Heart Anxiety :(

[peter34uk]

Hi all,

Ive had health anxiety relating to my heart for 3 years now & Im down.

Im a logical guy with average life pressures etc... nothing too much.

I started feeling my heart beat & then palpitations. Took meself of to hospital and got checked. After numerous doc visits & a course of CBT i got over it but now it back :(

Thing is I find myself constantly checking my pulse & Im afraid to do anything that will raise my heart rate.

Thing is I always loved to exercise but when I do now it takes about an hour for my heart rate to steady itself afterwards & my chest feels so congested. Constant adrenaline all the time regardless too!

I am worried my heart may give out or something wrong. Seems TOTALLY abnormal for that to happen to anyone without there being something wrong.

ECG and blood tests came back normal a few months ago.

Any suggestions anyone??? :weep:

[belle]

Sounds like you are suffering with bad anixety. If you had the tests and they are normal, then you know rationally you are fine.

Its funny actually, i am off to the hospital tomorrow morning for an ECG and at 24 hour moniter to be fitted!!

If you have overcome it once with CBT then you definitely know that its not heart related. I had a moment back in November when i was checking my blood pressure every 2 minutes. I was taken in by ambulance after suffering with very horrible heart thumping, racing then slowing right down.

My mother always says this to me "If you are well enough to take your pulse, then theres not much wrong"....mothers!!!! She's right though :)

x

[peter34uk]

Thanks for ur replay. This is a normal day for me & im like this ALL the time! :(

[Alisonj]

Do you have high blood pressure or smoke or anything like that? the likehood of it being your heart is most likely very slim but I know that doesnt stop the worry. My heart is my biggest fear because my dad died when he was 40. Defintely talk to your doctor and see what he can suggest for you. Whether it be medication, CBT or what.
The exercise is a wonderful thing to keep up if you can get past the fear. If your tests were a-ok then it should be fine to continue.
Good Luck

[colin]

Hi Peter
I thought I was reading my own post for a minute...the thing is I have exactly the same problem as you.
I love to do physical exersice too, I play golf now and after every game I check my pulse and it's always high...also with the excitment of the game the adrenaline clicks in and I go through hell for the rest of the day.
I have been going through a tough time recently and today it was really bad I've been getting upper chest pains and trouble breathing BUT here is the thing, I was that fed up with it that I said to myself enough, if I'm going to have a heart attack then do it and do it now, I don't care anymore and the symptoms went away. I think I got that angry with it, the fear went away and so did the chest pains. I'm no expert but there are a lot of anxiety sufferers with heart fears out there...we can't all be just about to have a heart attack can we?

[Johnalexander20]

I agree totally with the posts here, In fact a few of the comments have hit the nail on the head. I have the same fears which bring on anxiety /depression. I really liked the comment, if you can check your pulse(Which alone does not tell you much) you are fine. It is a horrible problem but I am begining to believe that you have to take the attitude of an above poster that if you have been fully checked out then you have to move on and accept that hearts are designed to beat fast.

Good luck

[peter34uk]

Thanks guys. That really helps. Im gonna give it my best shot. :hugs:

[shaz01]

Hi Peter,

Yep same here and I also have the same worries however I also had it checked out and hospital arent concerned about them at all, GP says hes happy with my heart so now when its fast and haywire I am trying to convince myself its just an anxiety symptom however its hard as they are very very scary.

I like walking and one night I will be fine then the next night Im scared to go anywhere cause I can feel them kicking in. Nightmare.

I hope your doing okay today.
Shaz x