Heart stops and I can't breathe

[punkprincess19]

Hi everyone,

For a while now I've been getting this "winded" feeling that lasts a couple seconds. It happened yesterday morning and I found out why! My heart stopped!! I had woke up with strange chest pains and feeling unwell, I got up to go to the bathroom and could feel my heart pounding. I put my hand to my chest and could feel it really pounding and then it just stopped, for about 2/3 seconds and in that time I couldn't physically breathe! Then my heart started again with a thud! I ended up calling NHS Direct who sent an ambulance for me and I was taking to hospital. At the hospital they did 1 ECG and sent me home. I was still really frightened and wasnt even told what might have caused it!

Later on I was at my Mom's with my puppy and I'd been playing with my puppy in the garden, chasing her around. I came inside, feeling out if breath and sat on the sofa. I could feel my heart pounding away so again, I put my hand to my chest. 3 times I felt it stop and I couldn't breathe. Everytime it happened it felt as though I was drowning and then suddenly my heart would thud and start beating again and I can breathe again.

What is happening? I'm so so scared! Can anyone please help! I've had this problems for months now but only just found out that it was because my heart has been stopping. It's been getting worse since it first started and I'm worried that one day my heart will stop for good! Please help!

[londonchris]

Hey,

Your heart isn't stopping, it sounds like a ventricular ectopic beat to me. I suffer these all the time and they feel horrible but are in fact completely harmless :) It's caused by excess adrenaline and anxiety all mixed together. It doesn't harm your heart and it doesn't stop.

The majority of people suffer these but most simply don't notice. It's only because you are in tune with your feelings that you notice when they happen and that exacerbates it too.

Read up on here about ectopic beats/thuds. They are harmless :)

[punkprincess19]

Hey,

Your heart isn't stopping, it sounds like a ventricular ectopic beat to me. I suffer these all the time and they feel horrible but are in fact completely harmless :) It's caused by excess adrenaline and anxiety all mixed together. It doesn't harm your heart and it doesn't stop.

The majority of people suffer these but most simply don't notice. It's only because you are in tune with your feelings that you notice when they happen and that exacerbates it too.

Read up on here about ectopic beats/thuds. They are harmless :)

Hi, thanks for the reply.

So is it normal to have these eptopic beats and not be able to breathe because of them?

[ronski]

You are going through the mill with your heart issues. What you are experiencing certainly sound like atrial or ventricular arrhythmias otherwise known as ectopics.
Your experience with the NHS is very typical, one ECG tracing, a quick listen with a stethoscope and a very quick discharge. That is the mistake!
What should happen is an ECG , a listen with a stethoscope and then more importantly a proper explanation what is happening and what symptoms you should expect. With this your anxiety would drop so eventually job done and your ectopics will get less due to less circulating stress hormones.
Just a word of warning though an ECG does not cover all bases by any means so if you still suffer ongoing problems then just go back and be re evaluated as in my view you were distracted chasing the puppy so why then suddenly feel out of breath with a pounding heart unless of course you are really unfit.
These ectopics do not originate at all from the heart, they are caused by abberant signals sent by stimulation of the vagus nerve, so probably the reason is bowel distension or some other digestive stimulus. They will never harm or stop your heart so try and stop worrying. Remember the old adage
What we Resist PERSISTS
I hope this helps

[punkprincess19]

You are going through the mill with your heart issues. What you are experiencing certainly sound like atrial or ventricular arrhythmias otherwise known as ectopics.
Your experience with the NHS is very typical, one ECG tracing, a quick listen with a stethoscope and a very quick discharge. That is the mistake!
What should happen is an ECG , a listen with a stethoscope and then more importantly a proper explanation what is happening and what symptoms you should expect. With this your anxiety would drop so eventually job done and your ectopics will get less due to less circulating stress hormones.
Just a word of warning though an ECG does not cover all bases by any means so if you still suffer ongoing problems then just go back and be re evaluated as in my view you were distracted chasing the puppy so why then suddenly feel out of breath with a pounding heart unless of course you are really unfit.
These ectopics do not originate at all from the heart, they are caused by abberant signals sent by stimulation of the vagus nerve, so probably the reason is bowel distension or some other digestive stimulus. They will never harm or stop your heart so try and stop worrying. Remember the old adage
What we Resist PERSISTS
I hope this helps

Hi, thank you for your reply.

It's the not being able to breathe that scares me the most because I feel like I'm suffocating. Is it normal to get this feeling with ectopics?

I can honestly say that I didn't feel anxious or panicky in any way after chasing the dog, I just sat down getting my breath back, watching tv. I not the fittest of people but I wouldn't say I was so unfit that it would cause heart and breathing problems. I'm 23 years old, female, 5'8" and only 8st 9lb. I have a puppy so walk with her and also have a 6 year old sister and 4 year old nephew who I'm constantly playing with and running round after so it's not like I'm lazy and really unfit!

My doctor has been sort of helpful but I feel like they just put everything down to anxiety without investigating further. I did have a 24 hour holter ECG in December but whilst I was wearing it I didn't have any of these problems, just a bit of a pounding heart.

I'm so scared that it's a heart problem and nothing will be done about it until it's too late! I get a heavy feeling in my chest on the left as well ad sharp pains and a cold feeling!

I just wish I knew what was causing it and how to prevent it happening again!

[ronski]

Yes you are right that doctors do tend to put everything down to anxiety especially after being diagnosed with the behavioural condition.
Ectopics can give you dizziness, shortness of breath, pain and a whole host of other symptoms but they tend to be very short lived around a couple of secs at the most usually. I have experienced shortness of breath and sometimes a pain associated with mine but if my anxiety is low I hardly feel them. Also what part of the cycle your heart is in at the time relates to the symptom strength.
Obviously the way forward for you is to get some answers from tests that can answer your questions. If it was me I would ask my doctor to refer me for a echo cardiogram, holter monitor for a week or an event monitor and a consultation with a cardiologist. Then if everything is ok then you just have to trust the results and stop worrying.

[punkprincess19]

Yes you are right that doctors do tend to put everything down to anxiety especially after being diagnosed with the behavioural condition.
Ectopics can give you dizziness, shortness of breath, pain and a whole host of other symptoms but they tend to be very short lived around a couple of secs at the most usually. I have experienced shortness of breath and sometimes a pain associated with mine but if my anxiety is low I hardly feel them. Also what part of the cycle your heart is in at the time relates to the symptom strength.
Obviously the way forward for you is to get some answers from tests that can answer your questions. If it was me I would ask my doctor to refer me for a echo cardiogram, holter monitor for a week or an event monitor and a consultation with a cardiologist. Then if everything is ok then you just have to trust the results and stop worrying.

I think I'm going to have to request further investigations, I just can't go on like this. It happened again last night but the worst it's ever been. I was just falling to sleep and I suddenly got this cold feeling radiate from the left of my chest outwards and then I felt like I was suffocating, I just couldn't breathe at all. I jolted up in bed and was about to wake up my partner when I finally caught my breath. It scared the crap out of me and I ended up lay awake for an hour and a half scared that it will happen again but that next time I might not ever get my breath again. I just don't know what to do. If I go to hospital they'll just send me home. I can't see my doctor until Tuesday now but I'm meant to be going on holiday on Monday down south with my partner and his family. I dont want to go because I'm feeling like this and I just know I'll be even more anxious because they don't know about my anxiety. I'm so scared that I'm going to drop dead at any moment and I'm not ready to die yet!

I wish I knew what was wrong!

[Ella_Jayne]

This definitely sounds like PVC's. When I had them first, I thought my heart had stopped too and rang for an ambulance too. They're scary but harmless. I still get them quite a bit but knowing that they're harmless makes it easier to deal with. You'll be fine. :)

[punkprincess19]

This definitely sounds like PVC's. When I had them first, I thought my heart had stopped too and rang for an ambulance too. They're scary but harmless. I still get them quite a bit but knowing that they're harmless makes it easier to deal with. You'll be fine. :)

When you get them does it stop you from breathing?

[londonchris]

They only last a couple of seconds, so the thought that you can't breathe is just the shock of the symptom. Of course, because you're looking out for it and dreading it, when it happens you panic. That overwhelming sense of fear stops your breathing because you're shocked. In the same way that if you were on a theme park ride and went over the crest and plunged down, you'd stop breathing because of the shock. Same kind of process :)

Ask your doc if you can have a 24 hour holter test - it's really easy you just have these pads on your chest and a little recorder in your pocket. Every time you feel one you press a button and write it down.

Then when the cardio looks at it it is very easy for them to determine what it is. Once they've told you it's benign (which I'm convinced they will :)) you just have to accept their diagnosis and try to ignore them. They do get better if you accept them and as the previous poster said, I hardly feel them now.

The majority of people get these but because we're so on edge, they feel awful. I understand how you're feeling, I went through the same thing a couple of years ago. But trust me, the more you worry about it the worse they get.

[ronski]

I really do feel for you as I know what it's like to be scared stiff of what is happening to you and yet know the doctors and ambulance crews will dismiss you as hysterical.
The doctors have this saying and I know it well because I worked in the NHS in a clinical capacity for over 33 years. They always say common things happen commonly, so a previous diagnosis of anxiety will say to them that more than likely this is again the cause. A hypersensitive nervous system releasing adrenaline so giving you these very unpleasant ectopics. There are generally two types of ectopics Atrial and Ventricular, atrial ones are more common and have less prominent symptoms and sensations. Ventricular ones are less common but when they occur can cause significant distress albeit very short lived. I believe what you have to do is explain to your doctor that innocent or not, these ectopics are driving your anxiety and that you need proper evidence through appropriate tests and a consultation with a heart specialist to explain things properly so putting your mind at rest.
My advice until Tuesday is to just try and put the symptoms into context and try and accept them, what you may find is that they may drop in intensity as if your nervous system is less sensitised then your symptom and sensation levels will be less.
Also let me say that you have had these unpleasant ectopics for quite a time now and if they were harmful you would have known by now as the heart is an organ that has to work efficiently or you would have many more symptoms to complain about.
But I do understand your anxiety, I was the same but in the cold of light of day it all makes sense, high adrenaline equals sensitised nervous system, heightened nervous system equals tension throughout the body affecting many systems including endocrine, digestive, immune etc. Vagus nerve stimulation is part of the parasympathetic nervous system so the palpitations. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation usually means faster heart rates but funnily enough less palpitations. Slower heart beats tend to predispose us to more ectopics.

[punkprincess19]

Thank you all for replying, you've made me feel much better and I'm doing my best to tell myself it's only ectopics when it happens. I am going to talk to my doctor about it though as soon as I can and see if I can be referred to a cardiologist.

Tonight though, I have started with really bad dizziness... I don't know what's going on. I feel like I'm bring pulled to the left and feel like I'm moving when I'm sat still. I also have a tingly feeling in the bridge of my nose (like it's gone numb). I feel really fuzzy and odd. Anyone know what this might be?

Thanks x

[punkprincess19]

I've had another awful night keep waking up with strange feelings in left of chest and feeling like my heart isn't beating and I can't breathe. I'm meant to be going on holiday with my partner and his family today and I've had to tell them I can't go. I can't go like this. I'm a mess!

I cant carry on like this, I'm so scared that there's something wrong with my heart! I don't know what to do! please help!

[londonchris]

Hi there,

Dizziness is classic anxiety, especially with your ectopics, as this is what you think happens with a heart problem and so this is what your body dupes you into thinking.

You need to get an echo and a 24 hour holter monitor done to reassure yourself, and once that's done, you need to accept it as true. Cardiologists take their job very seriously for obvious reasons and if there was a problem or if your GP had any doubt whatsoever, you would have been referred.

I've been through what you're going through. I was a complete mess, quit work, stayed in bed all day in bits, went to A&E more times than I can remember. Every time, as soon as I got to A&E they stopped!! Funny that isn't it?!

The doctor was constantly reassuring me but I didnt believe him and by the time I asked for a 24 hour tape done I was a walking nervous breakdown. The results came back: "benign ventricular ectopic beats".

I'd been worrying about nothing all along, and my constant worry has caused me to have anxiety problems to this day. To this day I also get the ectopics, but they dont bother me anymore and so I have them far less than I used to, and hardly notice to be honest.

[punkprincess19]

Well I've just got back from the hospital where I've been all day. Had an ECG done (all fine) and bloods taken. Was told that it's probably anxiety causing it all but to ask my doctor to be referred to a Palpataions Clinic and get an Exercise Toletance Test done. I was also told that I have an irregular pulse... eek!

I came home and said to myself "stop worrying, you've been checked over"... well... I've only been home 5 mins and the dog escapes, I chase her, catch her and bring her back home but I'm breathless from running after her and really annoyed that I had to chase her yet again... then the thumping of my heart starts and I get the winded feeling and I'm now sat here anxious again!! I can't cope! It's driving me crazy! I've decided that if I don't die of an undiagnosed heart problem then I'm probably going to die of a heart attack from the anxiety and stress of worrying about dieing from an undiagnosed heart problem..!

My mom is getting fed up with me and my partner is on holiday now with his family do I'm anxious, feeling all these symptoms, depressed and lonely! :(

[ronski]

Punk princess, just sit down and think, would the hospital have sent you home if you were at any risk. You know the answer is no. An irregular pulse is normal with anxiety as probably you are getting atrial ectopics you cannot feel. The rhythm that gives you an irregular pulse that they would be looking for on an ECG is atrial Fibrillation as that has a high risk of associated stroke. That would be seen on an ECG so obviously you have not got that. Your blood work is ok so no probs there as that would show if your heart is under stress.
You have baro receptors in your carotid arteries that monitor blood pressure and cardiac output, it is these baro receptors that may be telling your heart to give more cardiac output so the thumping heart
Another thing you have to get your head around is that a stressed nervous system just does not get instantly better, it can take up to 90 days. So your symptoms will get better over time but not instantly so expect similar symptoms for a few weeks but hopefully with less stress you will notice a decline in symptoms and sensations.
Go for the exercise tolerance stress test as that shows how your heart copes under stress, ask for an echo which checks the structural condition of your heart and get a holter monitor for a week. All that with a cardiologist gives you the gold standard without invasive tests. The angiogram is the invasive test but you have to be very careful in the medical field that the tests that you go through do not cause you harm. With an angiogram there is always risks so only have that as a last straw.
Take care and just remember Dr Claire Weekes advice on facing anxiety, face, accept, float through and above all let time pass.

[onlysmee]

Hi, just wanted to say that I really empathise with how you're feeling. This happened to me a couple of years ago; I was just sitting down feeding my baby and felt my heart stop beating. I got dizzy very quickly, breathless, and after what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, it started again. I was convinced I had a heart problem and would fall victim to an arrythmia or sudden death. It happened several more times, and I began to feel increasingly unwell - dizzy, weak, feelings of unreality, pins and needles etc. Finally I went to my GP, who thought she heard a heart murmur and said I might have a leaky heart valve. I started planning my funeral.

She sent me to an excellent cardiologist, who did an exercise stress test, an ultrasound on my heart, and I wore a heart monitor for a week. Everything was completely normal. Even then though I wasn't completely reassured; I read about people whose heart problems didn't show up on any screening and then dropped dead. It took CBT to stop me feeling that way. My counseller explained the physical effects my anxiety was having on me, that these were actually normal variations in the heart rhythm which my anxiety was amplifying, and she was right. As soon as I started riding through the symptoms, they lessened. As I let go of the fear and accepted that the chances of it being a real heart problem were vanishingly slight, they stopped. Anything with caffeine in gives me palpitations, which compounds my fears, so I cut out coffee, chocolate etc and I have had no "heart" symptoms for over a year now; if I had genuinely had a heart problem, there is no way that would be the case.

It seemed impossible to me that something so terrifying and so real could not be a serious problem, but it was true for me. I really hope this helps a bit. (On the downside, I am now convinced that my back pain and leg numbness is a sign either of a tumour or serious infection... but I'm working on that too!! One day at a time and lots of being nice to yourself; no-one would choose to live this way and it doesn't help when people are impatient with you!)

[Kaato]

I can relate to this, you're in a fear-adrenaline loop, I'm easing out of one now.

I went and played football yesterday and really tired myself out, pushed myself to the limit and that sent me into panic when I got home, I felt crap all day & night and I feel horrible now, heart related health anxiety is pretty hard to cope with, you're not alone.

I think it's safe to say you are physically healthy, like me you just have an extremely sensitized nervous system, the only way to desensitize it is to expose yourself gradually to the thing that is causing the fear.

In our cases it's physically exersion, and putting our heart under more stress then we find comfortable.

Also I believe your extopics were caused by you worrying subconciously about going on holiday, Agoraphobia and anxiety go hand in hand, you could have been experiencing fear of leaving your comfort zone, because of your "heart problems", a cycle of fear and stress is created, it's very hard to break.

I find the best way to break these cycles is to really look after yourself, explain to anyone who relies on you for anything what you are going through, and tell them you need to take a few days off to sort yourself out, sleeping in I find is the best cure, falling asleep as always really hard with heart anxiety, but just sleep in until you feel nicely refreshed.

Once you start feeling a little better, expose yourself to very light exercise, DON'T do any high intensity stuff! (sprinting to chase the dog), obviously this isn't fatal, but if being really tired causes you to be out of breath again you might fall back into the loop (this happened to me yesterday, I jumped the gun and had to pay for it in panic).

Basically just try and build yourself up, obviously you can't control things like the dog running away, but just relax yourself as much as possible, eat good food, drink loads of water, and watch some comedies, laughter is the best medicine.

Sorry for the long post, hope you feel better, remember a LOT of people, including myself, are dealing with the same thing!

[punkprincess19]

Thank you all so much for your replies.

I had an awful day yesterday :( I'm seeing my doctor today and will be asking about all the things you have all mentioned! I know that the more I concentrate on my heart beat/pulse, the more anxious I am so I have tried my hardest to distract myself. The problem is I've also been feeling really dizzy too on and off for the past week and that sends my anxiety back through the roof as well as having chest pains and "odd" sensations. It's one hell of a viscous cycle and I wish I knew a way out of it.

I'm seeing a Chest Physiotherapist today who is going to help me with my breathing and then I'm seeing my CBT therapist on Tuesday. At the moment I feel that I am doing all I can to get better but I still have that niggling doubt that saying "but there MUST be something physically wrong, they've missed something".

My Mom wants me to start taking Propanolol but I'm too scared to take anything! Plus in a way, I feel like I should try and do this without any drugs as it will make me stronger in the long run (i did try anti-depressants last year but had awful side effects and stopped them).

Thank you again to all of you for replying! xxx

[ronski]

Taking drugs to give you a break is fine if you can tolerate them but just remember with anxiety all they are is a very good crutch. At some point you have to lower the nervous response yourself and that is no walk in the park. You have fallen down a deep well and it will take small steps and time to get back out of that well.
But you can do it and with your doctors advice you can start now. The first step is to trust that what your doctor tells you is fact, then trust your body, accept the symptoms and sensations for what they are and try to live again.
I know you can do it, best foot forward.

[Willbrand]

im having heart anxiety too for a few weeks now,been to a lot of test and all came back normal,was also diagnosed with anxiety,what are the odds of having the same things happening to us here and having normal results from doctors ? low right? so i guess in a way we should all a bit better about this and we are all just suffering because of anxiety :) its hard coping with this anxiety disorder and this site is making it easier.. hope that helps

[AshWolf]

For as long as I can remember I've had a problem like that. I would be doing whatever and then all the sudden my heart stops like it kinda cramps up and hurts. When it does this I can't breathe or move at all till it stops. I don't know what's wrong but I don't think a 17 year old should have this problem. XD

[punkprincess19]

Hi Ashwolf, I’ve only recently come back on to No More Panic and I had completely forgotten about this post or even that I had suffered with this feeling back in 2011. I’d started having this feeling at the beginning of this year and it’s been a rollercoaster of anxiety and fear and trips to the doctor ever since. All tests have come back fine (bloods, ECG, 24 halter monitor) and I’ve been told it’s all down to my anxiety being so high at the moment and to work on that.

I’ve just read this post and was kind of shocked that I’d forgotten that I’d had this feeling all those years ago, but, it’s also kind of reassured me in the way that I had those symptoms 7 years ago and I’m still here now. So, even though it’s a horrible symptom and the fear/anxiety that comes with it is horrible, it can’t be something too serious otherwise surely I wouldn’t still be here 7 years on from it first starting? My anxiety had got better for a while and the symptoms calmed right down. I don’t know why they’ve heightened again this year but it looks like all I can do is work on reducing my anxiety and hopefully the symptoms will also reduce.

Do you find you are often quite anxious? Have you been to the doctors about this symptom?


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[sunbun]

In currently experiencing this exact sensation :(

[SG1977]

I had these last summer and initially I was terrified... my heart was missing like 3 beats a minute followed by the thud as it catches up. I would get a light headed spin each time and after the episode calmed down which could be minutes or could be hours I was left feeling exhausted... possibly not a direct result but the adrenalin from the anxiety exiting my system.

This video explains wonderfully what they are... it put me at ease and hopefully will help you too.

Are ectopic heart beats dangerous? - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_a4yoasfsc)