How are you supposed to not be afraid when your heart is fluttering and thumping ?

Im fine until i have these sudden episodes where my heart doesnt seem to know what it wants to do..like this evening. Im alone and scared. My anxiety is triggered by the way my heart is beating . How do you not get scared?

[Rockmeamadeus]

I usually have to go to sleep early when that happens. Sometimes a hot bath helps or putting my face in a bowl of ice water. You are not alone. You are panicking. It will stop. ❤️

[Hidden in reply to Rockmeamadeus]

Thank u. This is so hard to deal with. It helps to know others care. xx

[kkat37]

Hi! How are you feeling? In that moment its the scariest time, for me I try to focus on something else. Like I will try to tell myself breath, breath. Sometimes I have to turn my ceiling fan on to get rush of cool air its very hard though. Other suggestions I have gotten were to drink cold water and go for a walk.

[Hidden in reply to kkat37]

Hello, thank you for your reply. Still having some uncomfortable fluttering and stomach upset. Waiting on test results from the cardiologist. His initial results from my EKG, left me unsettled to say the least. To see the full update and what i am going through see the reply below to Ironj. Didnt want to post it again. Thanks again for your reply.

[Ironj]

Health anxiety is a tough thing to deal with. I’ve been dealing with it for 30 years , my issue is the same as yours. I can assure you that palpitations are very common with or without anxiety. When you have the palpitations you’ll have a heightened anxiety level, in turn have more. Try coughing when these palpitations start that will typically cause them to stop. But again palpitations are harmless in most cases unless you’ve been diagnosed with a heart condition. Have you been to you Dr about these and if so and the Dr said it’s nothing to worry about believe the Dr.

[Hidden in reply to Ironj]

Hi, thank you for your reply. i am currently finishing up a monitor test that i wore for 30 days. I have had a recent Echo and nuclear stress test. This after i had a Ekg in the office that showed a change from one i had in April. The doctor said it looked like i had a small heart attack at some point. and ordered the test.

The echo showed MVP with what they said was a pretty normal amount of regurgitation. as most people do have some regurgitation. The stress test results where good. so now waiting on the monitor results. I asked the nurse about that abnormal or changed EKG and she said it was not uncommon for women to have it show a False Positive. And that the cardiologist said follow up with my GP..This without having even got the results of the monitor. I am so confused I dont know what is going on. Its very scary and i live alone. I feel better then out of the blue the nightmare begins again. How in the world am i not suppose to be afraid?

[TriggerPoint in reply to Hidden]

I had a problem with flutters outa nowhere and it frightened me. Come to find out it was a nerve in a muscle twitching. But ? When the fear set in ? It became a heart issue too. Fear releases adrenaline which directly speeds up the heart. My scare now has been hearing my heart pounding in my ears. When that happens I "know" my BP is high and it will be. When ya get outa bed during the night to pee and you hear your heart pounding fast in your ears ? That will scare the pee right outa you ! THAT is when I'll chew a Xanax [ i use as a clutch med ] bitter or/ not because I want it working as fast as possible because I know if it is my heart ? That adrenaline dump on my heart will not be helping it at all ! 99% of the time ? Within 20 to 30 min. , everything calms down. When that happens I usually wake up hot too. Therefore my anxiety is up a bit enough to trigger a higher BP, but when the "fear"comes it dumps the adrenaline and here we go ! Now if in that 20 or/ 30 min. time period ? If the ticker is still flying ? That's a 911 ER trip. You can't take chances when your BP and pulse rate is sky high. But like i said, 99% of the time it's a panic attack.... [ fear is our worst enemy ]

[Hidden in reply to TriggerPoint]

I go to bed with that pounding in my head ears and throat almost every night. Worse when lying on my left side. I have never had a history of a really high bp. Ussualy its 130ish over 80ish. Sometimes it has climbed to 150/90ish..but my GP..doesnt seem concerned. That constant ringong in my ears and beating in my ears and throat happened a couple of years ago..went away and came back a couple of months ago. Palpatating tinnitis i believe it is called.

The fluttering preceeds to a sudden thump. So i ruled out a nerve or muscle. Glad that is what yours was, a nerve in the muscle.

[Ironj in reply to Hidden]

It’s good news that your stress test came back normal. The cardiologist must not have seen anything that concerned him or her that’s why you were released back to your GP. Once you halter monitor is complete you GP will review it to confirm it’s in line with you negative results of you stress test. An EKG is a 30 snap shot of the heart, and gives a fast glance at your heart. The stress test is far more accurate then the EKG.

I agree any thing like this would scare anyone. I think you’ll be fine , your cardiologist wouldn’t have released you back to your GP if there was a problem.

[Hidden in reply to Ironj]

Thank you for your encouraging words.

[Beevee]

Acceptance is not about not being afraid right away. That is a huge thing to expect at such an eatly stage of recovery, especially if the symptoms have been frightening you for some time. Acceptance is allowing yourself to be frightened by the symptoms (first fear), allowing your heart to thump like crazy but learning not to add more fear (second fear) such as questioning why it is happening. This second fear is recognisable as a “What if?” What if my heart gives up, what if i cannot cope with this symptom. What if I die? It is this second fear which keeps the first fear going i.e. your heart thumping like crazy. You cannot control that first flash of fear but you can learn to react differently by not adding second fear and questioning why you feel like you do.

Blindly accepting that your symptoms are anxiety based and is nothing to fear is possible but easier if you understand and have that belief. At the moment, I don’t think you are there just yet but it will come.

Belief will only come through genuinely understanding that it is anxiety based, is natural under the circumstances and completely harmless, and letting the symptoms be there, without resisting any of it. I can’t make you believe this, this is down to you. You have to do this for yourself.

Over time and through your own learning and experience, you will see for yourself that although the symptoms might still persist, you are still healthy and alive! Having belief that there is nothing wrong with your heart ( subject to clear medical tests...I’m not a doctor) will work wonders because it makes acceptance so much easier. Once acceptance has been firmly ingrained, it’s just a matter of time before the symptoms disappear.

One small note to make. Anxiety has a habit of looking for something else for you to fear so be prepared to accept that too. Acceptance paves the way to recovery from all symptoms of anxiety.

All of what I have said is from my own experience and covered in more detail by Dr Claire Weekes’ books about nervous suffering.

Hope this helps

Beevee

[Hidden in reply to Beevee]

Thank you for your reply. I am not convinced it is all anxiety..since i am undergoing test for what the cardiologist said the ekg showed as a small heart attack. Aside from MVP..my echo was good and my nucleur stress test was good..but still waiting on results from a holter monitor 30 day period. They told me the ecg or ekg could have been a false positive that it shows that way sometimes on women. I am just scared and confused..Perhaps Panic/Anxirty is not the best community for me on here..seeing as i am going through the medical test..?

[Beevee]

Hope you find the answers you are looking for and accept what your doctor tells you. Either way, acceptance of the situation will help.

[Hidden in reply to Beevee]

Thank u!

[w86compositor]

I’ve been for over a year with “weird” heart beats. Actually I’ve had this “condition” my hole life but I never paid attention to it. I’ve been into different doctors and cardiologists but for some reason the “weird” heartbeats doesn’t show when I’m at the doctor. I’ve been prescribed with atenolol, propranolol, and a bunch of anxiety “natural” remedies but I’m also scared of taking pills so I don’t take them at all or almost never. Every once in a while I feel like going again to the cardiologist. Last night I’ve been awake since 3:30 or 4am that I had that sort of PVC or whatever it is. I’m exhausted, I can’t usually fall back asleep and at 7am I haven’t slept and I have to go to work. How am I supposed to work like that? So my friend. I know what you’re goin through. If you don’t have any heart problems that have being diagnosed by a physician then it’s probably a lot of anxiety like me. Or chemicals that release on the brain causing unbalances on the body, worries, and life. Do everything on your power to help yourself. Exercise, eat healthy, laugh, love, try not to worry ( I know it’s very hard but you have to keep trying). Talk to God and give Him all your worries. Find peace within the storm. We’re afraid of leaving this world because we haven’t seen anything about the next one, or the other life. We’re fear loosing us, or leaving our loved ones, and it’s totally ok. I understand. You are not alone. But in the meantime, search for answers, look out for solutions. Pray to God, and be brave.

[Hidden in reply to w86compositor]

That was a beautiful response you gave..Thank you for sharing. You can read my feelings very well. You see my fear and worry as only someone who is going through the same can. God is the peace i have. My comforter..and my strength, and..my friend. To you..may you be blessed with peace..and healing...and a good nights sleep.

[designguy]

Hello Autumn, one of the other things to consider is that there are physiological conditions that can also cause anxiety symptoms like thyroid disorders, adrenal fatigue and hormonal imbalances. So it's good to get those checked and ruled out if you haven't done so already. I had pretty much recovered from my anxiety disorder and this past spring had it return and it turned out I was Hypothyroid.

[Hidden in reply to designguy]

Yes i was borderline hypo 4.5. I did go on Levothyroxin. It helped some. I also am pretty sure i am going through menapause..hormones..are all out of wack. Thank you for your reply!