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Heart Failure at 22 y/o from too Much Stress?

PLEASE PLEASE help me, I am really scared that I might have a terminal illness. So I am 22 y/o, and for the majority of my life I've been in excellent health. However, for about the last 5-6 years I have had some pretty bad anxiety and anger issues, due to OCD and a bad relationship with my brother. Now, I have gotten a lot better and am almost anxiety and anger free but I fear that I might have done some permanent heart damage from all those years of stress. I have had heart palpitations for the last 2.5 years, but in the last couple of months they have increased in severity (I feel some extra hard beats once in a while). I notice that my heart rate is about 90-100 even when sitting down, the only times when it drops to about 60-70 is when I am sleeping or lying down. Also, for the last 5 months I have developed a chronic cough, and I cough up clear fluid half of the time. BUT THE COUGH DISAPPEARS ALTOGETHER WHEN I LAY DOWN OR WHEN I FALL ASLEEP. Isn't that weird? My feet and ankles are not swollen, and about 2.5 years ago, when the palpitations had first started, I had a blood test and EKG and everything came back fine. Should I be worried now?? Have some of you had extreme stress for longer but have no heart problems? PLEASE HELP, AND I PROMISE TO TRY AND HELP YOU OUT WITH YOUR MEDICAL ISSUES FROM MY PERSPECTIVE.
Best Answer
Avatar universal
I've been suffering with anxiety for over thirty years, and my heart is fine.  So far, anyway.  Most people who get heart problems have signs of heart disease, not just stress, such as chronic high blood pressure, too much bad cholesterol (we think), valve problems.  Work on what you can and forget about what you can't work on.
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480448 tn?1426948538
I agree with the other replies.

What has your doctor said about your symptoms, specifically your cough?  Have you seen a pulmonologist?

While anxiety can take a toll on us, and while it can affect one's health to a point, it doesn't cause the kinds of health problems most anxious people worry about.  Congestive heart failure has many causes, very few of which would be applicable to a healthy 22 year old.  Anxiety isn't going to cause CHF.  If it was preexisting, anxiety could exacerbate the symptoms, but not cause the condition.

Have you tried working on your anxiety with a therapist?  That's really the key, the work towards getting the anxiety to a more manageable place, and the good news about that is, any symptom that was anxiety related will start to improve when the anxiety is addressed.

Keep us updated.
Helpful - 0
7359862 tn?1390320080
Have you met with your doctor lately and gotten checked out? With anxiety it feels like our heart is racing but most often it's not. Also with stress many of us get the heart palpatations But I would urge you to get checked out just to reassure yourself.
Helpful - 0
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