So my story starts with over a year ago I went to the doctors with a bad cough they checked my heart rate which was 140, I was sent to a and e with tachycardia ecgs, tests, X-rays and was going to be admitted but an a and e nurse decided I had anxiety and sent me on my way. Year later I started noticing a lot of palpations but I kept putting it off because of the previous experience. I did some training in my job which ended up at the end we all had to do ecgs to show we could do them, I didn’t think anything of it but when they did mine my heart rate was 145 so the person training us sent me to a and e I had multiple tests and ecgs and was sent home being told I had anxiety but was referred to cardiology. I then had 2 more trips to a and e for chest pain once again told I had anxiety and that my chest pain was acid reflux which I was not impressed with, was made to feel like I was wasting their time, I had a 48 hour ecg monitor my results showed tachycardia caused by ectopic beats from my upper right chamber, I have been prescribed bisoprolol at 2.5mg only had my first does so can’t comment on that yet, but I am off for an ultrasound soon to further investigate, just wondered if anyone else have had trouble with being brushed off with anxiety and anyone with similar symptoms
Tachycardia
Palpitations
Some dizziness
Chest tightness
Really wondering what my ultrasound will show if anything 🤷♀️
I just wanted to share my story incase anyone else is currently battling for a diagnosis but being told they have anxiety… after a lot of pushing I’m finally being taken seriously hope I can encourage others to push
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AMZYBAE
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Hi & welcome , sorry to hear your symptoms weren't taken seriously. The same happened to me for 3 years ,anxiety, reflux, depression is what I was told turns out I've had recurrent & resistant myocarditis. This kind of thing happens a lot with women . I hope you feel better soon on your meds & get the help you deserve 🙂
Well I can’t complain then 3 years is really bad! Terrible to think how many people are miss diagnosed and yeh anxiously waiting for my ultrasound I just don’t wanna be on beta blockers forever
I know ,dont know how I got through it . Dont worry about betablockers many people with other heart problems have to take multiple meds ,I've been on them since 2019 with no big issues . The echo you're waiting to have will check heart structure & function as far as I know ,let us know how you get on
I just would rather a fix then meds but we shall see will let you know how I get on got ultrasound in couple weeks so probably know more in a month
Dear AMZYBAE, Sorry to hear about the issues you face. My story is that I have suffered from anxiety for many years and I have found my GP dismissing virtually everything as anxiety based. I recently had high blood pressure and a very stubborn diastolic reading and highish but not too bad 89 heart rate. My GP seems to think much of my elevated readings are anxiety based and has today suggested bisoprolol at 2.5 mg as part of my BP meds. I too have suffered with a tightening chest at night and I hope this may help. I shall wait and see.I hope you get sorted out and never give up pushing for treatment if you feel you need it. Good luck. On a positive note I think I am finally making progress and my recent GP experiences have been fairly good. A
I have had AF for 17 years, first showing itself in my late 20s. As a young female I, unfortunately, had the same experiences as you until the monitor picked up AF. I was not experiencing anxiety but I was told I was anxious by multiple doctors (despite me having far more training in anxiety than them and being very clear about my symptoms). Then, at last, one actually looked at me, listened to me and said " you don't seem anxious to me". It all changed after that. Wishing you luck and well done for holding your own.
If you are under stress and worrying re various issues including your heart, then, yes, all the things you mentioned above can be caused by anxiety.
See a cardiologist , get a definite diagnosis, and if it is all clear, and it can be even with a minor change in the ECG,, then start training and get your fitness and confidence back.
After you have run 10 km, you will find that you will stop worrying about your heart
No 0 anxiety have already been told I have something going on I my heart is giving off too many ectopic beats which is confusing my heart rhythm happening far too much too so I’ve been put on beta blockers and being sent for ultrasound but if it wasn’t for my ecg monitor then I would still be battling with them over it
I have now been diagnosed with SVT but the first time I had an 'event', I was bluelighted to A & E. I was told that it could have been anxiety or too much caffeine (having also suffered with anxiety I know when I am anxious and when I am not plus I hadn't drunk too much caffeine). I am now on bisoprolol as I opted not to have a procedure due to a consideration of the risk vs benefits for me personally.
It sounds like things are now moving in the right direction and you are finally getting a proper assessment but keep pushing back when you are not getting the treatment you need and don't be afraid to do so.
Hello there, yes I have had all of the above symptoms and was diagnosed with SVT in Jan tis year. Kept having episodes and was eventually given cardioversion because they couldn't get it under control with the usual medications. Been on Bisoprolol now on Sotalol but still having ongoing symptoms which seem to get worse with any form on exertion [ie walking/exercise bike]. Had a conversation with GP today and in all they still don't seem that concerned - I finds this frustrating as obviously the meds are still not right but I have decided to go back to work [reduced hours] for a month as I've no way of knowing if I'll be ok or not [I clean my local Golf Club] - They keep saying it's not life threatening and I do believe them but it still worries me. I've never been given a heart monitor at home [only had one overnight when I was admitted] and we all know after an episode all returns to normal or as near as so it's very difficult to try to explain to them what you are experiencing on a daily basis and actually getting them to believe you. I hope you get yourself sorted and let us know how you get on. Take care.
Can’t request a holster monitor maybe for a week? I only had mine on 48 hrs but mine does pretty much play up constantly so that was enough for me, sorry I’ve took a while to reply been working
That’s crazy they haven’t offered you all tests , my sad was sent with the same heart rate and ended up having a heart scan, ask for an mri! Just not good enough care. I really hope you get somewhere soon
Tbh I have had a lot of tests but no mri and having ultrasound in a few weeks so hopefully get some answers from that 🤷♀️ And well I am on meds now which is putting my mind at ease even if I did have to wait nearly 2 weeks before I got them after being told I needed them
Yes to all that, from my twenties - a long time ago. I think you’ll find your echocardiogram (I guess that’s what you mean by ultrasound) will be fine. If it isn’t a scan of your heart, then it will just be of the abdomen, I expect. Acid reflux is a common cause of problems, but you can test for this as a cause by taking a short course of esomeprazole (bought over the counter from a pharmacy). This will stop the acid in its tracks and might well help the high heart rate. It’s a way of checking for yourself if this is the cause.
People with anxiety certainly do have all of the things you say and it’s unlikely that you’re being “brushed off”. 2.5mg bisoprolol is quite a high dose if your heart is entirely normal and I didn’t think it would usually be given only for anxiety. Often a different beta-blocker is used. It will most certainly help your high heart rate. I gather that only if a heart rate stays at over 100bpm for a sustained period of time, and for no obvious reasons, might it have another cause or have consequences and be labelled as tachycardia.
Another thing you could do is buy a Kardia ECG device and check your own heart beat when it goes high? They are wonderful devices, but can, I expect, also lead to obsessive interest in the heart and, I guess, to needless anxiety, too.
They have now decided it isn’t anxiety that’s why I’ve been put on beta blockers but just very stressful that if I hadn’t pushed I would of been sent away with anxiety
What are they looking to find? I think when you are young, it is always necessary to push but also to realise that the chances are high that most illnesses will be temporary.
It’s more, to give doctors the benefit of the doubt, that they know well the balance of probabilities and work through effective algorithms to help them arrive at their conclusions. They don’t want to add fear to someone unnecessarily, of course. Sometimes only time and persistence get them to look deeper.
The likeliest is (after nothing much of course), an arrhythmia. The scan will look at the valves, the size of the heart and aorta, and its pumping ability (“ejection fraction”). If you’re still unhappy, you could press for a stress MRI scan as that is pretty much the gold standard, especially as you won’t have circulation problems.
Tbh if they don’t find anything on the ultrasound then that’s fine but only if they can keep me on beta blockers regular chest tightness is no fun and it is definitely not something I want to just put up with I also nearly fainted the other day so don’t want new symptoms
“Near syncope” is what they call it. It’s another symptom sometimes put down to anxiety. The scan will reassure you. It’s no fun, though, that’s for sure.
Tbh I know it’s not anxiety I can be laid in bed watching a film chilled as and I will get horrendous palpitations with a HR of around 130 (I wear a watch to track it so I have my own numbers of it all) I understand the confusion because ofcourse when I’m in hospital I am probably anxious no one likes being poked and having tests but unfortunately because of that they brush it off probably a similar problem for a lot of us that get told it’s anxiety
I get this too. The anxiety element can sometimes kick in subconsciously once the mind picks up on the erroneous heart beat, but it sounds unlikely as you say.
In my case, the tachycardia can be a precursor to runs of ectopic beats and, occasionally so far, to afib. If it is, that then goes on for a few hours. I tend to take a bisoprolol tablet if I feel shaky from it, which seems to help, although the tachycardia is likely itself self limiting. One aspect of bisoprolol for me is that it’s effect lasts too long - maybe 48 hours - with low heart rate and blood pressure.
I understand anxiety could be a trigger, but I don't consider myself to be an anxious person! I get annoyed if I am late for an appointment etc but still don't consider that to be anxiety! So it p***** me off when a Doctor decides I am suffering from anxiety,especially when they hardly know me on seeing me for the first time!! A real trigger for a rise of blood pressure!! Best wishes.
I feel you’re frustration, I ended up at a and e 3 times in total first 1 because a healthcare person told me I needed to go second 1 because I had chest pain, third time my gp sent me… 1st time I had lots of tests lovely doctor who agreed I didn’t seem like I had anxiety but couldn’t find anything on the tests they had done apart from tachycardia, so got referred great but second and third time I was treated like I was a complete waste of time both times had 1 ecg and then left for like 4 hours then had doctors tell me I have anxiety and to lessen stresses in my life.. another ecg n sent home.. they would literally bore my heart rate into going down, keep pushing! You know if you’re anxious or not regardless of what a doctor says granted they might not find anything but I would rather someone tell me nothing wrong then say something you know you havnt got. Which isn’t reassuring
Hello I have recently been diagnosed with heart failure with an ejection fraction of 15%. I’m 45 now and I lost my mam at 21 to a heart attack she was only 57. The coroner looked into her death and advised we all get checked for heart defects. I went to my GP at the time and I was basically ignored because I was young fit and well with no symptoms whatsoever. Here I am now 20+ years later still quite young with a heart defect that probably would have been found by being sent for simple echocardiogram. I kept mentioning to my GP over the years that I was worried about my fast heart rate but was told not to worry about it. Looking back I wish I had of been more pushy with my GP but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I’d advise anyone reading this that is worried about themselves or friends and family to get checked out as early as possible.
Terrible you were brushed off and it is easier said then done about being pushy no one wants to be that patient, glad it is something they are now aware of
I do feel for you as I have in the past been accused of anxiety being the cause of my many complicated medical conditions all related to each other and very much involving the heart.I did get anxious but that was when I was about to have a consultation knowing once again i would not be believed when i described my symptoms but told they were likely due to psnic attacks which in all the 8 years of my illnesses I have not ever had.
So stick to your guns and do not be fobbed off with lazy diagoses.
Hello yes I can totally relate to what you have written. I am a 51 year old mum of two with no previous heart problems. Everytime over the last 6 years I mentioned my swollen feet and ankles I was told to lose weight. When I said about night sweats told it was the menopause even though it's on my notes I went through that in my early 40s. When I had multiple chest infections they said I was asthmatic....and so it went on. Only found out in Aug 2021 I have left side heart failure with an output of 33%. Thank goodness for a Student doctor who spotted the signs. Keep asking for your doctors support you know your own body. Good luck and I hope you get the help and medication you need.
All very new so havent really got my head around it all yet. I dont feel like I am living to be honest just going through the motions. I've found just getting doctors appointments near impossible and no one returns calls.On the plus side I have the medication I need so as they say " just keep taking the pills" haha.
Thought id give an update for the ones that wanted one my echo came back all good but after that I was just left with zero explanation or plan anything and I was getting regular chest pain and tightness so my gp upped my beta blockers which did help but I still requested cardio appointment for reassurance to which I had a very unhelpful cardiologist who said I practically have nothing wrong with me (very differing opinions once again) and that it was nothing to worry about. Took the extra tablets off me because I said I’m struggling with exhaustion (no difference still struggling) but 13 days ago I was trying to sleep and out of no where my heart went mental going super fast slowing down all over the place I was shaking with the beat which sounds silly but genuinley what was happening, I had some shortness of breath too so I trued to just wait 10 minutes to see if it would go but only got worse my smart watch was saying my heart rate was 164 so I knew then I couldn’t leave it, after talking to 111 I went to a and e unfortunatly they were extremely understaffed so I sat there for hours with the symptoms nausea dizziness too and then after 4 hours I was finally given and ecg by which point the episode had ended. Doctor decided I must of had an episode of SVT and recommended I get my gp to refer me back to cardio to see what else they can do I’m not holding out much hope for anything I just really hope I don’t have an episode like that again, I nearly rang myself an ambulance but due to me working in the ambulance service I was reluctant
Hi any more progress? I really hope your okay. I am currently in the position with getting brushed off as anxiety and I keep saying its not. Seeing doctor again to push for emergency tests because its making my life miserable
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