Just starting my journey, nervous and overwhelmed. Any advice is welcome. :)

Hi there. everyone. I'm new here. I didn't think I would ever be making an account on here but here we are. So, I have always noticed my heart more than the normal person. As a child I used to mention it to my mother only to be ignored and told that it was anxiety. As an adult I noticed that I would become out of breath easy when doing very mild exercise but just assumed I wasn't fit enough or assumed I was anxious. Then at the start of this year I noticed that after walking up one small flight of stairs in my house, my heart starts pounding very hard, I feel lightheaded and dizzy and very sick and I sometimes lose my vision temporarily. I have always had episodes of losing my vision for a while but, again, it was put down to anxiety. I have been having these episodes the majority of the time after walking upstairs. I struggle to do basic, mild exercise such as walking because my heart starts to pound and I get all of those symptoms. I also struggle with getting in and out of the car. My doctor prescribed me propranolol but all that does is relax my nervous system, my heart still pounds and I still get some symptoms. After some time my doctor decided to do a 24 hour ECG, which showed two episodes of high heart rate, one at 150bpm and one at 120bpm. I was referred to a cardiologist. After speaking to him on Thursday he wants to do a 72 hour ECG and a scan of my heart. He told me that this could be a problem with my electrical impulse in my heart or a flutter but he can't be sure. I'm incredibly nervous about getting these tests done because I don't want to be brushed to the side and told that I am just unfit or that it is anxiety. These symptoms are not normal for a 24 year old. I hope I get an appointment soon because I just want to be able to live my life and exercise.

[Highnoon]

Hi dainty don't b nervous get all your tests done stay positive I know it's Def not easy but don't over think things

[Kristin1812 Heart Star in reply to Highnoon]

It must be so very worrying, but it must be good they are looking at you and your heart carefully. Better to know what’s going on, surely?If they find any issues it maybe that you can have some simple and effective meds and advice.

I hope the tests go well.

[Mart25]

Good morning. Welcome to this fantastic forum full of positive people who can help. From my experiences of NHS cardiologists, you can relax a bit because you are now in safe hands. The plan to do a 72 hour tape and an echocardiogram (I guess that's what he means by a scan of the heart) sounds like the right place to start. I cannot see how they can possibly brush to aside because you are getting odd symptoms that need investigating. Good luck.

[LBCdance]

So glad you are seeing a cardiologist and it sounds as if he is taking you seriously by instigating these tests and certainly not brushing you to the side. It may take more tests and time but you have taken the first steps to knowing what the problem is. Although you are younger than many/most of us, this is a very supportive and caring forum, so keep us up to date on your progress, there is a lot of experience and commonsense here.

[Blackcatsooty]

Dear Dainty

This time last year my exhaustion had reached 22hours a day. I have an anxious disposition and i do a lot of relaxation to ease the situation. As part of my relaxation i use a tinnitus reliever, a little musical box that cost about £35.

My GP got straight on to my case and in a few days i had the diagnosis of aortic stenosis.

Quite honestly i was too fatigued to get over excited.

The waiting was the worst bit. But in no time i was in hospital and a new valve was fitted. Fatigue gone.

Yes, the rehab is hard and the operation major, but i still have fond memories of the fabulous hospital staff.

Thinking of you, there are things like stenosis that can nowadays be treated. I have a friend who got puffed out going up stairs. She had a strange problem, whereby she was breathing out when she should breath in. Several weeks of physio and she is now climbing stairs and anything else.

So please take your problem seriously but be constructive.

2021 can be a great year for you.

Colin

[Sunnie2day]

Welcome to the Hearties where we know what you're going through. Well done you persevering to the point a medic finally paid attention to your symptoms and you're now being properly investigated to determine the cause(s) of your symptoms.

The tests you'll be having should determine what is really going on and a treatment plan made. The heart scan will be very helpful as will the 72hr ECG.

There are several different types of heart scans, do you know if you're having an echocardiogram, are they going to do a contrast MRI or CT scan - or are they going to do an angiogram? Usually they start with an echo as it's painless, non-invasive, and gives the medics a very good idea of what is going on, and if they need to do further investigations before making a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Anxiety about the tests is normal, if that helps any (likely won't, I know) especially as you are young - the perception is only us oldies have heart problems and while it isn't true, getting people (family, friends, and sadly, medics) to recognise 'Oh hey, something isn't right and you need to have some tests to find out what exactly is going on' can be very difficult. Especially for younger people and then there is the added 'bonus' of being female. It's so easy to dismiss complaints as being anxiety related if you're young and female.

Once you know which tests they're planning, have a look at the BHF publications pages relating to the specific tests. I'm linking the basic publications page so you can have a look around for any information you think you might find helpful. Scroll around on the page, there is quite a lot of info available:

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

I'm also linking the BHF Heart Helpline contact details page for you - sometimes the best thing after talking to your medics is a chat with the trained cardiac nurses on the BHF Heart Helpline:

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

Welcome to the group, don't hesitate to post and ask questions - right now there is no such thing as a 'stupid question' so fire away

[Hermanm]

Sounds like my life story!Always out of breath as a kid when running,

everyone just though I was lazy,

Went on to have a career as a landscape gardener

So lots of hard work ,very fit otherwise ,

Worked hard ,played hard , lots to drink ,

Hobbies included scuba diving for many years ,

Then about 15 years ago ,

some bright spark decided I had high blood press pressure,

Gave me lots of useless pills ,over the following years ,

Nothing worked,

By then I had quite a bad , heart flutter!

Then I changed GP,

( luckiest day of my life)

She gave me the once over ,

Decided to send me for some tests ,

to see why I had high BP,

Within a month I'd been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and "regurgitating aortic valve ,"

Which I'd probably had since birth ,

By Christmas 2015 ,I got a nice new

aortic valve fitted ,

I was 57 at the time

6 years later I'm still here and enjoying life !

Looking back I should have had the OP done when I was a kid!

my generation just trusted the family GP ,

to know what he's doing.

We never thought of asking for a second opinion.

Not saying you have a dodgy valve ,

God forbid ,

But never feel that you cant ask to have a second opinion,

Take care.

Paul

[Hidden]

Sorry to hear you've been diagnosed with heart issues at such a young age - but wher as once upon a time this would have been a disaster, nowadays they have so much understadning of the heart that a pretty normal life can still be achieved without too much interference other than some medication.

It doesn't have to be Open Heart Surgery, it could be something like AF that people live wth all their lives without knowing about. Same goes with Ectopic beats and simlar.

Be concerned enough to listen to what they tell you and learn from it, and then take such info on board to manage your cnoditions or situation. At the moment though, it looks like you might just be in a similar position to some one who has been diagnosed with Asthma - here's your 2 puffers, have a nice life 👍

[R3mi]

Hi Daintyflower12The mind is a very powerful organ it can cause all manner of weird things to happen including making your body do things we can only imagine. From an early age you were aware of things but told it is only anxiety. And that could be true. The fact your heart hasn’t totally packed up must mean that while bad for your own sanity . You are now under the professionals let them do their job they know what they are doing. You might need a pacemaker. But millions of people have those installed and believe me they work as testimonies on here confirm. Good luck.

[0163SLH]

Hiya, I am 2 weeks into my journey and these guys are amazing they have made me feel so positive . I know now I will have good as well as bad days . On your bad days pop on here someone is bound to cheer you . Good luck on your journey xxx