constant extreme anxiety about my heart..

[saraemily]

Has anyone else experienced this... every time I get up from a laying or sitting position my heart feels like it speeds up much more than it should and then about 3 seconds after standing it get palpitations or what feels like palpitations anyways and its almost every time I move... I've recntly just started either noticing thisor its a new thing.. I really don't know..but I'm constantly in fear of my heart giving out or something being wrong with it.. I'm 23 years old mother of one beautiful daughter and literally constantly focused on my heart. I've had anxiety since I was about 16 and ivebeen on prozac .. paxil and celexa but I got off them all because I had terrible side effects. I always feel like I'm about to die and my biggest fear is missing out on my daughter.  I'm constantly checking my pulse my fiance thinks I'm crazy.. I can't sleep because I focus on my heart beat and can hear it and feel it and I'm afraid I won't wake up. My doctor has said I'm fine at my physicals.. I suffered from bulimia for about 9 months last year and only after did I know how badly it can effect ones heart.. I'm so afraid I've caused my heart irreversible damage from my disease. I'm driving myself crazy and I'm also on birth control pills which I've recently stopped for fear of heart attack. I don't know what to do anymore. . I really need some insight or advice. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

[lily12419]

heya, a few weeks ago i was told that a close family member had died from a heart attack. i was already under a lot of stress and anxiety and of course this information triggered me worrying about my own health. funnily enough my own heart started playing up, i could feel the pounding in my ears, everytime i breathed out my whole body stiffened, my heart race felt so fast i couldnt sleep from it. i worked myself up silly from the worry and my mum took me to A&E. even the fact i was in a&e was scary of course!
i was so scared, they took blood tests for my organs, a chest xray for my lungs heart etc, took my blood pressure, even did on of those scans of the heart. i was checked over and it turned out i was 100 percent healthy. it was due to stress!
i will be honest ive never been so scared in my life but as soon as the nurse said i was okay i was so happy. it is really worth getting checked, i really thought something was wrong but im fine :) please, get yourself to the hospital, youll be okay. x

[RubyWitch]

What you are experiencing. and what a great many of us have, or are, experiencing, is called "Heart Anxiety."

If you've talked with your doctor about your heart concerns and he/she does not seem concerned, then you should accept that diagnosis and just get on with your life.

ROFL

I write that because I do know those of us with heart anxiety cannot now or ever will be able to simply accept a diagnosis that nothing is wrong.

I strongly urge you to find the best cardiologist you can and have a complete cardio work-up done. They will do far more than just listen to your heart and send you home. They will do tests that will tell them EXACTLY what, IF ANYTHING, is wrong with your heart. They may have you wear a holter monitor for a period of time to "see" what you're heart is doing over a given period of time. You might say that you've had an ECG, but those will tell the doctors ONLY what your heart is doing at the time of the test.

My advice is to see a cardiologist and with any luck, your anxiety will finally be relieved. If it's not, then you need to consider getting into therapy to deal with this so it doesn't destroy your life.........which it will. Please don't do what I did and waste years waiting for the worst.

You may also want to post your concerns in our Heart Rhythms Forum. Those folks are GREAT and will have better advice than me.
You're going to get past this, OK?
OK.
Peace
Greenlydia