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.

[PVC man]

I would not label these feelings at all as an OCD, or hypochondrical situation; having had PVCs most of my life I really get upset if someone labels it this way. In my opinion, if you feel like your heart is going to up and stop 3,000 times in a day, YOU DAMN WELL ARE GOING TO BECOME ANXIOUS.Anyone who doesnt have anxiety with 3,000 of these things is either a nut or a liar.

These symptoms are real and VERY uncomfortable, and so labelling these feelings as a "phobia" or an "OCD" is like saying someone has a "phobia" or is obsessed with  pain because they have a bad arthitis.

Let's stop giving this reponse to this a negative connotation...

LOL...I guess I have strong feelings on this one...just one guy's opinion...

[dolphin8808]

Oh yes OCD is very closely related to Health Anxiety / Hypochondria  and Anxiety in general, they go hand in hand without a doubt.

So it sounds like yours has turned from a specific fear of your heart and the skips into a general fear and anxiety. Mine has taken twists and turns like that along the way. For the most part I am focused on my heart now a days but there are times when it goes in crazy directions.

I Feel for all of you! This is so tough, to be "blessed" with anixety then to have ANY kind of health issue on top of it, well it just really makes us crazy at times.

[is_something_wrong]

The answer is; yes, definitely.

I guess there are fine lines between anxiety and OCD, but on the other hand, because OCD is a manifestation of anxiety, I guess they go hand in hand.

Yes, cardiophobia is OCD. Just think of it like:

Obsession: My heart is unhealthy. Skipped beats are dangerous and unwanted.

Compulsion: Checking pulse, going to doctors for more or less meaningless tests (if we have had them done lots of times before), checking blood pressure, reading medical stuff, all we do to provide reassurance.

I must say, I miss my cardiophobia these days. It seems like my anxiety (which really is a manifestation of a fear of dying) has transformed into more "pure-O"-symptoms, like what if I hurt myself, what if an accident happens, etc. I really liked my fear of skipped beats and blood pressure a lot better :)

[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.

[ailyn29]

hate pvc pac

[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.