Anxiety

[ccwh70]

Apologies for another post, I'm trying to keep questions seperate. I've had anxiety on and off for years which is one reason no one is expected I had a heart issue. Recently though the anxiety is off the scale and I think contributing to the episodes of chest discomfort etc.. does anyone else take anything to help with anxiety?

[Midgeymoo17]

The best answer here is book a trip to your GP. They are the best people to advise what you can take personally and to consider potential interactions with any heart meds you maybe taking.

General advice I can give from experience of mental health support groups:

1)Anxiety is generally treated with either Benzodiazepines or Beta Blockers depending on the way the anxiety presents. Or SSRI's if it is consistent anxiety.

2)Beta Blockers- these are obviously by definition heart meds so you really need to consult with both your GP and Cardiologist. They are prescribed to treated acute exacerbations in the symptoms of anxiety i.e.:actual panic attacks or if you know a trigger is coming like panic due to stage fright. They do not treat the anxiety themselves, they relieve the racing heart rate and associated symptoms. If you are already on beta blockers for your heart you are unlikely to be able to go down this route.

3) Benzodiazepines- as far as I know have a similar short acting effect that beta-blockers do but a bit stronger. The big issue with them is they are highly addictive so NICE do not recommend more than 2-4 weeks of use. I do not know the effect of these on the cardiovascular system- ask your doctor.

4)SELECTIVE SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITORS (SSRI's): These are the most commonly prescribed for Generalised Anxiety Disorder (or basically where the anxiety level is persistently high in the absence of acute exacerbations). These are the recommended treatment by NICE for this instance particularly as they are far less addictive than Benzodiazepines.

The best advice by a long way is to book a trip to your GP to discuss your anxiety- have a good think about whether you get like panic attacks or if you just have consistent hightened anxiety before you go as the drugs used to treat change substantially. Then if your GP prescribes something check with the Pharmacist to see if it will interact with any heart meds (they will know better than your GP), finally read the safety leaflet. If the safety leaflet or Pharmacist raise an issue with regards to heart disease or you treatment interacting give your Cardiologist a ring to check.

It maybe worth ringing your cardiologist anyway as some cardiac services have a specially trained counsellor attached (I did not use mine as I argue with the nurse).Counselling will give the best long term outlook and the cardiac nurses trained as counsellors will have a much shorter wait than what your GP can access.

[JakJenLew]

I think anything you have to do with your heart always leads to anxiety... sometimes that's worse some days than other... But speak to your Gp and try and explain how your feeling