Anxiety and the heart

[hoppipolla]

This is something that I do personally worry about a fair bit, and is of course important, so I thought I would start a thread about it to share advice, comments, knowledge, etc etc :)

I find personally that with things like this, they are only really scary if you don't understand them, and for anyone else at all concerned about it like me hopefully that's what we can attempt to do!


I was actually researching into it all last night, and I learnt quite a lot of stuff. Apparently, anxiety can affect the heart and circulatory system but this tends to be over a prolonged period of time and mainly amongst vulnerable people, such as in an older age bracket or with other health concerns, or who smoke etc etc.

Anxiety can do things like speed up the heart rate with adrenaline, and increase blood pressure (both of which can be combated apparently with beta-blockers like Propranolol and probably other things) and also can cause slight narrowing of blood vessels mostly due to higher levels of the hormone Cortisol which is also produced in the Adrenal Gland, and also increase platelet numbers (both of these can be combated and lowered apparently with omega 3).

Sorry of course if this is worrying anyone, I don't mean to do that it's just I want to share what I've learnt in the hope that it will help other people! Also, please remember that unless you are in one of those higher risk groups I mentioned you're probably totally fine. It's just I was trying to determine "quick fixes" for this during stress/anxiety and these were my findings ^_^

So what do you think? I have been worried (particularly before I learnt more) so I'd love to have a chat about it and see if things can become clearer :)

Thanks all,

Hoppi! :)

[pinkynicca]

hello i like the idea you got going, i have done a little research and have come to the conclusion that, while anxiety is not good for your heart it wont kill you, if you dont do anything to try and better your physical situation harm may come, like you said with the old age, ect. i think what worries most people with anxiety when it comes to there heart is that they dont actually believe that it is anxiety, they really think something is wrong with there actual heart... no ekg or blood test will prove otherwise its so deep inside our brains that its almost difficult to accept the simple, real answer that is anxiety will make you feel like you are dying... it will give you horrible horrible feelings, this is why we go to the doctor and rule out everything else because there's no disease that makes you fall asleep with your fingers on your pulse, there is no disease that make you scared for no reason, there's no disease that makes you pay so much freaking attention to your heart you can feel its every pulse and twinge, how we over come this i have no idea but sounds like we are all worried about the same thing and have alot of the same symptoms im pretty sure we got atleast 1 thing in common anxiety and panic rules our lives.

[hoppipolla]

hello i like the idea you got going, i have done a little research and have come to the conclusion that, while anxiety is not good for your heart it wont kill you, if you dont do anything to try and better your physical situation harm may come, like you said with the old age, ect. i think what worries most people with anxiety when it comes to there heart is that they dont actually believe that it is anxiety, they really think something is wrong with there actual heart... no ekg or blood test will prove otherwise its so deep inside our brains that its almost difficult to accept the simple, real answer that is anxiety will make you feel like you are dying... it will give you horrible horrible feelings, this is why we go to the doctor and rule out everything else because there's no disease that makes you fall asleep with your fingers on your pulse, there is no disease that make you scared for no reason, there's no disease that makes you pay so much freaking attention to your heart you can feel its every pulse and twinge, how we over come this i have no idea but sounds like we are all worried about the same thing and have alot of the same symptoms im pretty sure we got atleast 1 thing in common anxiety and panic rules our lives.

yeah I'll second that, and man it's so weird that other people do that stuff too! I watch my heartbeat far too much, I guess it's just when you're tense you're more aware of nearly everything, so even the beating of your own heart catches your attention!

I guess anxiety is a strange condition on it's own ._. heh :)

[NoPoet]

Hi, I've been doing plenty of research on anxiety and I have specifically read that "no-one ever died of anxiety". Stress does make your system work harder and I suppose a severe sufferer who never comes to terms with their condition could take some years off their lives, so it's important to learn relaxation techniques and to try to deal with or remove the causes of stress from your life.

My hypnotherapist said this:

Excessive stress is damaging and should be avoided or removed from your life.
Anxiety means there is a challenge to be faced.
Depression is a warning that something in your life needs to change NOW.

It's a generalisation, but it's still useful to remember.

[meg86]

Hello :)

Interesting, i spoke to my therapist about this at CBT, as she was insisting that anxiety doesnt harm you but i was disagreeing with her because prolonged stress can.

She said though which i found interesting that when you are anxious or having a panic attack, studies have shown that the exact same thing happens to your body if you get excited about something.

like PyschoPoet said it is important to have "me" time and try to relax, i have taken up Yoga and meditation, more reading and bubble baths.

[n.irishguy]

hi guys, ive enjoyed what youve written here..........and im at the 50/50 stage. ive been having real problems with my stomach........then my heart started to hit 140 for no reason and waking me outa my sleep..........now ive anxiety!! but i did some research too and found anxiety can seriously play havoc with your digestive system too so maybe in my case its been anxiety all along...........but im not coming to that conclusion till ive been tested head to toe lol

[Going home]

Meg's therapist is right. Your system reacts to fear and pleasure in the same way...the racing heart, skipping beats, fluttering, the shallow breathing, sweating etc...your nervous system can't tell the difference, only you can know if you're in danger of attack or of being about to watch your fave band onstage...because the feelings are exactly the same, its just that we accept the feelings more readily when we think theres a good reason for them.

There's also a section on anxiety and the heart here on nmp...look to your left and you'll see 'palpitations' under the Health worries section. As for stress killing us, well I guess ive lived with stress in one way or another since my 20s and now an OLD lady and even though the stress goes on, so do I :)

GH xx

[hoppipolla]

Thanks for the replies so far everyone, its been good to hear different views and stuff :) I mean even medical science isnt 100% clear on this one. The conclusions I came to were mainly from a collection of medical videos online like on YouTube, and on Wikipedia - doesnt sound like the best sources I know but they are of course so big there is a LOT of great info on there!

I've been taking Omega 3 tablets recently as well, I mean my circulation sucks (mostly to hands and feet) anyway with or without anxiety so it cant hurt! hehe

On a side note my nan swears by tablets like that and she's turning 80 this year so they cant be that bad ^_^

[Chips]

Good thread. I've spent the best part of a year consumed by this very subject and foolishly researched every corner on the Web looking for answers to the question "Can panic/anxiety kill you? I wouldn't recommend anyone else consults Google as I ended up depressed and nearly suicidal for a short period trying to understand what I found. However, I came to the conclusion that anxiety/panic can't kill you and only a tiny minority of people are at risk from the effects. I honestly believe that if a normal person could die from this then I would not be here because I've been dragged through every thought/sensation possible. There's a lot of misinformation and conflicting opinions on the internet and that includes reputable sources, medical journals and doctors trying to make a name for themselves. Listen and take comfort from the folks on here is my advice to anyone worried about anxiety and it's effect on health. It won't kill you, only make you wiser and stronger in the long run.

[june]

Meg's therapist is right. Your system reacts to fear and pleasure in the same way...the racing heart, skipping beats, fluttering, the shallow breathing, sweating etc...your nervous system can't tell the difference, only you can know if you're in danger of attack or of being about to watch your fave band onstage...because the feelings are exactly the same, its just that we accept the feelings more readily when we think theres a good reason for them.

There's also a section on anxiety and the heart here on nmp...look to your left and you'll see 'palpitations' under the Health worries section. As for stress killing us, well I guess ive lived with stress in one way or another since my 20s and now an OLD lady and even though the stress goes on, so do I :)

GH xx
:hugs:Like you i have lived with stress / panic etc all my life.
I have underlined the most relavant part (to me) of your post.
When there IS a reason for a feeling or sensation - we can understand and accept it.
BUT stress / panic etc come without reason or warning and THAT is the prob. you go to the doc and he says ""you are stressed"" - YES WELL I WASN'T TILL THE PANIC STARTED:ohmy::blush::weep:
Best wishes
June

[hoppipolla]

:hugs:Like you i have lived with stress / panic etc all my life.
I have underlined the most relavant part (to me) of your post.
When there IS a reason for a feeling or sensation - we can understand and accept it.
BUT stress / panic etc come without reason or warning and THAT is the prob. you go to the doc and he says ""you are stressed"" - YES WELL I WASN'T TILL THE PANIC STARTED:ohmy::blush::weep:
Best wishes
June

Yeah I find that, I feel panicky which makes me more stressed so I get more panicky! lol :) One of the many vicious circles in life I think!



I actually just popped to the doctor's today and am basically having a check-up of my heart, as I've never done it before and I'm old enough now to just want to make sure it's ok so I'm prepared for adult life! :)

So I've had my blood pressure taken and it's just a little high, which is probably down to anxiety but then I hadn't taken Propranolol which I normally do, and that lowers your blood pressure. She also checked my heart normally and said it sounded fine.

I've now got a blood test (which I've never had before.. eep!) and another ECG which I haven't had for years so that might just help to make sure everything is fine.

But yeah, so that's that, I'm sure I'm fine but this has also been a great learning experience so far, it's always useful to understand better how to take care of yourself :)