Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
1701959 tn?1488551541

Cardiophobia

Anyone else find they have developed cardiophobia from the skips? Or even become OCD with the heart? My EP calls it extreme cardiac awareness. I sure seem to have it. One bad skips days, I am bad for a few days after with it. Then I mellow out then another bad day will bring it around again.

Have you noticed it can make your skips worse?It doesn't seem to effect mine as I don't seem to have triggers, mine just come and go as they please.
39 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
5851092 tn?1404133464
I believe alot of the anxiety and irrational thought comes from basically how they make some people feel. Some feel fine when they get them but some feel horrible. I fall in both instances. I could be having dinner with wife and friends and one of the episodes can occur causing me to feel really uncomfortable or malaise. This in turn ruins your night, then you stress because you feel you ruined the night of your loved ones and friends.

You know in your head they are not dangerous but how these things can make you feel can defintily frustrate you and make you feel bad. And even those that have been told repeatedly they are "okay" will still have that little voice of fear in the back of the head that's always saying "what if". No matter how hard you try
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Health anxiety is not about having imaginary diseases.  It's about having an irrational fear of real diseases.

What's irrational about being afraid of pacs, tachycardia, and low exercise capacity?  Assuming the heart has been thoroughly and repeatedly checked out and found to be healthy, then pacs, tachycardia, and low exercise capacity are not dangerous conditions.  

They are annoying, and can be frightening to very sensitive people who 'listen' to their bodies a lot, but these phenomena are not life-threatening.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Maybe Im just not aware of what health anxiety is, but isnt it supposed to be about imaginary diseases. We all suffer from real problems. I have pac and tachcycardia and low excercise capacity. Sure I might be scared but I dont think it is irrational anxiety.
Helpful - 0
913367 tn?1421324660
I was just at my first cardio appt back in January bc I get very strange heart beats. I am literally waiting for my heart to just stop, when they happen. Afterwards I am a hot mess for days...weeks even. I constantly am worrying/thinking about my heart.Anyway, I Had an Ekg, blood work and wore a holter for 24 hrs. My Ekg showed non specific ST Depression. Blood work was all normal (electrolytes, sugars, kidneys and thyroid). Holter showed my heart beats fast from time to time. The nurse said, "pertaining to your heart palpitations, the Dr sd your heart just beats fast from time to time...but thats normal." But I am sure there was something else on there. The Dr didnt even mention my ST Depression at my visit. I called his office the next day and asked exactly what the "abnormality that is very common" was, on my Ekg. When I wore my monitor I knew the weird heartbeats I get, did not show up. Its not just a faster heart rate, it is a quiver. Like a fluttery, shakey thing my heart does. So scary! And I was just watching TV this eve. My heart started to beat really fast. It was only for like 12 beats (yes, I check my pulse A LOT. Esp when I am having an episode). But just that scared me and I ended up here, again! I always Google stuff. Like the ST Depression...that was a bad idea! It is comforting to know others have the same issues. Before I had children, I was not worried about any of this stuff. I went on Zoloft after my daughter was born. And also ativan, as needed. I look at it like this...I  worry bc I dont want to drop over dead. When my heart does that crap, I think I am going to die right then Or I have a life threatening heart issue and cld die at any moment. So it is the fear of dying, I guess. I am scared to death (no pun intended) to leave my kids w/out a mom. In a way I think we are all normal. We just voice our feelings on here. No one wants to have heart issues or any other diseases. No one wants to die. Having panic, anxiety, OCD over any health issue I would think is very common. Ppl who never worry are the weird ones ;) (kidding)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes, I can relate. I probably have cardiophobia, but only because of these stupid PVCs and PACs. I usually think about them a lot more after I get a PVC/PAC or a run and then I do everything I can to try to make them go away and never come back.

I HATE THEM SO MUCH! I'm so sick of feeling like I can't breathe or like I'm getting punched in the chest. These horrible palpitations are ruining my life (and I'm not joking). I would be a much happier, healthier and a more productive member of society if I didn't have these horrible things, so obviously they scare and depress me.

I don't think my cardiophobia makes my PVCs/PACs worse. Usually, it actually makes them better, because it makes me avoid PVC/PAC triggers.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I did not say "suck it up and get over it."  I suggested sucking it up enough to consider that the proper treatment for a cardiac neurosis is treatment of *the neurosis* per se, rather than an endless, continuous search for a true cardiac disorder.

Having had PVCs for decades, I know that it is possible to get hooked on the idea that something must surely be wrong with the heart.  But after repeated cardiac testing showing that my ticker was fine, I finally had to accept that the real problem was fear.

In other words, I had been going to the wrong type of doctor.  What I needed was a shrink who specialized in anxiety.  So I found myself a good one and took his advice, with excellent results.

I have been a member of this board for years, and many, many times I have seen repeated posts from patients with extreme cardiac fears whose frequent tests indicated that their hearts were perfectly healthy.  One striking feature of posts like these is that these patients are extremely resistant to the idea of getting psychiatric help for their real problem, namely anxiety.

That phenomenon is what I was referring to with my advice about sucking up AND (note the 'and' in my post) considering the possibility that anxiety might be the real disorder in need of treatment.  

Going to a good psychiatrist does teach you--as you say--'"to change the way you think," and it really *does* help to overcome the "anxiety...which this whole thread is about, anxiety of the heart."

That is why the last sentence in my post is a question about whether the proper treatment in these cases would be more cardiac tests OR treatment of the *fear* of cardiac disorders.





Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Heart Rhythm Community

Top Arrhythmias Answerers
1807132 tn?1318743597
Chicago, IL
1423357 tn?1511085442
Central, MA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Are there grounds to recommend coffee consumption? Recent studies perk interest.
Salt in food can hurt your heart.
Get answers to your top questions about this common — but scary — symptom
How to know when chest pain may be a sign of something else
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.