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can't feel my heart beat (concerns)

Hello everyone. I am a young male in his mid 20s facing a bit of a health scare. To begin, I am a fairly healthy individual and I try to lead a healthy lifestyle.. I'm not perfect but i do try despite some bad habits. The situation is that just a couple months ago, my heart beat changed. It felt softer. As if it was not there. This change was very obvious to me since i'm used to my heart beating intensely and feeling palpitations. I also deal with anxiety which I am taking meds for and practicing mindfulness. So at first I thought maybe it was just my anxiety playing tricks on me.. But weeks started passing and I was feeling this same feeling.I felt like something was off and didn't feel like my normal self now that my heart beat felt faint and empty. I also have a prominent neck vein on my right side of neck and began assuming the worst; that maybe I have heart failure... Ugh. I then went to see my doctor who ordered a Ultrasound and blood work. My blood showed that my LDL cholestoral was slightly elevated but nothing to be concerned about and having low iron which is common in my family. So things appeared normal on that end.. My ultrasound came back normal, but i showed i had prominent jugular veins. My doc then ordered a CT Scan on my neck and chest which I did last week and I'm still waiting on the results of that which terrifying for me because now I've noticed some swelling in my left leg and it's bothering me mentally and is very uncomfortable physically. During all this I've remained physically active and drink healthy smoothies and cut back on processed foods. Lifestyle changes and waiting is all i can do at this moment and the suspense is killing me. I've done some research to see if others have had this similar feeling and I wanted to link some similar posts below related to "can't feel heartbeat".... I'd like for yall to read it and and see the similarities. Perhaps is there a name for what i'm experiencing? Could it all just be in my head? or Could it be a heart issue or even heart failure???? I Want to know you guys input PLEASE. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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973741 tn?1342342773
This does sound like an anxiety issue.  I've suffered health anxiety myself. You become so hyper aware of everything in your body.  You've done the right thing to rule out any actual condition causing what you are feeling.  Don't be afraid of the results.  If they do determine something, they will treat it.  But there is a strong chance that the actual issue here is anxiety.  Then you are left with working on what to do about that.  Everyone feels anxiety from time to time.  It's normal. But if it impacts you in a way that you can't function well? Then it's time to take action. A therapist can help you with coping skills.  I'm a fan of these.  It sounds like your lifestyle is good. Exercise and eating well along with sleeping helps!  A therapist can give you the added intel to deal with feelings of anxiety better.  And medication, if needed, can further provide benefit.  That's up to you for whatever you, your therapist and doctor decide.  :>)  The important thing is to help you FEEL better on a regular basis.
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Avatar universal
Do not Google symptoms.  Period.  You can't diagnose yourself.  The same symptoms can be a part of a thousand illnesses or none at all.  It's not a bad thing to research something you've been diagnosed with so you better understand it and better understand if your doctor is an idiot, but that's after the docs give you something to go on.  The fact low iron is common in your family doesn't make it any less low iron, by the way, and low iron can cause problems.  All you can do for now is wait for all the tests to come back, see the proper specialists, and see how that goes.  Trying to play the what if game on your own will just drive you nuts at this point.
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By the way, having somewhat low iron can be fixed with those smoothies, though I will note that most smoothies aren't in fact healthy, they are an excuse to have a milk shake.  Juicing is healthy, but smoothies seldom really are, though they do taste really good.  But that being said, throw some beets in there.  Throw some watercress or dandelion greens in there.  Throw some seaweed in there.  If your iron is low but not a serious problem, it's a way to bring it up to where it's not low and see if you feel any better.  I would also say that to me, the part that would concern me is if I noticed my heart beat.  The fact it's gotten less noticeable might just be a sign that mindfulness practice is working.  Peace.
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