Worried_91
22-09-23, 20:18
Hi all

I've had health anxiety since 2017. I've made a couple of posts on here, but right now the past week or so, I've had an intense fear I'm going to have one of the three in the subject title. I'm worried that the anxiety is giving me high blood pressure causing internal damage.

In reality, I'm a 31 y/o male and take diet and exercise seriously. I also take numerous supplements that support heart health and when I can rationalise, reason that overall I'm very healthy, but I can't shake the fear I've got a lot of internal damage. I'm so tempted to try and get a brain mri to put my mind at ease that I've not got a ticking time bomb in my head!

I'm also 13 days into taking citalopram 20mg and to be honest, don't feel any better yet. I also have propranolol which helps with the heart racing and hopefully lowers bp.

Just want to know if anyone else experiences this? It's so debilitating.
Worried_91
23-09-23, 21:29
Can anyone relate?
Kitkat99
23-09-23, 22:39
Yep same, waiting for it all day.

If you’re worried about your blood pressure have you had it checked? If it’s high they will give you something, also many anti anxiety meds reduce blood pressure (proponol for example)
Worried_91
24-09-23, 17:45
Freaking out a bit after seeing emotional stress can cause inflammation of the arteries. Worried that the chronic stress is going to give me a heart attack or stroke. Ugh.
nomorepanic
24-09-23, 22:28
It has never been proved that anxiety causes heart problems.

If you are so worried about this though then you need to tackle the underlying cause - the anxiety - so why not work on that then the worries will go?
serith
25-09-23, 19:03
Yep same, waiting for it all day.

If you’re worried about your blood pressure have you had it checked? If it’s high they will give you something, also many anti anxiety meds reduce blood pressure (proponol for example)

Please don't take this advice; if it's high, it's undoubtedly because of your fear of heart problems rather than having a blood pressure problem. You're 31, you eat healthy & exercise, there's virtually no chance you have high blood pressure. And even if you did, you already are doing the only thing you should do to address it - diet & exercise. The last thing you would want to do is have your doctors "give you something" for it when you're only 31.
Kitkat99
26-09-23, 14:17
I didn’t exactly mean it like that. My blood pressure is high at the doctors but they never give me anything. I just meant if the doctors were really concerned they would and it can easily be sorted if that was ever the case.