really strong heartbeats.. anxiety?

[vonnhelsing]

hey everyone,

i've had anxiety on and off for 4 years and it's been a tough ride and about half a year ago i really felt like it was starting to go away. i was really really happy but then my girlfriend dumped me and my anxiety has come crashing back with depression added onto it as well. it's been 5 months now. 5 months of complete hell. i was just wondering if anyone else experiences really strong heartbeats and sometimes i get that one really strong one where it feels like its 5 beats in one. my heart feels like it has stopped for a few seconds and then there's a giant beat and it starts beating again really hard. it makes me cough a little when it does happen. i noticed it happens a lot when im bending down or picking something up from the floor. i've been to a lot of doctors and a lot of ER's like im sure most of us with anxiety have :p im always so convinced its a heart problems but i've had countless blood tests, ECG's and i had an echocardiogram done a few weeks ago as well as x-rays. all tests came back normal.
is this uncomfortable heart sensation really caused by anxiety? how is this happening? and how can i stop it because it really scares me..
any help would be greatly appreciated :)

[Martintlane]

Palpitations are a common sign of anxiety, you can try doing a search on breathing exercises these may help to reduce them

[Schatmeisje]

i have it too, and it is awful!
the best thing i found was that once all my tests came back clear, i just learnt to tell myself that it was only anxiety and learnt to ignore it, as i know it isnt going to hurt me, the scariest thing i get is a very hard heartbeat, it isnt any faster, just so hard that my stomach moves visibly with each beat, and my GP was freakking out at my last appointment saying it was beating too hard, which made things worse for me, as i know it is perfectly normal to have these symptoms when having a panic attack, so i switched doctors, to one who ignores my anxiety symptoms and thta has really helped to ignore them a little better.
I try to just take it easy when it happens, and try to distract my mind onto something else, and especially slow down my breathing and then it eases considerably.