Last couple of weeks I’ve not been feeling quite right ,hubby recently got me an Apple Watch as he’s worried about me as I’ve recently started to have a few other problems & issues , had a couple of falls , nothing really bad but I’ve lost my balance and new dizziness since having my pm, my heart rate has started going much faster walking around at home , I’ve just walked 10/15 steps from one room to another and it’s gone over 100 pretty much straightaway and is staying over 100, not walking upstairs andI can feel it racing where I don’t unless I’ve been walking uphill ,I haven’t had this since before I had my pm . I’ve spoke to the pacing team and they said everything looks ok as I sent a reading from my home monitor . If I walk upstairs it goes up to 120/130 and I really feel it racing . I’m waiting to see my cardiologist in the next month or so . My gp thinks anxiety could be causing how I’m feeling , it took numerous gp appointments and visits to a&e before they ran tests and discovered I needed a pacemaker , I was told do many times that it was stress or anxiety , I knew it was more than that , it was a relief in a strange way that there was a heart rhythm problem , I was diagnosed with tachy brady and heart pauses, I’m now slightly cautious when they tell me it’s anxiety . I have a dual chamber pacemaker fitted last November . I’m reluctant to ask for medical advice if I get any new symptoms as I fear I will just be told it’s anxiety 😢
Anxiety or possible heart rate problem - British Heart Fou...
Anxiety or possible heart rate problem
They are always to quick to blame everything on anxiety but it does actually cause us a lot of physical symptoms. I would hazard a guess that the Apple Watch is adding to your worries because you are now focused on what it's telling you, there is also some doubt that those of us with pacemakers will get accurate readings.
Maybe put the watch away for a few days and try to distract yourself with something you enjoy, see if it helps.
I know anxiety can cause many symptoms that can mimic heart problems , I keep a check on my heart rate as I’m just about recovered from pericarditis but I have read that keeping heart rate below 100 is one of the things that helps with peri , I know having a pacemaker can affect the readings but when my heart starts pounding after walking upstairs and I have to sit down to get my breath back it’s not a nice feeling. Thank you for your advice.xx
Hi Westie,Isn't it strange that we have this gut feeling that something isn't quite right? Our GPS are only human and sometimes make mistakes. I was in a similar situation to you 8 weeks ago where I knew for certain that I wasn't very well. I actually managed to see a gp, and he diagnosed something that I knew wasn't right!!! That same evening I suffered a heart attack and spent 3 days in hospital, then had to have a stent fitted!!! Like you, I am now very apprehensive of trusting this particular GPS advice. I'm hindsight, I should have spoken up and told him I disagreed with his diagnosis but I was unwell and scared at the time. Always listen to your gut, and if you don't agree with the advice given, speak up and ask for further tests or a second opinion. I wish you all the best and take care.
Only ourselves know how we are feeling , I do listen to the advice given and this GP is good , he has the time to listen to me . It is difficult when a medical professions tells you their diagnosis and you don’t feel that’s the right answer, when you don’t feel well it’s scary , I’m a fairly quiet person and not at all one to disagree strongly with GPs or drs, but with being told it was only anxiety and then finding out I did have a heart condition now I feel I have to speak up for myself more . It doesn’t help that I’ve had to go to my appointments alone or just had a phone appointment , my husband notices how I struggle at home or with shopping but he can’t go with me due to covid restrictions . It’s awful you ended up having a heart attack which I’m guessing could have been prevented with early intervention ? I hope you are recovered now , take care of yourself too and thank you xxxx
hi, i hope you are doing okay.
i too am struggling with people trying to say it’s anxiety due to a history of it when i was younger. this is still happening despite me having had a mental health assessment which has discounted anxiety and depression as causes. i’ve had sinus tachycardia with bad palpitations which goes even higher with limited movement which is similar to you.
if you are comfortable talking about it may i ask how they came to the conclusion you needed a pacemaker? thank you
hannah x
Hi Hannah , it took many visits to a&e, lots of GP appointments until I was referred to cardiology for tests , first 24hr holter monitor showed I was having heart pauses and a fast heart rate at times , covid and our first lockdown caused a delay in my next appointment with cardiology , over a year later I had a 7 day holter monitor which showed the heart pauses had got longer and more frequent and also tachy brady syndrome . My cardiologist first says he wouldn’t fit me with a pacemaker as I was 47 and too young , he said if I was 60 there would have been no hesitation in me having one , two weeks later I went to see him under the impression I’d either be discharged or just have a follow up appointment , I was shocked when he says he’d discussed me with another cardiologist and they both agreed I needed one ., he says I must go to hospital immediately if I had a black out. Three weeks later I had the procedure . Are you on any medication or seeing cardiology about your tachycardia ? Take care xxxx
hello, thank you for your reply. i’m sorry to hear they initially said you were too young, things like this can happen at any age!
at the moment i am on propranolol to try and calm down the tachycardia, chest pain and palpitations but it doesn’t seem to be working in general. this week my heart rate has been a lot slower for a few moments and i’ve felt weaker, although it could be due to these beta blockers.
i had an echo mid May and I got the report yesterday which they are classing as “essentially normal” as there’s a few bits that aren’t 100% but they don’t seem fussed. I had an in person GP appointment yesterday because I feel worse and I got told again there’s nothing physically wrong and it’s anxiety.
i am just lost and frustrated as i know it’s not anxiety! they asked me to have a mental health assessment, which i did, and the scores for depression and anxiety came back so low they asked why i was there in the first place. they did a letter saying it’s not anxiety and for physical things to be looked at more but it doesn’t seem to be working.
i’m 20 with a history of mental health issues but i have been well for years. we also have quite extensive family history of heart problems.
all the best x
Hi there, trust your gut. I felt anxious about some pain I was experiencing, I thought it was a reflux issue so went to A&E, a blood test came back fine but I felt something still wasn’t right.After 2 hours sitting there I had a widowmaker and woke up with cannulas in both hands and right arm, monitors on me, people running round and looking very serious.
This was last November and it turns out I’d been having a heart attack for 4 hours, if I hadn’t gone to Hospital I wouldn’t have survived as I had to be shocked with the pads to bring me back.
I had a stent fitted and I’m doing great with my recovery.
I’m not trying to scare you, I’m just saying you know your own body better than any GP so trust your gut and get fully checked out at hospital.
All the best and I hope you get your issue sorted 👍
Wow you were lucky to still be in hospital , I’m so glad you got the treatment you needed. It’s really great to know you are doing ok now xxx thank you for your reply , this sort of proves my point that our symptoms can be brushed off or ignored . Take care xx
I'm afraid my GP is also quick to blame everything on either anxiety or my long standing spinal problems. MY breathlessness was muscular and he cancelled an appointment to the rapid access heart clinic. I had a heart attack. He's much more careful now about possible heart issues ( If I can ever get to see him) but everyone else in the practice shouts anxiety. Don't accept it. BY pass your GP by either going t to A&E, phoning 111 or even 999. If you feel you can wait to see your cardiologist, ring his secretary and ask to go on the cancellation list to see him earlier. Yes it might be anxiety. We all know how it can affect heart rate and BP but then again it might not be and you need to know either way.
Thank you for your reply , I hope you are keeping well now , I will wait to see my cardiologist as I have recently been checked in a&e as I was getting so much pain by my pacemaker , the tests were all ok but I still don’t feel quite right . Hopefully he’ll look at the bigger picture and not just a 30 second ecg that looks ok . Take care xxx
heart disease and anxiety, why no anxiety at all until about 9 months after the heart event? 
Worried about heart rate
Fast heart rate treatment 
Low resting heart rate.
