heart attack obsessed [Archive]

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Badchip

31-01-06, 02:45

Mark O

31-01-06, 10:39

BC,

I have gone through exactly the same sort of anxieties. I have had various ECG's and a stress test which ended with me being given a clean bill of health. I also had a sevre panic attack where I was taken to hospital. It was all very frightening at the time but the doctors found nothing wromg with me. Even up until this morning I have been worried about having a heart attack but I received a letter from the Cardiac Consultant confirming that he was pleased with the results of the stress test and that he could see nothing wrong with my heart or arteries. It may do you some good if you asked your doctor for the same thing. As regards your friend how died of a heart attack at a very young age, although tragic and upsetting it sounds like there may have been some underlying problem that they were born with. I think you're doing the right thing about exercising as that is very good for your heart. At 36 the doctors told me that I was very young to be having any heart problems so you are absolutely fine. The chest pains you are getting will be due to muscle contractions brought about be anxiety. There is some really good advice on here about exercise, stretching, breathing which I think you will really benefit from. Keep thinking postively as you will get over this.

Mark.

Madwoman

31-01-06, 10:54

Hi badchip,
welcome.
I am just the same fearing heart attack, even the slightest twinge, stomach ache anything and thats it im having a heart attack, I know its not much help but there are loads of us on here who all know how you feel and we have the same symptoms.

I went to a funeral yesterday and man did i loose the plot if it wasnt for my rescue remedy i think i would have been down the hole as well, all i could think of through the service was me collapsing and dying in front of everyone but once i got the actual service over i was a lot better so i had a few drinks(wrong thing to do) now today ive got a monster hangover im all shaky and of course im about to have a heart attack.
What makes it worse i cant stomach anything to eat so thats making me shaky.
you are not alone

love madsxxx

why dont sheep shrink in the rain?

jackie

31-01-06, 11:59

bad chip

you sound exactly like me. i hope you get some relief from this forum
as i have done. any advice feel free to pm me as you are not alone not by a long shot

i feel so sorry for you about your friends death but this is a very rare event and im sure you have been well checked for irregularities

please stay as hopeful as possible that is the key

all the best

jackie

Trev

31-01-06, 12:37

Hi, I have had the same thoughts as you and I know how horrible it is to live that way. The fun goes from everything and you become so obsessed and a shell of your former self.

I can relate to the problem you have with spinning out if people say things jokingly about heart attack in conversation. I used to totally spin out and have hours of dizziness, break into a massive sweat, get a tightness around my throat, chest pains etc.

Have you asked for or been offered CBT by your GP?

The media is a very distorting window at times. They want stories to be as big and as gruesome and as shocking as they can make them. They want to sell papers and magazines and so they have a need to shock as much as possible in most cases.

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend. Because it happened to her it doesn't mean it will happen to you. She may have had a genetic defect that caused it to happen. You have been tested and have been found to be fit a well. It's really helpful to your recovery if you can make a leap of faith and trust the tests. I know how hard this can be but TRY, even if it feels like pretending at first. Gradually, it will become your new view.

Anyway, I've probably rabitted enough. I have a tendency to go on a bit I think!!!!

Cheers,
Trev :D

Ma Larkin

31-01-06, 13:58

Hi Badchip, I feel like i'm having a heart attack every day at some point. I've had my share of stress, more than most people & I did at one point take some tablets, which cause cardiac arrest so thats why I convince myself i'm going to have a heart attack because I damaged my heart. I went to see a CBT counsellor who decided that I didn't need that particular type of counselling but she did say to me "If you'd damaged your heart when you took the tablets Les, you'd be dead by now!" This was 12 months ago now, i'm still here & trying to think positive, but its so hard when you have something in your mind & you can't get it out. There are many of us on this site who all have these feelings, we are probably 100% fit. When people die of heart related problems at a young age there is always a reason for it. They may have been perfectly healthy & never had any reason to go to their GP or hospital for any tests, but the majority of us on this site have been tested, had ECG's x-rays, blood tests, etc., and we have all been told we are healthy. Sometimes I wonder if we suffer more than people who have actually had heart attacks! It certainly seems that way to me at times. I hope you feel reassured by the advice people have given on this site, if one thing, at least we know we're not on our own. Take care, Les, xx

Meg

31-01-06, 19:41

This are extremely normal fears

Dull ache (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3044)
chest pains (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3487)
Are these heart symptoms? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4805)
Chest Pains (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4462)
what does your chest pain feel like? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5309)
Chest pains for weeks and ectopics (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5856)
Chest pains (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5886)
Nervous (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6498)
struggling... (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6901)
chest tightness (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6972)
Chest Pains?! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7314)

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

Badchip

01-02-06, 01:26

Hey everyone, cant thank you enough i feel very reasured in knowing im not the only one, because sometimes ive just felt so alien and cant fully understand what is going on in my head, how i simply cant control it. We are all just victims of our surroundings in this day and age but we can all help each other out. But at the moment more then ever i cant seem to escape 'heart attacks' a guy down my road had one though he was a very ripe old age. I went to the gym tonight to try and relax myself and have some control and they had casuality on a tv screen and some guy colapsing. Just my damn luck!

I just feel though im wasting precious time worrying about something i cannot seem to stop worrying about. At 19 i am disabled almost and i feel like a useless human being. I want to just get on with everyday life oblivious to my morbid thoughts. I really cannot wait for the day that they go... i know it can be, we have all had times in our lives when we havnt been worried about this we were not BORN with this worry so no way does it have to stay with us forever! We can change it and we will very much appreciate being at ease more then anyone else ever does who has not suffered like us.. so we definately deserve so very much to find our way out of our nasty train of thoughts!

Never say never, opps said it twice..

nickd777

05-05-08, 22:10

I have been having the same sort of worry recently. I have had chest pains and they're really starting to get to me. I have had a cholestrol test and an ECG test, and both have come back fine, but im still not sure.

jmck

05-07-08, 13:16

Hi All

I am new here! I have suffered from anxiety/panic attacks for 3 years now. All focused on heart attacks. I dont smoke, dont drink, have no history, normal blood pressure, normal cholestrol, walk regularly but am overweight.
I had 12 months of counselling and felt like I could take on the world but now 6 months on feel the old ways creeping back. I worry that I am going to drop dead with a heart attack. I have sore arms, sweat, heavy chest. I am always checking my pulse and also looking at my lips to see if they are turning blue!!!! The more tired I am the worse I feel.
My GP has put my on anti depressants to help with the anxiety and now beta blockers to calm me down and also for my peace of mind to slow my heart down.
I just want to feel better, I have so much to live for and am sick of popping pills and just getting through.
Have councelling ever helped anyone?

I plan to visit a whole lot more to keep my sanity

Jan

Cathy V

05-07-08, 13:53

Hi jan, welcome to nmp. You might be better posting in the introduction section as youve tagged onto an old post from 2006 that has been added to by another new member. This brings an old post back up to date but you might be overlooked on this one. so making your introduction as a new thread of your own might get more replies.

You'll get lots of support for your health worries anyway, and you're not alone with this heart phobia, as alot of us here have it...myself included, and have had it off and on since i was 22, and im 54 now, so we'll prob try and persuade you not to go down the same road! you are very young to be worrying about this believe me, and unless you were born with heart defects (which will show up on any tests) you are not going to die from a heart attack, so try not to focus too much on it. You sound like a healthy young person, so enjoy your youth while you can :D

Best wishes and keep posting...you're not alone.
Cathy xxx

MartaBarcelona

08-07-08, 00:07

Hi everybody!

I am Marta, 31 years old from Barcelona, Spain. I am new in here and it really makes me feel better knowing there are so many people with my same problem. I have been obsessed with my heart for a long time now. I have the feeling that it is a very weak organ and can fail at any moment and that idea follows me everywhere and every moment of my daily life. That has produced a considerable amount of panic attacks throuout the last 8 years (two of them ended up at a hospital). Even when I have a simple belly ache (like I need to go to the toilette :)) I associate it with a situation of danger, makes my heart go faster and that triggers a panic attack. I know how to control myself to a certain extent, but not totally. When I have a strong one, I take a pill called (0,25 or 0,50 mg) Trankimazin (in Spain is commercialized by Pfizer, and is nothing more than Alprazolam). I want you to know that you are not alone and that the problem, as you see, is international :D. Let's be realistic, if having a heart attack were that easy, we would see people dropping dead on the streets all the time. And that doesn't happen. A message of hope for all of you, you are all healthy and nothing will happen to you. Most people who have had a real heart attack aren't as worried as we are, never having actually had one. I apologize if my English is not perfect. A hug to all of you,
Marta

MM_II

12-09-08, 01:10

I too have these episodes all the time. I was reading one of my movie star death books. I mean so many was heart attack and I started freaking out and I couldn't sleep. Then I started looking at who had my birthday and both had heart attacks and I like lost it. But I took a second and thought it was people who were famous in the 50's who probably didn't watch there health. I too hear the word heart or attack and it freaks me out. Then I watch those 911 shows and sudden death shows ohh man it freaks me out. I change the channel. I have to think though i got checked out everything is ok I have a phone just in case an emergency happens and people are around me. And I find myself the best when I am kept busy. It is rare for someone just to drop dead especially when you have checkups at the doctor. I am still not over this but reading everyone stories helped ease me a bit.

morganbird

22-12-08, 23:08

Hi evryone! I feel exactly the same as you all do! Everyday I wonder if I am gonna have teh attack today even though I have had an Ecg it really is soul destroying and very depressin! I am now on fluexotine and diazepam when the attack gets real bad! I am off to see a hypnotherapist tomorrow so I will let you know how I get on! I am just so pleased I came across this site when I did because it really has made me feel better about myself and reding how everyone feels I a not alone!
Keep smiling everone and be strong
Take Care
Stacey xxx

crjw71

24-11-09, 15:22

hi All

thank god for this site , thought it was just me . am sick of convincing myself i am going to die from a heart attack, im am 38 and a big guy so i naturally think overweight = heart attack, i am terrified at the slightest twing in my chest and the more i think about it the tenser it get the more i think " her it comes " and the more i think it the more i tense up, i look up the symptoms of attacks all the time but all the time i tell myself its all psycho symatic but still i can stop. The worse part is i cannot bring myself to go to the GP to get ECG cause in my head i know its not a heart attack and would feel totally embarressed going their also being overweight the last thing i need is to feel more insecure, get to a point sometimes where i tell myself "ok if it is gonna be a heart attack then just F'ing do it " cause cant imagine it could be much worse at times.

looking4answers

25-11-09, 04:36

At 19 you have much better things to worry about. When I was 20 I had a panic attack and was in the ER and different medical personnel would walk by me and say ,What are you hear for . I said possible heart attack.. They would start laughing at me.. They thought it was funny.. at 20.????????? They said thats almost a physical impossibility . Now at 55 where are they when you need them laughing.. Don't worry.. I know lots of people have had them at younger and older age..Its not probable that you will have one unless you lead a very unhealthy lifestyle, abuse yourself with drugs, or have other factors.. Yes death at early ages happens from illness but so does car accidents, plane crashes, train crashes, terrorist and etc.. The least of your worries should be heart attack. You will be fine.. Take care.. Michael

Panickypants

25-11-09, 10:33

Hi there i am exactly the same i lost m uncle pretty young to a heart attack and it's scared the life out of me, i also have a heart complaint and have my heart checked every year and told all is fine but i'm convinced otherwise, it is reasurring tho to know we are not alone in these silly thoughts x

looking4answers

26-11-09, 01:26

Yeah I just mentioned to someone new on here age 20..that was wondering if he had a heart condition..Im 55 and had over the last 35 years almost every test known to man .. and they all came out good. So many doctors and cardiologist and I still worry.. I guess they are silly thoughts.. Thanks... for your comments..

feasible

31-07-10, 00:42

wow this is me.. im obsessed that im gonna have a heart attack and its ruining my life,i rarely excercise because im afraid ill have a heart attack by doing so..so as soon as i do anything that causes my heart rate to go up i panic and have to stop.i get a pain in my right or left ribs thats like someones hit me with a bat or something and its a heart attack.. ive been told its anxiety but its so painful and the panic i get when that pain hits makes me a whole lot worse...i know this post doesent answer any questions but i just want to say im glad i found this place.... thank you and im glad im not the only one who has this but i am also sorry that you guys have it too if that makes sense

PokerFace

31-07-10, 01:49

I feel like this too! I'm 20 and 22 weeks ago I had a muscle spasm in my chest which made me think I was having a heart attack. This has lead to 22 weeks and counting of health anxiety, panic attacks and contstant worry about my heart! I'm constantly aware of my pulse and chest sensations to the point where I can hardly think of anything else. I get horrible palpitations and central chest pains that make it pretty much impossible for me to carry out a normal life sometimes. I've had ECGs and everyones told me everythings fine, I keep getting good days/weeks latley but I can't ignore the pain I get in my chest and it just sets me back off into my little cycle. I even panic when I get heart burn.

I also panic and worry when people say "oh nearly had a heart attack" when they get scared and stuff. It drives me mad! Also I feel that if I reassure myself that "I'm not having a heart attack" I'll be testing fate and drop dead of a massive heart attack there and then. Oh and whenever I read something/see something on the news about someone dying of a heart attack, heart condition etc, I feel that it's an omen for me. Sounds crazy I know but that's really the way I think nowadays

I can't really offer advice here cuz I'm in exactly the same boat, and I'm trying to figure it out myself:). xxx

feasible

31-07-10, 13:10

i found something that bought me comfort,,, if this helps anyone then im pleased .. if posting links is not allowed then im sorry im new here but this isnt a spam link or anything just a perspective i found on my anxiey

http://www.anxietynetwork.com/pdfear.html

always_nervous

21-10-10, 14:36

I hope that someone can help me and reassure me that I am not about to die from a heart attack or some other obscure disease that I have convinced myself that I must be having. I worry all the time about one thing or another and I don't think I can take it anymore. I am on Zoloft 100 mg, but I think I may have to go up.
I have costochondritis, which is inflammation in the chest walls, and when I pick up heavy things (I run a daycare) it will flare up, and I'm sure that I am about to fall out dead from a heart attack. I have a husband, 2 kids, 9 employees, and 52 children that depend on me daily..HELP!?!?!?!?!?

bobwilliam

21-10-10, 19:39

In fact, cardiac gives better measurement about the heart attack in different conditions. Heart attack or myocardial infarction, results from insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle. Received from the surface of the heart coronary arteries of heart blood supply. When these arteries can not provide enough blood in the heart of the supply in the territory of the cells will die.

Jamie341

15-12-14, 00:49

I dont know if anyone can help me but im sick and tired of constantly thinking im going to/or i am having a heart attack. Im 19, female, been checked, totally fit and healthy.

I just fear it so much that is the problem and my friend died of a heart attack at 17 and that has messed me up, also having a panic attack when i was 15 and they treated it like i was having a heart attack. Ive read so much crap in newspapers i can recall everything i have ever read about heart attacks in the paper or heard about. If someone even says 'you'll give yourself a heart attack/nearly had a heart attack' usen lightly i go into fits of panic. Its just gotten so bad now i cant do anything, i exercise but its so forced because im worried i might give myself a heart attack. Trouble is though it all boils down to a fear of death, but i would never fear anything like cancer because its drawn out... but a heart attack is so sudden and beyond control it just freaks me out but i have to stop it and just get on with life but right now im finding it hard to take my mind off it. Its made me go very vague and totally recluced but also my feelings of 'numbness' could be the anti depressants im on at the moment but ive been on them just over a week. 20mg of citalopram... but i wish i new how to concur this fear ive had for such a long time when i think about it but only right now is it pretty much stopping me leaving the house..

Never say never, opps said it twice..

Hi your not on your own I think of it every day it's drive ing me mad i am 44 so all that you said is just like me you don't like to tell your mate they think your mad ur silly but it ruining my life to so chin up Hun your not alone Jamie x

---------- Post added at 00:46 ---------- Previous post was at 00:31 ----------

:)I
Hi, I have had the same thoughts as you and I know how horrible it is to live that way. The fun goes from everything and you become so obsessed and a shell of your former self.

I can relate to the problem you have with spinning out if people say things jokingly about heart attack in conversation. I used to totally spin out and have hours of dizziness, break into a massive sweat, get a tightness around my throat, chest pains etc.

Have you asked for or been offered CBT by your GP?

The media is a very distorting window at times. They want stories to be as big and as gruesome and as shocking as they can make them. want to sell papers and magazines and so they have a need to shock as much as possible in most cases.

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend. Because it happened to her it doesn't mean it will happen to you. She may have had a genetic defect that caused it to happen. You have been tested and have been found to be fit a well. It's really helpful to your recovery if you can make a leap of faith and trust the tests. I know how hard this can be but TRY, even if it feels like pretending at first. Gradually, it will become your new view.

Anyway, I've probably rabitted enough. I have a tendency to go on a bit I think!!!!

Cheers,
Trev :D

---------- Post added at 00:49 ---------- Previous post was at 00:46 ----------

You said a lot of good there trev this is how I feel at the mow it crap I hate it driving me mad how r you now

Panicking dave

04-10-15, 09:00

This has been me for the last week. I have went to accident and emergence twice only to be told I am fine and just having a panic attack but I swear I can feel my heart skipping beats and just generally struggling witch is causing the panic attacks. I have had 7 hours sleep in that week and can think of nothing else but my heart.

I'm absolutely terrified that I'm going to die and know my parents just think I'm being crazy because the doctor said there is nothing wrong.Please can someone help me?!

I apologise for bad spelling and/or grammar and I understand this thread is very old I just need some advice / reassurance. Thanks

Wanderlust

04-10-15, 21:51

Just reading through this thread, it is a very personal subject to me too so thank you for posting :)

I began my cardiac worry around 15 years ago at the age of 19/20 when I had what was probably a very intense panic attack (my first one in memory) which came with quite intense chest spasms, I was terrified and for years absolutely certain that there was something wrong with my heart, needless to say years on I am writing this.... Health anxiety has been a key control of my life since that day, I have lost track of how many times I have had a life threatening 'illness', and many times returned to the heart... where it all started I guess.

I guess what I am trying to say is, don't let this happen to you now, at the age that I was when this started for me, try to trust the doctors, medical tech is very good these days and it is very likely that your friend had a defect from birth, I am sorry for your loss, I wish bad things didn't happen to good people :(

All the things you say about reacting to people talking about the subject or, for me at least, any imagery or tv programs always set me off into panic, it isn't so bad these days, I can even take my own pulse and blood pressure now which I couldn't do for a decade. Part of the process for me was three fold,
1) Take CBT if you have it offered, thoughts and behaviours are absolutely the key factors to this, and stick with it, it helps even if it doesnt seem to at first.
2) If you feel you have no control, don't be scared to accept medication from your doctor, they work, sometimes it takes a while to find one that's right for you, it sucks relying on medication as a solution but its better than the alternative, I turned it down for over 7 years, I regret that.
3) Keep occupied to limit worry, and any time you feel strong enough mentally to challenge yourself, do so, such as taking exercise (I know what you mean, I avoid it too when I feel fragile). Because if you start avoiding things for a long enough time then it gets harder and harder to start to do them again.

Hope things improve for you soon :)