Constant awareness of heart

[Marc0133]

Ever since my anxiety was triggered, my body has always had over awareness of my heart. I keep checking it to make sure it's beating properly, I constantly check heart rate monitor apps on my phone and I always worry about having a heart attack or my heart not beating. It has put a damper on my life but I also worry that if I don't focus on it, either of those two things will happen. I also take propranolol tablets as well because, even though I don't have a heart condition, I'm afraid my heart will beat uncontrollably if I don't.

It's really interfering with my life and I wish I was normal again! Is there a way to treat this anxiety and has anyone else had this experience? Thanks.

[_Reba_]

I had this when I first got anxiety. It was really horrible and I constantly checked my heartbeat every 5 minutes. I was certain I had heart disease and I was only 14 at the time! In the end I went to my doctor and had it checked. Everything was fine and my heart was healthy. This stopped my worries more or less straight away.

I'm 16 now and have an obsession with my breathing. It's truly horrible and it does interfere with your everyday life. I think the best thing to do it just ignore the desire to do it Also book up at your doctors to give it a check.

[tilge22]

I have exactly the same thing, ever since i started to get anxiety about 3 months ago ive been constantly aware of my heart, it even began to beat really fast all the time and I too started taking propranolol, i have had scans taken and everything and they all come back clear. Everyone i've seen has told me its anxiety so whenever i worry about it i just tell myself its anxiety, hopefully it will get better, for the both of us!

[Lindamy]

Propranolol will slow down the heart rhythm and make it beat stronger. Did a doctor prescribe this for you? My doctor give it to me because I have high blood pressure and a too rapid normal heart rate. But it also is prescribed to help prevent migraines, which it does for me, and is said can help with anxeity. It doesn't help my anxiety. Perhaps you should also have your doctor check your thyroid and do some blood tests if you feel your heart rate is not right.

[Lindamy in reply to Lindamy]

By too rapid, I mean over 100 beats per minute at rest.

[Agora1]

Hi Marc0133, I think the largest percentage of those of us who have anxiety starts with an obsession with our heart. Since the heart is the core of our being, we tend to focus in on every heart beat. The more we do, the more erratic it becomes. When it happened to me, what I did after repeated cardiac tests came back normal was to believe the doctors. I was told that I was doing more harm than good sitting around afraid to stress out my heart. Actually it was just the opposite that I needed to do in order to reduce the number of skipped beats and irregular beats. Exercise was recommended which in turn reduced my adrenaline level and conditioned my heart. The heart is a muscle that was meant to be used and not sit dormant. As I got a natural high from exercising, my heart also responded to a healthier rhythm. Healthy heart, healthy body. As for my mind that sent out anxious thoughts, I used talking therapy to reduce my stress level. To find out why my body and mind were out of sync so that I could work on a solution. Anxiety for me has now run it's course. I never thought that was a possibility. I did all the right things and with the time and effort I put into attacking my anxiety, it finally paid off. I wish you well ....

[Marc0133 in reply to Agora1]

Hey Agora1, thanks for responding!

I forgot to add that I have quite a big imagination, so it's easy for me to get frightened and imagining the worst, like something bad with my heart. I also have too much time on my hands so that's probably how I'm like this way now and I need to do more stuff. I'm just really worried I'll develop a heart condition with this anxiety (can that happen?). Again, thanks!

[Agora1 in reply to Marc0133]

Marc0133m Our imaginations are the worse. Whenever something happens, we are already down the road to the worse case scenario. It's true that having too much time on our hands can lead to more negative thoughts but only you can change that. As for your concerns regarding your heart, it is best to ask the doctor who put you on propranolol. Take care.