Cardiophobia

[dolphin8808]

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.

[dolphin8808]

I have to agree with all of you. If I had a bad day, it puts me in "super aware" mode for days after. Then I will clam down then BAM it hits again. SO frustrating and very scary. My decisions are also based around my heart a lot of times. Not only foods and drinks, but meds, activities, all of it. Its very frustrating and saddening to say the least. Being so aware of my heart at times is also exhausting.

[SARABELL5454]

I understand completely. I actually find myself "waiting" for the big cardiac event that is going to kill me. I have NSVT, SVT and pvc.  My heart is structurally fine so no one is all that concerned. To say that this is ruining my life is an understatement. I really feel for you.

[dlr108]

I have this alot now i think it all started when the reports of footballers having sudden death while playing football became more freguent then last year i started to get ectopic beats the more forcefull they are the more i have anxiety attacks which then makes them worse thonk i have ocd because i google heart problems all the time i downloaded a heart rate app on my phone which i check all the time ive read that this is a sign of anxiety disorder i have being trying to ignire these beats

[dolphin8808]

You are right, it is a sign of it. check this out:

Hypochondria symptoms include:

•Having a long-term intense fear or anxiety about having a serious disease or health condition
•Worrying that minor symptoms or bodily sensations mean you have a serious illness
•Seeing doctors repeated times or having involved medical exams such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), echocardiograms or exploratory surgery
•Frequently switching doctors — if one doctor tells you that you aren't sick, you may not believe it and seek out other opinions
•Continuously talking about your symptoms or suspected diseases with family and friends
•Obsessively doing health research
•Frequently checking your body for problems, such as lumps or sores
•Frequently checking your vital signs, such as pulse or blood pressure
•Thinking you have a disease after reading or hearing about it

** one of the biggest things I can relate to was always checking online for reassurance or needing it through my doctor.**

I really enjoy this site as it makes me realize I am not alone and that we all have a bit of the anxiety going. Scary but true.  We all can probably relate to a few of the symptoms in the hypochondriac field.

[ailyn29]

hate pvc pac

[CS3218]

I feel this way often. I have had SVT for 15 years.  Prior to being pregnant, it was not that big of a deal for me.  I knew what it was and what to expect.  That said, it was getting more annoying as I got older, and I had a horrible episode during labor.  After that, the episodes caused more anxiety.  I had an ablation which went well, but 8 months later I started having PVCs and PACs that felt like no other I had experienced before.  I wore a monitor for two months, and my EP told me all is fine.  If I knew that every day would not be a bad day, I could handle it.  I keep thinking what if it gets worse?  I also see a therapist on occasion, and she likes to say I have a sensitive nervous system.