Cardiophobia..need help

[kedzrob]

Hi all. I am new here and i need your help...For the past 8-9 months i am very obsessed with my heart. I am checking my pulse in the neck many times a day...the only way i don't do this is when i am busy doing something, and i don't think about it...i am also obsessed with my heartbeat as well.. i don't have chest pains, and i am not feeling dizzy or something...but thinking that this little organ we have in our bodies called heart is responsible for your life...and thinking that is beating for me thousands of times a day...keeping me alive. I had EKG done and doctor says my blood test is excellent , but i am having a little higher blood pressure...i just worry that sometimes i almost don't feel my pulse in the neck and than i worry that my heart is about to stop beating, or beating to slow or too fast.. or i will experience irregular beating and i will get heart attack and die....i heard that normally you shouldn't feel your heartbeat when at rest, but there are times where i am active or i just ate something and i am convicted that my heart should beat stronger so i can feel it beat, but i don't ...this is crazy....i panic if there is just even a small twinge in my heart or chest area,, and i may have a heart attack or something....please anyone tell me what to do..this cardiophobia thing is killing me.

[lolfeg123]

Do you at times feel heartburn? If not.. I would suggest two things

1. Read facts about cardiophobia

2. Guided meditation

[Kirk]

Welcome to the forum. You could try relaxation exercises such as deep breathing. Regular exercise can also be of help, as does getting
enough sleep, staying away from caffeine, alcohol and recreational drugs. Self help books, hobbies, meditation, accupuncture. herbs,
vitamins, etc. See what works best for you.

[MSNURSE]

I am an RN and work on a cardiac unit and there are tons of things that can go wrong with the heart just like there are tons of things that can go wrong with any part of the body. I understand you are stressed about your heart but you should realize the heart is a very strong organ. While the average resting heart rate should usually fall between 60-100 it is not abnormal to fall below or above that. Everyone's pulse pressure is different depending on height, body weight, etc. Some peoples pulse will be felt easier than others. It is also not uncommon for people with anxiety to worry about their hearts because frequently with anxiety things like chest pain, pressure, increased heart rate are very common because heart rate is affected by the fight or flight response in people where in an anxious or stressful situation it is common for the heart to increase in rate. The heart is meant to be strong and pump for the course of ones lifetime, it is the only muscle in the body that doesn't tire. With a normal EKG/stress test I am sure you are fine and just have to take it one step at a time and trust the doctors.

[aml0017]

The first thing to remember is after however long you have been worrying about your heart stopping, it has not stopped! Second, all the worrying in the world wouldn't prevent your heart from stopping anyway. This is pure anxiety, and it is due to your being hyper aware of something that is involuntary, and most people never think about at all. The minute you become conscious of your heartbeat or your breathing then you allow the part of your brain that controls voluntary actions to overcome the involuntary mechanisms. I mean I don't have to think about breathing, but I can hold my breath or breathe slower or faster if I so choose. Add anxiety to the mix, and then you will get the pounding heart, the "skipped" beats (which I think may actually be your esophogeal/stomach muscles spasming which feels like an irregular/skipped beat - google it), the tingling feeling, dizziness, etc. Then because you are thinking about it too much it is hard for the involuntary mechanisms to take over again. It always does though, I'm guessing you don't think of it literally every single second or while you are sleeping or distracted. Keep reminding yourself that your body know what it needs to do if you let it, and work on some relaxation and deep breathing methods to relax you when you start to think about it and get anxious. The more you can forget about it the better off you will be.