heart disease fear

[siddiquiafzal]

hi, everyone

My name is siddiqui and i am an worrier since childhood, I have dealing with the anxiety since last 8 years, everyday i am struggling with it. Before i was fearing about heart attack now, i am fearing about heart desease. when every i feel slight movement, pain, discomfort, heavyness, poundind heart, breathing problem in my chest. I become anxious and panicking. please help me.

[RabidBadger]

Hi Siddiqui

Do you have any reason to think you are prone to heart disease?

Are you old?
Are you overweight?
Are you diabetic?
Do you smoke?
Do you have a very unhealthy diet?

I know how you are feeling because I go through it myself but you have to try to be rational.

Chris

[siddiquiafzal]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for giving me advice.

I am 40 years old and i am suffering the fear of Heart attack & Heart disesease fear since 8 years. My chest muscles have become very weak by panicking every now & then. I have done my T.M.T. test, ECG and thanks god every thing was fine. But still anything happens in my chest, I start panicking and cannot breath. I am getting depressed day by day. My BMI is below 25 and lipid profile is very much normal.

When I read anywhere that anxiety people are prone to heart disease, i worry lot and thinking that, if i am uable to control my anxiety what will happen.

Whenever i see in the movies, somebody getting heart attack by getting the shocking news or somebody telling he is heart patient i become very anxious. Also when the doctor advise to the people avoid excitement to the heart patient, i become very anxious.

I walk every day for 40 minutes and jog for 5 minutes, I climb stairs everyday and eat very healthy diet including fruits and vegetables.

I got little bit confidence by reading the articles in Troubledminds, really it is very useful and gave me some confidence. but still i am not able to convince myself.

Siddiqui

[RabidBadger]

Hi Siddiqui

I don't know what you've been reading but the only article I have ever read linking anxiety to heart problems was a report produced by a pharmaceutical company.

Generally speaking, heart disease is caused by a build up of fatty deposits in the coronary blood-vessels and has nothing to do with anxiety. It's true that anxiety does raise your pulse rate and blood pressure but, to a normal person, this should be no more dangerous to your health than a jog around the block.

If you've had an ECG and the results are good then try to believe it - after all, this is a very advanced test performed by trained professionals. Trust the doctors and start enjoying your life without feeling like you have to be worried about your heart.

Chris

[SuperMegaRichard]

Hah you are not alone about the heart problem. My anxiety made me obsessed about it. The thing that you have that I don't have is the jogging thing. Which is very good, keep that up.

I however somehow linked activity with the rise in heart rate thus every time I even stand my heart rate is elevated to about 100 bpm, right now it is around 120 on average.

I have had all the test and basically everything is fine. I had a holter monitor and when my heart rate actually got as low as 48 bpm sleeping.

Yep it sucks, the best way I can tell you to fight this fear is when you feel panicky or anxious I bet the first thing you do is check your heart and pulse and whatnot. Well next time dont, you will probably get extremely anxious because you are not. But don't, have your panic attack or whatever but as you are tell yourself that it is just irrational and everything will be fine. You cant really die from a panic attack if your heart is healthy like yours, your body will pass out well before hand.

Just go get yourself checked out and just dont give into the fear, that trains your brain to fear even more the next time.

I recommend you get someone that you trust and love (if you are lucky enough that you have someone in your life like that) and get them to check it for you. But make it totally random, so basically its being checked but you have no control over when it is. Then try to taper off that.

Good Luck.

[ron111]

You hit my fear right on the head. I hear about people with stress and anxiety and people say that it hurts the heart. Mucho made me feel a lot better. Just a jog around the block. That's what I got to keep thinking.

My mom used to work in a hospital and she said that for the most physically fit people this anxious thing isnt a big deal. But, I didn't know if she was just saying that to make me feel better.

Muchomoderator,

What if i feel anxious a lot of the day? I usually feel good in the morning. I do quite well with that. Then at 1 i start feeling more anxious and feel my heart rate. It hits around 60-66. I know that isnt high. But it will seem to beat harder around 60. Maybe i'm not that anxious. My resitng heart rate is like 50 mayge a little less. I exercise a lot. Do you think it jumping to 66-72 would raise my blood pressure enough to cuase damage to me even if it's like that a lot? If i could get over that, I really think my anxiety would be gone. It all relates to the heart. It's the only thing i've really ever been scared of.

[RabidBadger]

Ron

The average resting heart rate is around 70 so I'd say you have very little to worry about.

Fear is not a dangerous thing. If it was, people wouldn't ride on roller-coasters or bungee jump.

Fear, and all its associated physical effects, won't hurt you.

Chris

[ron111]

You are really doing a lot for me Mucho. I worry about it raising my blood pressure and it effecting me in the future. But, that's really it. I worry about having high bp in the future and having a doct detect it. Cause I have very bad white coat symdrome. It goes through the roof.

[RabidBadger]

Ron

The increase in blood-pressure from anxiety is only temporary.

Stop worrying about your blood-pressure and it will stop rising. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Chris

[ron111]

I know what you mean, but it's hard to get it off my mind. I feel anxious and then I think blood pressure. If I knew that when i feel anxious it isn't that high. I think i'd get over it. My anxiety isn't temporary though. That's what I worry about. A constant anxious state rising my bp constantly. It's not real bad anxiety. More so just feeling anxious. I don't panic often.

[RabidBadger]

Ron

I've had anxiety/panic attacks/agoraphobia for 9 years now and I'm pretty sure my worry is as constant as yours.

My averager blood-pressure is the same as it was 9 years ago.

Stop worrying and enjoy your life. I know it's hard but please try.

Chris

[ron111]

You know what? That was probably the most reassuring thing I've heard in a year. If I get over this, I owe a lot of it to you. I know it's not as simple as hearing one thing and getting over it. But, my anxiety is pretty isolated. So getting over my bp would be huge.

I really think everything happens for a reason. This is just another challenge we have to get over. I really appreciate your responses.

[SuperMegaRichard]

Hey Ron (I like it how someone else started the topic and it became about ron).

Anyways, your heart rate is really low, I assuming you are pretty healthy. Either I didn't read what your bp gets to or you didn't mention it. But I will assure you that you are safe.

A normal bp is 115/65ish. If you average around 140/90 or lower I can say you have absolutely nothing to worry about right now. And during a period of anxiousness if it gets around 190/100 you are still okay. I have heard of people getting around 250/140ish and they are fine. Let me tell you that you are fine, like me. But anxiety isn't about that.

You most likely have something else in your life that bothers you, you just focus on that because your brain doesn't know how to handle the actual problem correctly so it manifests in some other method.

Thats what I think, good luck.

[ron111]

Sorry that I kinda took over. I could just relate very well to the original poster.

So you don't think I suffer from this because I worry about my anxiety and BP, heat rate all the time? Maybe, I don't. I don't know. It makes me feel anxious most of the day and very frusterated. I do put more pressure on myself to get better soon because I'm attending law school within the next 6 months and I feel I need a clear mind or I'll fail. That's when depression set in.

[ron111]

I really don't know what my bp gets to. That's prob a good thing that I can't check it when I feel anxious like my heart rate. I have a bp monitor. When i'm really calm, it's usually under 120. But I have white coat sydrome. Just developed it. I have gone to the doctors, its been at 190, 145, and 130.

[SuperMegaRichard]

You just told yourself what you have. You said when you are really calm its below 120 and you probably just get anxious when you go to a doctors office because you don't want to hear bad news.

You sir are really healthy. Just get rid of your problem before it becomes what a lot of people have on this forum. Anytime you feel like your bp is going up tell yourself that its because I am anxious. Why am I anxious, you may or may not find the reason. If you do address it. I am sure you are going to be really fine, this is just a phase of life for you, you will get over it quickly if you take the right measures.

[ron111]

I really appreciate your support. My anxiety did get really bad at a point during this. It has been going on for 5-6 months. But i've learned to control it to an extent. I can prevent attacks, but I'll still feel anxious or uncomfortable. Maybe I just need tolearn to live with it?? I dont know. But thanks again.

[SuperMegaRichard]

That and learn what the problems in your life are that are making you anxious.

[ron111]

I put a lot of pressure on myself to be successful. Law school is not helping.

[jesse230]

You need somthing that can calm you. A stress ball (hackysack) you can squeez. A freind that can make you laugh. Anything that can make you happy or laugh is good :D