New on here. Back in 2008 I had a funny turn when passenger in car & blacked out for a minute roughly. It was a weird sensation just before it happened & heart felt a bit funny then everything went black. Had tests & ok. Roll on to past few years & especially now & I keep getting this weird feeling in my body which makes my heart feel funny & the blackness starts but I can stop myself fainting by either leaning forward & banging chest, jumping up & down or coughing but it’s really starting to stress me out. This has been going on for a few years which Dr puts down to anxiety, no other tests done but I honestly feel if I don’t do the jumping etc I’m going to just pass out. It’s really affecting my life now as happening most days. It comes on quickly & is over quickly. I just feel a bit shaky after & then am fine.
Dizzy spells & weird heart sensation - British Heart Fou...
Dizzy spells & weird heart sensation
Oh anxiety, that old chestnut doctors love to defer too. I am not saying anxiety isnt a factor, I suffer from it myself so know how it can affect us. However I will only accept anxiety as a cause after someone has proved to me there isnt a physical cause.
Please insist your medic organises some tests and a referral to a cardiologist or neurologist whichever is most relevant. Take no chances. Anxiety was deemed to be the cause of what in actual fact was atrial fibrillation and super ventricular tachycardia in my case. It was only when I collapsed and was taken to hospital that I got a proper diagnosis. Of course anxiety figured, who has scary and frightening symptoms without feeling anxious but that isnt the sum total of a full and proper diagnosis. Always better safe than sorry. Good luck.
Agree with that! Years ago I had terrible palpitations for weeks that they put down to panic attacks! My blood pressure was so high as well it was terrifying. After seeing a different doctor I had a blood test and it was confirmed it was my thyroid been over active. I am ok now thankfully but you need to push to get thoroughly checked don’t you !
Couldn't agree more with you and meadfoot . Doctors often love a label - anxiety, depression, menopause or my personal favourite just for being a female! We all need to push for answers, it might not be right but it is unfortunately the reality.
Yes, I've definitely had the anxiety card thrown at me too...really annoying.
Have you at least had an ECG and blood test that might show any broad markers? That sounds really scary and beyond "normal" anxiety. That said, I was hospitalized twice with what I thought were heart symptoms during my recovery from cardiac arrest that were anxiety related -- but it was only after a battery of tests that I was convinced. BTW, a sympathetic doctor may suggest anxiety but will also run the appropriate tests. Just saying "anxiety" and sending you home is irresponsible.
I had the tests in 2008 after blacking out which were ok but echo showed something so had another echo in 2010 which was all good. My last ecg was 2015 & in 2016 had a 24 hour monitor which didn’t show anything but probably because I had no symptoms then unfortunately. Roll on to now & it’s worse than ever but it’s giving me anxiety even thinking about going to my gp. So to be fair I havnt tried again but this site is giving me the confidence to speak to her again as I’m struggling.
Hi JTJH. Please do seriously consider going back to your GP, or a different one if that may help. It is difficult to advocate for yourself when you are unwell, but the reality is we must. If something is not normal for us, it should be investigated. Of course anxiety does exist and exhibits in many ways, but a decent GP will rule out all other factors first. Best wishes for moving forwards. X
Had to smile at Your response. Your reply reminded me of when I had cholecystitis. The ambulance crew spent some time congratulating me on my very low bp (somewhere around 85/50 ish) before I could convince them that I was not relaxed and had never had bp that low in my entire life. Turned out I was slipping into toxic shock. Emergency gall bladder removal followed. I wish the medical profession would truly listen to us patients, we have lot of information to give that no text book can ever teach.
Much empathy with you. I had similar symptoms for quite a few years. Transient blackouts, extreme fatigue and the 'Oh, you're working too hard/ anxiety' diagnosis. The last time, I started to pass out as I was driving ( work related), pulled over and instinctively opened the door to try and get out. Luckily someone saw me and called 111. They told me to wait till I felt better and drive to my GP. ( which stupidly, and in shock, I did) She got out her stethoscope and discovered a heart murmur and sent me for an echo which revealed severe aortic stenosis and resulted in a replacement valve op 6 months later ( on the 'urgent' list but pandemic conditions skewed the timescales a lot) .
I hope you don't have the same outcome, but I had reported these symptoms many times in face to face GP appointments; not one of them had thought to use a stethoscope. I am very grateful to the GP who used the trademark tool of the trade to check.
I knew something was pretty badly wrong, but for too long had deferred to the medics' superior knowledge. Had it not been discovered, my prognosis would have been poor. Please make a fuss - go back and ask for basic checks to rule out anything really serious. And best of luck. I hope you stay well and find the cause of your symptoms.
Anxiety, yes it's the diagnosis when there is nothing obvious and the doctor is too busy/not committed/does not feel he or she owns the problem.I have had 3 cardiologists say "anxiety" about my chest pains which started after an MI which I have to say was handled very well.
Subsequently, they reluctantly did an angiogram, and saw no blockages in the coronary arteries.. I had to present a specialised cardiologist with symptoms, Kardia alivecor output, and BP before and after the attack (which responded to GTN spray) in order to be taken seriously. They think it's microvascular angina.
Thank you. Sounds very similar so will definitely contact my gp.
I don't pass out but I get that exact same reaction sometimes when I have a particularly strong palpitation. My heart misses a beat and the double beat seems to take ages to come. Everything starts to go black. I thump my chest and it's fine again. Years ago when this started I had a holter monitor for 3 days but that showed nothing. I had several ECGs which never caught it happening. It was only found after I had a stress test ( treadmill test). Nothing happened during the test but they happened to leave me attached to the machine when I sat down to rest afterwards and thankfully the missed beats showed up. They w ere able to see which part of the heart they came from and assured me they were completely harmless. IT just shows how difficult it can be for tests to catch them happening when they are only occasional. In the years since, I've had far fewer and since I had a heart attack ( Unrelated) they seem to have stopped completely. Anxiety certainly does make them more frequent but it doesn't actually cause them. I would suggest if this is what you are feeling, you go back to a different GP if possible and insist they investigate, possibly with a holter monitor for a full week and if that fails to show them, ,then a stress test. I'm tempted to guess you may be female to get "anxiety" thrown at you. Do not accept it. GO and demand even if you have to say that their refusal to investigate or take it seriously is certainly causing anxiety.
Exactly the same here. That’s the trouble they never catch it but they have got worse & I just feel stressed about even contacting my gp which is wrong. Yes I am female & apparently menopause makes palpitations worse so I’m hoping it is that but still so worried especially with the near black outs which I seem to be able to stop by doing those things.
YOu have to be insistent, make suggestions when they don't. However if they are palpitations and are intermittent, they can be extremely difficult to catch. It took well over a year before mine were found and that was only pure chance that they left he electrodes attached and the machine switched on when I'd finished the stress test. You do need to know that they are safe so you can learn to deal with them.
You have described what happened to me exactly, my son who is a paramedic said cough whenever it happens and if it goes away it's your heart. All GP said was lie down on the floor then you won't hurt yourself if you pass out! Forward quite a few years and I had blood clots in heart and lungs caused by the debris from a virus, and oh guess what.... a fast heart rate, irregular heart beats and ectopic beats as well! Now on a large number of tablets including bisoprolol which slows it all down and the near blackouts have pretty much stopped.You may have to request an appointment with cardiology as GP's don't seem to think black outs important but hey, what if you are driving for instance?
Exactly so it’s giving me anxiety every time I get in the car. If I’m driving I do cough & wind windows down & it’s over quite quickly. It’s just so weird & scarey. I just can’t make myself call gp. I want to but I’m scared.
You may need a pacemaker. See a cardiologist and describe your symptoms and ask for a heart monitor to wear for 2 weeks. Your heart could be pausing for a few seconds at times or your heart rate dropping too low. Happened to me. I was having pauses and was taken off my beta blocker. That worked as it was dropping my rate. Next step would have been a pacemaker. Good luck to you
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