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Anxiety issue or Heart issue?
This is a long query but please read it through and give me your best opinion as I'm worried sick.
Ok so I'm a 34 year old man from UK and I have severe anxiety and panic disorder In fact I think I'm having a panic attack right now!
This all started in 2011 when I had high cholesterol I was put on 40mg atorvastatin and was given a coronary calcium score to ensure there was no build up in the arteries of my heart (results were zero arteries completely clear) now it's 2016 my cholesterol is normal and I'm not medicated.
Anyway, I 2013 I was rushing up and down a flight of stairs moving a tenant out of a property and fealt Ill I attended A&E and they performed an ECG, from that hospital I was taken to another as they had said there was an issue with an inverted TWave and though they fealt i wasn't having a heart attack at that point they wasn't sure if I'd had one in past. At hospital I was given blood tests and another ECG, next morning I saw a cardiologist who said my ECG was clear and it was likely due to stress also my bloods had been tested for troponin levels and was found to be normal so I was discharged with no further action.
I was fine until loads of stress this year ended me back in A&E about 2 or 3 times both of which I had ECGS which I was told were normal and that my bloods were also normal it was likely chest pain caused by a mixture of GERD and Anxiety together, not satisfied I saw my GP a few weeks later (April 2016) and they told me all was clear, blood pressure was ok, cholesterol was good but testosterone was low. I requested another ECG in surgery 'too ease my anxieties' however on doing this ECG it gave an automatic diagnosis of 'possible past peri infarction' immediately my demeanour changed And began worrying I asked my GP if I should be worried and he said too me that these small ECG machines tend to over interpret things and from looking at the heart trace he said it was perfectly normal just a little fast but not concerned. Due to anxiety I couldn't accept this so my GP forwarded my ECG to a cardiologist registrar who also reported "I very much doubt this man has ever had an MI but if he's still worried refer too a cardiologist" anyway I wasn't satisfied so yea I was referred to a cardiologist in May 2016 he performed an ECG, did my BP and spoke to me about my family history and past checks (including coronary calcium score) he reassured me that it was definitely anxiety and that I should get treatment for that. Satisfied o left it at that until recently!
Again my chest pain has flared up and I was again taken too A&E, this was on 6th September this year.. basically I had a panic attack (at least that's what they now called it) and my BP was high my blood sate were good but my blood sugars which are normally 4.4 / 4.9 were 8.9! First paramedic performed an ECG and reported an issue with Q waves and a t wave inversion so I was taken by a different ambulance to accident and emergency on route the new paramedic was a paramedic practitioner and said my ECG looked fine and the q wave thing was only in one lead so nothing to worry about and as ambulance was bouncing down road he performed another ECG (which I've attached to this question) of which he said was still normal!
On entrance to hospital I had another ECG done and my BP done which by this point was 148/100 bit was told this was ok as I was anxious and shaking, my ECG was shown too a consultant and I was told it was ok and to wait in reception too be seen by treatment area. A few hours later of waiting and I was seen in treatment by another dr who again performed another ECG and said 'it looks same as your last ECG from when you were last in hospital and was absolutely fine' I went home satisfied however a few weeks later and I've been digging up my garden, pulse up too about 138 I immediately rushed to GP surgery as I had right sided chest pain he said my blood pressure was fine and though my heart was fast it sounded fine he also performed an ankle blood pressure which he said would reflect quality of my coronary arteries and said my ankle BP was fine!
Couple of weeks later again (in fact last week) I had a large meal at pub then immediately went shopping I fealt my pulse racing at around 138/140 whilst walking round shop and on return to my car within a minute my pulse returned to normal so again went to see GP who was a different one and said 'your heart sounds absolutely fine just a little fast' and that it wasn't unusual for my pulse to increase shopping immediately after a meal. Satisfied again I went home.
On Monday just gone I went to work at a psychiatric hospital and had to respond to an alarm so rushed (walking rushed) to a seeders part of hospital and back however on route I had pain / discomfort in my lower sternum for a few seconds On return to ward I was working on I used pulse oximeter and it said my pulse was 138 and oxygen around 97/98 however at one point and only for a few seconds it went to 93 however I don't know if this was postural or. Or as it went back up too 96/97/98 shortly and my pulse reduced quickly back too 108 within seconds. I left work that night and haven't worked since though I've had two panic attacks at home since
What's worried me tonight is my pulse that usually goes up immediately after eating a meal hasn't gone up and has remained around high 70s mid 80s it rose to around 90ish about half hour to an hour after eating but by then I was already panicking and checking my pulse and blood oxygen (which has been 96 / 97 normal for me) my pulse now whilst writing this is 88 and I do have a very small pain almost like a burning behind my sternum and sometimes slight to left of my sternum I'm not sweating profusely but when I burp I'm burping up food as well ! I feel I've had a panic attack again as I fealt shakey when I started writing this (not so much now) and if I had to rate my pain out of 10 I'd say it's only a 1 or 2 at most!
A few figures
My normal resting pulse is between 68/70bpm my sleeping pulse is around 63 but can go down too 54/55 BPM
My highest recorded pulse whilst active is around 138 and if I walk upstairs from a laid position my pulse will increase too around 124 but will drop too 88 within one minute when I lay or sit back down upstairs.
I'm just so scared of this being my heart as opposed to anxiety, considering all my clear tests and the fact I've had this a while yet still alive typing this are my gps and cardiologists right?
I have no family history of heart disease and no members of my family have had a MI I am overweight but my cholesterol is normal and my BP is normal
What are your thoughts???
Ok so I'm a 34 year old man from UK and I have severe anxiety and panic disorder In fact I think I'm having a panic attack right now!
This all started in 2011 when I had high cholesterol I was put on 40mg atorvastatin and was given a coronary calcium score to ensure there was no build up in the arteries of my heart (results were zero arteries completely clear) now it's 2016 my cholesterol is normal and I'm not medicated.
Anyway, I 2013 I was rushing up and down a flight of stairs moving a tenant out of a property and fealt Ill I attended A&E and they performed an ECG, from that hospital I was taken to another as they had said there was an issue with an inverted TWave and though they fealt i wasn't having a heart attack at that point they wasn't sure if I'd had one in past. At hospital I was given blood tests and another ECG, next morning I saw a cardiologist who said my ECG was clear and it was likely due to stress also my bloods had been tested for troponin levels and was found to be normal so I was discharged with no further action.
I was fine until loads of stress this year ended me back in A&E about 2 or 3 times both of which I had ECGS which I was told were normal and that my bloods were also normal it was likely chest pain caused by a mixture of GERD and Anxiety together, not satisfied I saw my GP a few weeks later (April 2016) and they told me all was clear, blood pressure was ok, cholesterol was good but testosterone was low. I requested another ECG in surgery 'too ease my anxieties' however on doing this ECG it gave an automatic diagnosis of 'possible past peri infarction' immediately my demeanour changed And began worrying I asked my GP if I should be worried and he said too me that these small ECG machines tend to over interpret things and from looking at the heart trace he said it was perfectly normal just a little fast but not concerned. Due to anxiety I couldn't accept this so my GP forwarded my ECG to a cardiologist registrar who also reported "I very much doubt this man has ever had an MI but if he's still worried refer too a cardiologist" anyway I wasn't satisfied so yea I was referred to a cardiologist in May 2016 he performed an ECG, did my BP and spoke to me about my family history and past checks (including coronary calcium score) he reassured me that it was definitely anxiety and that I should get treatment for that. Satisfied o left it at that until recently!
Again my chest pain has flared up and I was again taken too A&E, this was on 6th September this year.. basically I had a panic attack (at least that's what they now called it) and my BP was high my blood sate were good but my blood sugars which are normally 4.4 / 4.9 were 8.9! First paramedic performed an ECG and reported an issue with Q waves and a t wave inversion so I was taken by a different ambulance to accident and emergency on route the new paramedic was a paramedic practitioner and said my ECG looked fine and the q wave thing was only in one lead so nothing to worry about and as ambulance was bouncing down road he performed another ECG (which I've attached to this question) of which he said was still normal!
On entrance to hospital I had another ECG done and my BP done which by this point was 148/100 bit was told this was ok as I was anxious and shaking, my ECG was shown too a consultant and I was told it was ok and to wait in reception too be seen by treatment area. A few hours later of waiting and I was seen in treatment by another dr who again performed another ECG and said 'it looks same as your last ECG from when you were last in hospital and was absolutely fine' I went home satisfied however a few weeks later and I've been digging up my garden, pulse up too about 138 I immediately rushed to GP surgery as I had right sided chest pain he said my blood pressure was fine and though my heart was fast it sounded fine he also performed an ankle blood pressure which he said would reflect quality of my coronary arteries and said my ankle BP was fine!
Couple of weeks later again (in fact last week) I had a large meal at pub then immediately went shopping I fealt my pulse racing at around 138/140 whilst walking round shop and on return to my car within a minute my pulse returned to normal so again went to see GP who was a different one and said 'your heart sounds absolutely fine just a little fast' and that it wasn't unusual for my pulse to increase shopping immediately after a meal. Satisfied again I went home.
On Monday just gone I went to work at a psychiatric hospital and had to respond to an alarm so rushed (walking rushed) to a seeders part of hospital and back however on route I had pain / discomfort in my lower sternum for a few seconds On return to ward I was working on I used pulse oximeter and it said my pulse was 138 and oxygen around 97/98 however at one point and only for a few seconds it went to 93 however I don't know if this was postural or. Or as it went back up too 96/97/98 shortly and my pulse reduced quickly back too 108 within seconds. I left work that night and haven't worked since though I've had two panic attacks at home since
What's worried me tonight is my pulse that usually goes up immediately after eating a meal hasn't gone up and has remained around high 70s mid 80s it rose to around 90ish about half hour to an hour after eating but by then I was already panicking and checking my pulse and blood oxygen (which has been 96 / 97 normal for me) my pulse now whilst writing this is 88 and I do have a very small pain almost like a burning behind my sternum and sometimes slight to left of my sternum I'm not sweating profusely but when I burp I'm burping up food as well ! I feel I've had a panic attack again as I fealt shakey when I started writing this (not so much now) and if I had to rate my pain out of 10 I'd say it's only a 1 or 2 at most!
A few figures
My normal resting pulse is between 68/70bpm my sleeping pulse is around 63 but can go down too 54/55 BPM
My highest recorded pulse whilst active is around 138 and if I walk upstairs from a laid position my pulse will increase too around 124 but will drop too 88 within one minute when I lay or sit back down upstairs.
I'm just so scared of this being my heart as opposed to anxiety, considering all my clear tests and the fact I've had this a while yet still alive typing this are my gps and cardiologists right?
I have no family history of heart disease and no members of my family have had a MI I am overweight but my cholesterol is normal and my BP is normal
What are your thoughts???
Just to add to the good advice already given, if someone told you they were constantly checking their pulse etc. what would you tell them? People don't go around constantly checking these things. You're making yourself miserable doing this.
Take your pulse immediately after making your heart work (in my case running up stairs) then check again within 1 minute to find your heart rate recovery time, it is said that a recovery of at least 20 in the first minute is good and a good indicator for low risk coronary artery disease
2 Comments
Imo, this is a big part of your problem, checking the exact same thing over and over for only one reason - looking for clues that the cardio guys are wrong.
I know it isn't easy for everyone to overcome anxiety but you are your own person and happen to be a rational human, so you have a lot going for you in your attempt to deal with it.
My guess is when you say "..as well as being medically trained and aware of MI type pains).." that you could put better use of your medical training by rationalizing that the odds on any of the many fronts are all overwhelmingly in your favor rather than trying to erroneously look for medical clues (that don't exist) showing that the odds are irrelevant. What do you think?
I know it isn't easy for everyone to overcome anxiety but you are your own person and happen to be a rational human, so you have a lot going for you in your attempt to deal with it.
My guess is when you say "..as well as being medically trained and aware of MI type pains).." that you could put better use of your medical training by rationalizing that the odds on any of the many fronts are all overwhelmingly in your favor rather than trying to erroneously look for medical clues (that don't exist) showing that the odds are irrelevant. What do you think?
In case I was unclear, I meant checking your pulse when I said "checking the exact same thing over and over "
"considering all my clear tests and the fact I've had this a while yet still alive typing this are my gps and cardiologists right? "
This is the key question you posed but the only way you will relieve your anxiety is to study your entire post and answer yes all of the cardiologists are right because that is all they do and you are wrong to doubt all of them because you am not a cardiologist.
For many anxious people (like I once was), receiving a negative diagnosis relieves them and they stop worrying and studying their body (forever.) However some anxiety sufferers can't accept that there is nothing wrong and keep asking their self "What if?"
The reason is if you have a heart issue you could die, so that sticks in their mind every time they get an ouch in the chest, You mentioned this at least once as a symptom -- however it was just a meaningless ouch that we all get but because you are over-analyzing your body looking for clues that something could be wrong there are a limitless number of ouches here and twitches there to drive fear into your mind. It is quite natural to feel fear if you don't put the chances of dying in perspective.)
The cardio person told me if I had symptoms of a heart attack for a week then I would have been dead, so that was enough for me to accept that nothing COULD be wrong.
Here is another thing to consider. Cardiac issues causing death at your age are tiny. Accidental death is 4 times as likely however most of those who died of cardiac didn't have heart check saying nothing was wrong like you did. So your chances of accidental are probably 4,000 times more likely than cardiac.
Have you tried counselling? If this post doesn't help put things in perspective, then I recommend counselling because a pro might be able to work with you one on one to figure how to deal with this fear.
This is the key question you posed but the only way you will relieve your anxiety is to study your entire post and answer yes all of the cardiologists are right because that is all they do and you are wrong to doubt all of them because you am not a cardiologist.
For many anxious people (like I once was), receiving a negative diagnosis relieves them and they stop worrying and studying their body (forever.) However some anxiety sufferers can't accept that there is nothing wrong and keep asking their self "What if?"
The reason is if you have a heart issue you could die, so that sticks in their mind every time they get an ouch in the chest, You mentioned this at least once as a symptom -- however it was just a meaningless ouch that we all get but because you are over-analyzing your body looking for clues that something could be wrong there are a limitless number of ouches here and twitches there to drive fear into your mind. It is quite natural to feel fear if you don't put the chances of dying in perspective.)
The cardio person told me if I had symptoms of a heart attack for a week then I would have been dead, so that was enough for me to accept that nothing COULD be wrong.
Here is another thing to consider. Cardiac issues causing death at your age are tiny. Accidental death is 4 times as likely however most of those who died of cardiac didn't have heart check saying nothing was wrong like you did. So your chances of accidental are probably 4,000 times more likely than cardiac.
Have you tried counselling? If this post doesn't help put things in perspective, then I recommend counselling because a pro might be able to work with you one on one to figure how to deal with this fear.
2 Comments
That was a helpful post yes and my educated mind knows you're right I've just rushed upstairs to purposely raise my heart from the 80 it was beating at whilst laid on couch too 112 once I'd gone up too see it nicely shoot back down too 80 in less than a minute (resting heart rate recovery) I think as you say a lot of the mental torture is due too these niggly 'pains' I get in my chest that as you said normal people get daily as well just with my mind having anxiety disorder I (as well as being medically trained and aware of MI type pains) over interpret what I'm feeling and blow it out of proportion psychosomatically
I wish I could say that's it just like a light switch going off my anxiety is gone but I know this will likely be a lifelong condition counselling or not; there is a chemical imbalance and though CBT will alter my cognitive thinking the chemical imbalance will still be there :(
I wish I could say that's it just like a light switch going off my anxiety is gone but I know this will likely be a lifelong condition counselling or not; there is a chemical imbalance and though CBT will alter my cognitive thinking the chemical imbalance will still be there :(
Not everyone can get over it, but you have nothing to lose trying. Have you tried therapy?
How did you check your Hb when you did the rushing upstairs thing you mentioned?
How did you check your Hb when you did the rushing upstairs thing you mentioned?
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