Scared that adrenaline will make my heart stop working

[NervousJ]

Hello everyone, I am a new poster and have found comfort while reading the posts here. I’m currently struggling with a fear of adrenaline making my heart beat so fast that it simply decides to stop pumping. I know that this is highly unlikely since I’m only 18.

I am active in my school’s marching band and really feel my adrenaline begin to pump through my chest while I preform during parades and competitions. My heart beats so hard and fast that it’s very hard not to notice, even when concentrating on my music and marching. I fear that all the stress during performances will cause my heart to give up, but I have gotten through all the performances before without any issues other than anxiety.

I somehow think that my heart has a limit to what it can take but I have heard that people as young as me do not have to worry about that. I worry about it because I am a little above average weight and I just really get affected by those stories about athletes suddenly dying. Last parade, I was constantly fearing cardiac arrest and it caused me make some mistakes. Only, nothing went wrong with my heart and the only thing I took away from that experience was the anxiety. I have another one tomorrow and am scared that my fast heart rate will cause me to fear my heart stopping again. I desperately don’t want to worry about my heart and just have fun during performances again like I used to.

I could really use some words of comfort.

[Carys]

Adrenaline in your system won't make your heart stop working. Adrenaline is designed to make your heart pump more blood to the extremities, and provide more oxygen to allow fast running (amongst other rather clever things it does in the body)....so that we can flee from hungry lions and tigers. Medics also use adrenaline to get hearts working that have stopped working. Unfortunately anxiety and panic attacks mimic needing to run from lions and tigers.

I know it feels like its going everso fast, and I don't doubt your anxiety and adrenaline will cause a faster heart rate, but theres a maximum it will get to. If you were an old person, or had a history of heart conditions or other health problems, then panic disorders certainly don't do you much good.....but at your age, in presumably good fitness and health (by the sound of it) there won't be a risk. If you can just accept it going fast and relax about the fact it feels like it is racing, then your heart rate will slowly come back down. You just need to trust in your body, that has evolved perfectly, that it will reach a maximum beat and then......well....thats it.....nothing more will happen.

If adrenaline caused hearts to stop, we'd be losing posters here every single day - and we don't! There are lots of posts here from people worried about their heart , certainly the pounding feeling and a fast rate. The trouble is, the more you worry the worse it will feel and the heart rate won't come down. The good news is that at 18 your upper limit of you maximum heart rate you should do in exercise, is 202 beats per minute. I bet you anything that when your heart is racing it is nowhere anywhere near that !


Was there anything that suddenly started off this heart fear?


Don't worry, your heart won't give out on you. Come back and tell us how you got on after your display tomorrow....

[NervousJ]

Hi Carys, thank you for your quick and very comforting reply! It’s just that the heart has always creeped me out. The thing is, I don’t really care if it’s fast and I don’t notice, but when it’s so fast that I can feel it in my neck and upper chest area it starts to really scare me. While marching, I can’t help but notice it since our uniforms press tightly against our chest and neck areas, which really brings the thumping out. I occasionally feel the spikes of adrenaline as well, like a sense of electricity is coursing through me. I know this is just my body responding to a stressor but it still really gets me anxious. I’m scared that I will get so scared that the fear itself will cause my heart to actually reach its max and I don’t know what happens if it goes beyond it. Essentially, I’m afraid of fear and I wish to overcome it fully.

[Carys]

You won't reach your 'max' with adrenaline, really. The 'max' doesnt mean that it stops ! Thats just the very highest you should safetly workout at if you are on a treadmill. Some people have heart conditions here and have had even faster rates than that.

I would presume that you have had your heart listened to and you are basically well.....not anaemic or anything like that (which can cause faster heart rates)?If you haven't had any medical reassurance at all, then why not just go and get a doctor to very quickly listen once and tell them what what is happening. I bet you anything they say all is fine and they can explain why your heart can't and won't just stop.

uniforms press tightly against our chest and neck areas, which really brings the thumping out.

I sympathise on this, yes, you are right....I suspect it is the tight lycra clothing making you even more hyper-aware!!! Is it the right size for you ?

[NervousJ]

I’ve had a holter test for two months, three EKGs, a CT scan, and an echocardiogram. They all came back without any issues at all. I normally feel pretty reassured due to these results. It’s just that I can’t think straight when put under pressure to preform, and I start to feel somewhat rediculous irrational fear. I’m really annoyed that I still feel this way yet I got through every performance without anything bad ever happening to my heart. Anxiety can be really frustrating especially now that I feel that I am very close to full recovery.

Btw, yes the uniform is the right size and doesn’t feel extremely tight. There’s just layers of it and I’m also wearing a helmet so I can feel my forehead pulse as well even if I try to ignore it.

[Carys]

How did it go today ?


Yep, you've been tested and tested, there will be nothing there that is sinister. You are fine, but then I think you really do know this.

[NervousJ]

I march in competition around 4 hours from now, so I still have some anticipatory anxiety. It mostly affects me when we have to stand still in front of the large crowd and have to wait to begin. The “What If’s” really begin to hit me and my mind begins to think about everything that could go wrong. Except that nothing has gone wrong ever, it was just all in my mind. I’m reassured on the medical side of things though, thanks.

[Carys]

Of course, Canada.....I didn't do the time difference thingy