Heart Palpitations

[megd]

Has anybody else experienced these with anxiety? I've had it from time to time in the past but I've noticed in the last few days I've had them quite frequently and it's very scary :( it feels basically like my heart skips a beat. I was recently at the dr, had blood tests & an EKG. Everything came back fine except that I had low iron. I hate this! I don't want to have to go back to the dr again...I'm so sick of always having so many scary symptoms...

[Buttercup]

try not to freak out- palpitations are really common with anxiety. Since your bloods and EKG showed no heart abnormalities then you have nothing to worry about. Palpitations are scary but they won't kill you and it doesn't mean anything is wrong with your heart. I used to suffer badly from them and also a fast heart rate but the doc prescribed beta blockers and my heart has been beating normally since and no palpitations.

What are you doing to deal with the anxiety? Any meds or therapy? You'll find that once the anxiety is tackled then these horrid symptoms stop as well.

[megd]

Thanks so much for the reply. It makes me feel a bit better to know others go through this as well. I too have experienced a racing heart, and have taken quite a few trips to the ER because of it. My EKGs always come back normal. Ive felt I could probably benefit from a beta blocker but have no family doctor. My anxiety is currently untreated, and I've left it untreated for many years. In a few weeks I have my first appointment with a psychiatrist, so hopefully that will help!

[dazza]

Common symptom of stress and/or anxiety.

How old are you, Megd?

They tend to affect us between the age of 20 to 40 - where stressful times are at their highest.

6 months ago when I first "contracted" anxiety disorder, I was getting palp regularly... like at once / twice a day.
I noticed that they could be triggered by lying down (on back or left side).

Indeed - VERY SCARY. Like a bubble bursting in your chest, often coupled with a brief moment of fright or panic.

There's a lot of abnormal activity going on in your chest when you suffer a panic attack or are feeling anxious. This includes electrical and biological.
Bursts of adrenalin cause palps, as does just being plain old frightened or scared.

(You may notice that they completely dissappear during times of calm, or at least when you're not worrying about anything)

Some people suffer severe palps every night. They can't sleep because of it.

They say that "coughing" can stop palps!

[megd]

Common symptom of stress and/or anxiety.

How old are you, Megd?

They tend to affect us between the age of 20 to 40 - where stressful times are at their highest.

6 months ago when I first "contracted" anxiety disorder, I was getting palp regularly... like at once / twice a day.
I noticed that they could be triggered by lying down (on back or left side).

Indeed - VERY SCARY. Like a bubble bursting in your chest, often coupled with a brief moment of fright or panic.

There's a lot of abnormal activity going on in your chest when you suffer a panic attack or are feeling anxious. This includes electrical and biological.
Bursts of adrenalin cause palps, as does just being plain old frightened or scared.

(You may notice that they completely dissappear during times of calm, or at least when you're not worrying about anything)

Some people suffer severe palps every night. They can't sleep because of it.

They say that "coughing" can stop palps!

I'm 28! Thanks so much for the info, all of that is good to know. And you're right, times when I'm feeling completely calm, I generally won't experience any at all. But yesterday, after having quite a stressful argument with my husband, I experienced quite a few palps. I'll have to try the coughing tip next time, thanks again!

[alankay]

I get them at times and coffee causes them but they are harmless so ignore them(or have learned to). Alankay

[brittany09]

I also get them sometimes. Totally normal symptom of anxiety,even though it doesn't seem like it! But I suppose no anxiety symptoms feel normal. Once your anxiety levels drop,so do the symptoms. What are you doing to lower your anxiety?

[cat eyes]

I don't feel alone now. I get papiltations like a flutter feeling and sometimes racing heart. I also at times feel dizzy, scared and nervous. I hate suffering like this. Can anybody relate?

[dazza]

I don't feel alone now. I get papiltations like a flutter feeling and sometimes racing heart. I also at times feel dizzy, scared and nervous. I hate suffering like this. Can anybody relate?

Hi

I think you'll find most if not all anxiety disorder sufferers can relate to it.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the symptoms and forget the cause... so let's just re-cap on the cause...


Anxiety disorder sufferers have (temporarily) lost the function in the brain which allows us to rationalise our thoughts.
For a normal person, a situation is processed in 3 parts as follows:

(1) Danger is observed ---> (2) Brain analyses & rationalises the situation ---> (3) We take appropriate action according to the level of danger

Now then, what's happened to us anxious folk is that step 2 (analysis & rationalisation) is skipped / omitted, so we go straight from (1) to (3)!
I.e. a danger is observed but it is not rationalised, so we go straight to (3) and take innapropriate action.

Because the situation was not properly analysed, our brain assumes the worst and so has no choice but to take it as the worst case scenario (e.g. severe danger)

So, the reaction is to trigger chemicals and signals throughout our bodies which are there to protect us from the (innapropriately assumed) danger.

It is without wonder that our hearts go like the clappers, our necks and chest tightens and a whole bag of other symptoms occur... because as far as our brains our concerned, the normal situation might as well be an impending car accident or a fight with a hungry tiger!

[cat eyes]

Thank you so much for the info. It helps!!