Rae93
02-12-2012, 05:52 AM
Hi there,
I am new to this forum and just wanted to share something and get some opinions from other people prone to similar problems.
I am 19, female and currently at University. I've been suffering from health anxiety for years now and very recently it has taken a turn for the worst. I suffered my first panic attack back in september 2011 and since then have gained an unhealthy obsession with my heart rate. I picked up on PVCs that I would get in certain postural positions and took this to my GP in november/december time who referred me to a cardiologist. From then my cardiologist gave me a 24 hour monitor and an Echo which all came back with normal results. He basically said that these are common occurrences and I should learn to live with them.
I was just getting to terms with this and my anxiety about it all when I had an episode in January with a racing heart. I woke up in the early hours of the morning aware of my heart rate, which then increased and continued to do so. It got so fast that I phoned the ambulance and was taken into a&e by which time everything had calmed down. This has now become a common occurrence. So much so that for the past 5 mornings in a row I will wake up between the hours of 1-5 approx. Sometimes I can be in a deep sleep and will gradually come out of my dream to then be hit with a wave of anxiety, then I become aware of my heart rate and it fires off from there. It must reach around 180/190bpm because when the ambulance comes out and I have calmed slightly it is still up at about 110/20. I have had a 7day holder monitor this week which caught one episode and the results came back normal again and the team who read it said it is nothing dangerous.
Basically, what I am asking is that could this be a symptom of anxiety? It doesn't hit me during the day. It only seems to be at night when I drift off into a sleep. Given that I am a natural worrier and self-confessed hypochondriac, I find it hard to be reassured despite my cardiologist telling me that it is not dangerous and everything will be alright. I really need help because my studies have been impacted dreadfully and I am not sleeping at all at nights so it is all going round in one viscous circle.
I am new to this forum and just wanted to share something and get some opinions from other people prone to similar problems.
I am 19, female and currently at University. I've been suffering from health anxiety for years now and very recently it has taken a turn for the worst. I suffered my first panic attack back in september 2011 and since then have gained an unhealthy obsession with my heart rate. I picked up on PVCs that I would get in certain postural positions and took this to my GP in november/december time who referred me to a cardiologist. From then my cardiologist gave me a 24 hour monitor and an Echo which all came back with normal results. He basically said that these are common occurrences and I should learn to live with them.
I was just getting to terms with this and my anxiety about it all when I had an episode in January with a racing heart. I woke up in the early hours of the morning aware of my heart rate, which then increased and continued to do so. It got so fast that I phoned the ambulance and was taken into a&e by which time everything had calmed down. This has now become a common occurrence. So much so that for the past 5 mornings in a row I will wake up between the hours of 1-5 approx. Sometimes I can be in a deep sleep and will gradually come out of my dream to then be hit with a wave of anxiety, then I become aware of my heart rate and it fires off from there. It must reach around 180/190bpm because when the ambulance comes out and I have calmed slightly it is still up at about 110/20. I have had a 7day holder monitor this week which caught one episode and the results came back normal again and the team who read it said it is nothing dangerous.
Basically, what I am asking is that could this be a symptom of anxiety? It doesn't hit me during the day. It only seems to be at night when I drift off into a sleep. Given that I am a natural worrier and self-confessed hypochondriac, I find it hard to be reassured despite my cardiologist telling me that it is not dangerous and everything will be alright. I really need help because my studies have been impacted dreadfully and I am not sleeping at all at nights so it is all going round in one viscous circle.