heart attack from irregular heart

li have this terrible fear of having a heart attack its ruining my life.i just cant understand how this wont happen when my heart goes so wonkyi constantly worry about it ,i get horrid ectopics and flutters ,i get these horrid beats where my heart goes fast for a few seconds then misses a few beats then fast again then misses again then back to normal ,it goes completly irregular ,also i notice i seem to get a lot of palpitations at night wnen waking or falling asleep,on a couple of occasions i have woken with my heart racing so fast that ive had to go to hospital its not as if i woke with a fright or anything,had ecgs they say my heart is racing but it panic,then it calms down,but its the irregular beats that frighten me more as im sure one day it wont go back to normal and im sick of living in fear can anyone put my mind at rest im only in my thirties many thanks molly

Hi Molly, I know what you mean I suffer from the same, I have seen the GP a fair few times and been to hospitals for ECG, and they said that the heart rate is fast but its anxiety ( panic ), please belive me when I say its anxiety I know how hard it is to belive but you have had all the test and they comfirm it. The way to get through this is to understand that it is anxiety and when the heart rate picks up keep telling yourself there is nothing wrong with me over and over again it sounds silly but each time one of these panic like attacks happen they slowly get easier to deal with - this is something that I have been trying the last 3 months and they have been getting alot better.

If you would like to talk my email is:

pinediane@yahoo.co.uk

Take Care Honey, positive thinking and stay strong and you WILL get through this. xxxxxxx

hi molly

i to get ectopics ,fltters fast heart beats ect.
i have had them for years now and they still scare me i have had all the tests ect all came back ok .
i know there is a few things that the doc sead to try for them one was when they are real bad put your hands in ice wated and slash your face ....i have dont this at times it has worked for me but not all the time .she also told me to take somthing for heart bre as this makes ectopics ten times worse i do know that is the way for me ,i dont have big meals now cos i get ectopics after eating do you?......i try get plenty of sleep to as when i am tired they happen more .
as for thinking you are going to have a heart attack i sead the same thing to my doc and she sead that you have a normal beating heart and the odd beats ok nothing to be scared of .
i know is seems hard to belive but for me anyway i think a lot of it is your state of miind that week when i had been to my docs i felt better and you know i didnt have ectopics for that week as soon as i started to not belive what she told me bam them were back agane!!
i hope this a help
jodie xx

I have had exactly the symptoms you mention for many years - I'm 51 and still alive, have never had a heart attack, have a healthy heart and excellent blood pressure. :)

Your heart is a muscle and VERY strong. Fast beats won't harm it at all; think how fast an athletes heart beats! Irregular beats are caused by the chemical interference of adrenalin (which is what gets into your bloodstream when you're anxious) and won't do it any harm. In fact, your heart is almost certainly stronger than other hearts because it gets lots of extra exercise.

When it seems to miss a beat, it is only because it is waiting a moment to get back into its normal beat, after a few quick beats.

If your heart seems to be beating funny, often coughing will get it back to normal. Try it, it works!!

A heart attack isn't felt in the heart, but is felt as pain in the jaw or shoulder.

The funny beats are caused by anxiety, and exercise will help to calm them.

hugs
Polly xxx

hello
I am 38 and suffer the same symptoms and worries as you and it is making me feel ill. I am sorry you feel like this because it is horrible. so far so good with all the tests Ihave had, but there doesn't seem to be a magic pill for this one. I hope you feel better soon and get the reassurance you need. there seem to be plenty of people who feel the same symptoms and they're all fine>
Best wishes
x

HI Folks,

I'm suffering from the same. Scary, scary. :sad: . I've been given the all clear by the cardiologist. My Mum, sister and Gran (who died at 98) all had these.

The only way I can describe it to people who don't suffer is that on a logical level you know they're not going to kill you - but they give a really good impression that they might.

I find they get worse when I'm under a lot of stress, after a viral infeciton (I'm recovering from flu at the moment and not feeling good) and before my period (due at the moment).

The great thing about this site is, I don't feel so isolated any more. I find it very difficult to talk to others about it. There is so much stigma attached to mental health. It is much easier to say "I have a migraine" than "I'm having a panic attack".

I totally understand how you feel. It is so scary however it will not kill you. Hang in there.

Michelle

thank you for all your replies take care molly

I have exactly how you describe them and used to worry about them minorly years ago when I was lying on my chest in bed. It's normal.

Same here feels like your going to have a heart attack, its awful i try to do breathing exercises to ease it, still working on them.
philxx