Peak
10-12-2012, 11:04 AM
So here's the thing. I have an absolute fear of having a heart attack. I know it sounds stupid but I've always thought that one day I would have one and it scares the living daylights out of me. Why do I think I will have one? I guess it's because I have always been overweight and obese, simple as that really. About 15 years ago I started having very bad heart palpitations and went to my doctor who said I was stressed which was making my blood pressure go up and causing the palpitations. He gave me some beta blockers and the palps disappeared completely and BP came down to normal and stayed that way for the next 12 years. Then my wife and I were going through stressful times with fertility treatments and I started getting palps again. Went back to my GP who said my BP was up and thought it was all down to stress again. I got put on an Ace Inhibitor and got checked out at the hospital with ECG's, 24HR ECG, and Echo Cardiograms of the heart all of which came back normal and was told that they could find no reason for the palps and to 'just ignore them'. Since then I've been told I also have high cholesterol so basically whilst I may not be due to have a heart attack tomorrow, I'm not doing myself any favours.
Then last week I started getting lots of palps again even though I really didn't feel stressed and went back to my doctor. He didn't really check anything other than my BP which was up 150/90 but I said that I was stressed about the palps rather than the palps being caused by stress. My normal BP is 140/80. He said that since all the test at the hospital including recent blood tests at the doctors had all come back clear that the palps couldn't be anything to be worried about but gave me some beta blockers to control the palps. I've been on these for about 5 days now and the palps have almost completely stopped. However about a week ago I started getting pain down my left arm. It was actually mostly painful in the palm of the hand but also had a bit of pain in the forearm, a bit in the elbow and a bit more in the shoulder. I just thought I must have strained something as I decorating last weekend (even though I'm right handed). Over the next few days the pain has got worse in the hand but reduced in the elbow and about the same in the shoulder. Today the pain in the hand is the worst its been. It's by no means agony, far from it, just uncomfortable and it has all the hallmarks of either carple tunnel syndrome or tendonitis (which I've had in the elbow of that arm before but not in the hand). I actually now find it uncomfortable to push my fingers together against my thumb or to hold/squeeze things with the fingers of that hand. Okay so logically I know that really the pain in my arm shouldn't be related to my heart at all and just simply that I've strained something. Trouble is today I've had a couple of bouts of cold sweat but at times when either I've been travelling on the busy underground wearing a jacket or walking in the cold air again wearing a jacket. So logically I know that these 'cold sweats' aren't cod sweats but just normal sweat that has cooled. I know this logically. However I can't help now but think that I've had or am having:
1. Palpitations
2. High Blood Pressure
3. High Cholesterol
4. Pain down the left arm
5. Cold Sweats
All classic signs of the heart attack I so fear. Do I have any of the other signs of a heart attack like crushing feeling in the chest, breathlessness, weakness, dizziness etc etc. No. Apart from feeling stressed to the eyeballs I feel pretty much fine.
To be honest its the fact that squeezing the pads of my fingers together causes pain in the palm and knuckles actually makes me feel a bit more relieved as surely if this were heart related it wouldn't do this. I've also taken my BP and seen it fall in 5 minutes from 150/90 to 135/85 the former being taken when I was feeling really freaked out and the latter when I felt calmer.
I really don't know what to believe or how to keep my feelings in check.
Then last week I started getting lots of palps again even though I really didn't feel stressed and went back to my doctor. He didn't really check anything other than my BP which was up 150/90 but I said that I was stressed about the palps rather than the palps being caused by stress. My normal BP is 140/80. He said that since all the test at the hospital including recent blood tests at the doctors had all come back clear that the palps couldn't be anything to be worried about but gave me some beta blockers to control the palps. I've been on these for about 5 days now and the palps have almost completely stopped. However about a week ago I started getting pain down my left arm. It was actually mostly painful in the palm of the hand but also had a bit of pain in the forearm, a bit in the elbow and a bit more in the shoulder. I just thought I must have strained something as I decorating last weekend (even though I'm right handed). Over the next few days the pain has got worse in the hand but reduced in the elbow and about the same in the shoulder. Today the pain in the hand is the worst its been. It's by no means agony, far from it, just uncomfortable and it has all the hallmarks of either carple tunnel syndrome or tendonitis (which I've had in the elbow of that arm before but not in the hand). I actually now find it uncomfortable to push my fingers together against my thumb or to hold/squeeze things with the fingers of that hand. Okay so logically I know that really the pain in my arm shouldn't be related to my heart at all and just simply that I've strained something. Trouble is today I've had a couple of bouts of cold sweat but at times when either I've been travelling on the busy underground wearing a jacket or walking in the cold air again wearing a jacket. So logically I know that these 'cold sweats' aren't cod sweats but just normal sweat that has cooled. I know this logically. However I can't help now but think that I've had or am having:
1. Palpitations
2. High Blood Pressure
3. High Cholesterol
4. Pain down the left arm
5. Cold Sweats
All classic signs of the heart attack I so fear. Do I have any of the other signs of a heart attack like crushing feeling in the chest, breathlessness, weakness, dizziness etc etc. No. Apart from feeling stressed to the eyeballs I feel pretty much fine.
To be honest its the fact that squeezing the pads of my fingers together causes pain in the palm and knuckles actually makes me feel a bit more relieved as surely if this were heart related it wouldn't do this. I've also taken my BP and seen it fall in 5 minutes from 150/90 to 135/85 the former being taken when I was feeling really freaked out and the latter when I felt calmer.
I really don't know what to believe or how to keep my feelings in check.