I had a heart attack in 2021 which I thought was indigestion, I had a stent fitted and take regular medication. Since that happened I now have a fear of dying so every pain or twinge I fear the worse. I have trouble sleeping, I have a semi stressful job and have always internalised stress which probably doesn't help. I think I may have ptsd but don't like bothering my GP in case they think I'm being silly, this fear of dying is now affecting me daily so much so I don't enjoy going away on holiday with my husband in case something happens and then I start worrying about my family and not being around to see my grandchildren growing up. Is this normal or just me being silly?
Do I have ptsd: I had a heart attack... - British Heart Fou...
Do I have ptsd
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FJ1966
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52 Replies
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Hello 
First can I tell you that you are not been silly at all and please do not ever think you are in anyway
I had a fear of dying from a young child I know what brought it on and that was losing someone close and then the fear kicked in and I thought it would be me or someone I loved and I spent years believing something bad was going to happen and I would try and reason with my thoughts but that did not work and then the fear did happen I had 3 heart attacks followed by a triple Bypass and since I have been worse than ever not that I thought that could be possible but for me it has been
Is this severe anxiety you are suffering with as you went through a life changing event that knocks some of the strongest people and leaves them struggling or is it PTSD
I also have PTSD which between that and my anxiety I can see a difference the PTSD has me reliving every little detail causing me to fear it all happening again the anxiety keeps me in a state of worry all day but which one you might be suffering with your Doctor will not think you are been silly at all and you need to go and talk with them and get the help you need and deserve and I hope you will do that because the longer you leave these things the longer and harder it is to change the way we are thinking and the anxiety it causes so make that appointment
I am not sure if you feel you can talk with your family a close friend maybe because opening up even though they may not understand but they will at least know you are struggling can be a relief rather than bottling it all up and trying to deal with it all by yourself
I hope you will get the help you deserve , know you are not alone how you feel and please do not ever as I have said think you are silly because you are not
Let us know how you get on x
Thank you for your reply and my worry now seems trivial compared to yours , it's nice to know not nice but you know what i mean that others have experienced similar thoughts and worries. Thank you again for sharing
Hello
Your worry is not trivial at all compared to anyone else and what they are going through so please do not think that either
I hope you get the support you need you deserve it x
as BeKind says -
In the time I’ve been on this forum there have been many posts quite similar to yours.
My suggestion is that you seek help of some kind - whether from a friend, a relation, a priest, or a professional counsellor.
In the meantime while you are seeking out the best person (your GP might be sympathetic) practice controlled breathing. In breath for a count of four with mouth closed, out for four with mouth slightly open. Just for one minute, a couple of times a day. Then increase the time you spend doing this,
There are many breathing exercises you can find if you search online. You might start with the. HS and move from there.
Thank you for your reply, I have tried the breathing exercises which helps but then my head goes elsewhere whilst doing it 🙄
I can recommend a very good breathing exercise that I use with my clients and you can't help but concentrate on - instagram.com/reel/C3zzPddt...
There are many grounding techniques that you can try using which all involve distraction such as maths based ones, repeating sentences or the supermarket game (a is for apple, a is for apple and b is for banana, a is for apple, b is for banana and c is for cabbage, etc). They will only help though for a short period so I do suggest that you speak to a counsellor that has experience in trauma based therapy/health anxiety.
Thank you for taking the time to respond, everyone has been very helpful on this site, I honestly thought no-one would answer, how wrong I was!
I do something like that I count backwards from 100 deducting 3 each time till I get to the end usually does the trick
Thank you
I am in the same situation. I didn't have a heart attack, but tests showed severe blockage in LAD, 'widow maker'. I now have 2 stents. Cancer has also struck me twice in the last 12 years and although I am active, having fought back, in the dead of night (especially) the anxiety strikes and I suspect i have PTSD. The GP is not sympathetic, makes me feel silly and just says phone up for counselling. But it's generic, plus the counsellors are a third of my age, ok they have had in depth training but do they knew how it feels, when every twinge and 'something feels different' crowds the brain. i am, quite frankly, scared.
You are having a completely normal, understandable, and justifiable reaction to awful things that have happened to you.
If the GP or councillors are not right for you, please keep pushing to find alternative people in a postion to help. There are people out there who will give you the sympathy and support you need, but unfortunately we have to find them first. For me, the NHS counselling offered to me by my GP, waited a year for and then tried was not suitable (they just listened without offering constructive help - I could have just chatted to my cat for all the good it did). I did try a few local counsellors before finding a sympathetic ear who supported me. Even crisis lines have been more helpful to me than NHS stuff, but that is my experience and others may have found it more helpful.
Please don't give up. I know on the homepage of the British Heart Foundation there are telephone lines to offer support, so maybe give them a try and see what they offer. They'll definitely more understanding of your heart related fears. You deserve the best help, so please keep trying. x
Thank you for your kind reply. Being understood made me feel better. I wasn't offered cardiac rehab but I found their information on Google. Guess NHS don't offer this to non-heart attack people. I will contact them. Maybe I should get a cat to talk to, pets do listen in their way. our old cat used to, anyway.
Wow, you've been through alot, I'm so sorry, this forum is the best for comfort and advice and your not alone 😁
that’s why I say “just one minute”. The primitive part of the brain is always active and looking for possible danger. So it needs time to understand what you are doing. It’s gets easier with time. There are more complicated ones which you can concentrate on.
I have thought about taking up yoga and meditation as my life on a whole is quite stressful, my husband suggested taking time out from work.
Thanks for the advise , I will give it a go and thank you for taking time out to answer.
I needed counselling and found it very helpful. I tried the Nhs but poor/ in fact no response so went private. The first one offered a free first session but she wasn’t right for me so tried someone else. It really helped. If you can afford private try it the wait on the NHS can be sooooo poor. It could help you get your life back.
You’re not being silly at all . It’s a very traumatic experience having a cardiac event . I had a stent in January but no HA, although I think it was pretty close ,and I still worry all the time , but it is getting better , and so will you believe me . Cardiac rehab helped tremendously and I think a lot of us on here are strong advocates of this . If you get offered it take the chance. It will build your confidence and help you get into excercise in a safe environment with others who have been through the same as you , and the nurses are on hand to answer any questions and hopefully put your mind at rest . I wish you all the best in your cardiac journey
I have used an NHS counsellor to discuss my thoughts and not has helped a great deal. It's quite common for people to have PTSD after major operations, like any kind of heart surgery.
I still have some PTSD issues I will seek further support to discuss and try to get my head round, as a few key things that happened to me along with some thoughts about "what is" rattle around my head long term.
Hi, you are definitely not being silly. So many of us experience varying degrees of mental health problems following a heart event. Anxiety, depression, PTSD etc. Everyone's experience and how they feel is real and valid. Two people can have totally different reactions to the same event, but both are real.I'd say it's completely normal and understandable to feel the way you do. Hopefully you have a kind and understanding GP that you can discuss this with. As others have said, talking to others including a counselor or psychologist can be particularly helpful. Friends and family can be good too, but just be aware that they may not really understand.
Take care, take it easy on yourself and wishing you all the best ❤️
'morning FJ1966, sorry to read your post, but my goodness, isn't this a wonderful caring forum. It's lovely to know people really do care and give great advice. Wishing you well, take care. 🫂
I've never written on a forum before and people here are very thoughtful and kind. Thank you
👍 x
Ditto with what others have said to you and never believe that you shouldn't waste your doctor's time. Most GP surgeries now have a well being or mental health person who I would definitely recommend you see as well as a doctor for help in this matter. Please let us know how you get on and remember you are never alone. Take care.
Thank you, I will take all advice on board 😁
I can only add to the great advice and personal experience which people have shared.
I think it would be weird if you didn’t have these feelings.
I think having a ‘near death’ event makes us all examine our mortality and worry about it.
In my case, I had all your symptoms but got great counselling from the NHS and time and distance from the event DOES lessen the impact.
Good luck.
hi, I can relate to you I've been haveing same problems haveing counselling via work to help. I'm still waiting for surgery after a year not easy not knowing long term outcome but hang in there ask for help talking is good to the right people stay strong😊
Heart conditions cause a lot of anxiety which is often overlooked by doctors. I self referred online to NHS Talking Therapies for assessment and did a mindfulness course which really helped me deal with my health anxiety.
Hi FJ1966 I can relate fully to this, I had my HA back in 2022, I was 59 quite fit and healthy life was going well ready to celebrate my big 60 !! had an emergency bypass and same as you I thought I had indigestion so once all this was done everything just hit me like a brick.
I really struggled with this and the fear of dying and leaving my life behind my husband my son my two grandchildren, thoughts running away with me trying to work out what life would be like for everyone, these feelings were was so strong, I got so i didn’t want to go anywhere unless I was with my husband just in case something happened, I was constantly frightened, I used to cry a lot ( and that’s not me ) I just felt so vulnerable.
I did reach out and I spoke to the Heart nurses and my doctor, I started to see a physiologist and this really helped, she helped me with dealing with all of this I learned how to do box breathing among other techniques , when I used to wake up in the night with all these thoughts going through my head I used to use what I had learned learned and over time things improved, I still have off days and times when my thoughts run away with me
please go and speak to someone a nurse a doctor just reach out and that will be the start of you repairing your inner self xx
Take care
Definitely not silly or weak or daft or a wimp.
I think we all have to find our own ways around bad moments in life whether it be professional or DIY.
My anxiety is always the day or two after the gym. I know what DOMS ( post gym muscle ache, twinges, tightness) is as I always experienced it post a good weights session.
Pre HA no worries, post HA , my mind zones in on all the sensations around the chest area and DOMs there.
I went the DIY route.
I got myself a Beenax Lacrosse Hard smooth and hard spikey massage ball, when i get tightness, soreness,twinges or pain I roll this ball around the chest,shoulders, neck and what I always find is that it hits those spots where my brain is saying ' what the hells that pain, you need to get worried ".
As it hits those spots, my brain says " ahh it's muscular so chill out".
After doing this a few times, the anxiety has now diminished.
But that's just one aspect of the whole thing, do I worry about having another heart attack ,on occasion I do, but I don't let it run my life.
I've got a 9 year old daughter and a wife, they mean the world to me.
This weekend we went camping around Snowdon. A remote area, my brain was saying "what if this happens, theres no hospitals near by, what will you do, you shouldn't risk it. Dont go on hilly walks, dont do this or that".
We went and did walks, went to pubs, got soaked.
If I live in fear of tomorrow then I might as well give up because then I'm not being present for them and enjoying this gift of life, second chances or however we phrase it when we've had a close shave.
oh, you poor thing, so very sorry you’re going through this very real and understandable anxiety. PTSD is a very real thing for so many after such difficult events. I’ve been there too. Counseling is such a big help. As others have said, never feel like you’re wasting your GPs time. He or she can help you, reassure you about your health status and also refer you to some counseling. My counseling included some wonderful relaxation/biofeedback training that even 40 years later helps me cope with anxious moments and when my tachycardia kicks in. Hope you’ll take that scary first step and ask for some help. Getting back to living your full life is on the other side of that step. ❤️
Hi there,
As many others have said on here you are certainly not being silly. Major health related issues will most definitely impact your wellbeing and that’s 100% understandable.
Others have given you good advice and from my personal experience my mental health took a hit post heart attack and then having a TIA, I was struggling. I managed to get fast tracked through my employer to counselling with was a 10 week programme. Was it the be all and end all, “curing” all my issues, no it wasn’t. Did it help, absolutely.
Please speak with someone and try to get some support. I wish you all the best.
No you are not being silly at all! My mrs was the same, she worried about everything after her heart operation! But the fact remains that we are quite powerless when it comes to the nitty-gritty issues, it's pointless exessively worrying about things and is counter productive. My mrs used to proudly tell me "am I not allowed to be ill!"In a very unusual way, being ill was a source of great pride for her! Even to this day I fail to understand her logic! But this attitude helped her through some very painful moments.
I hasten to say that females are much more prone to worrying than their husbands. You are infact well looked after by the system. You have been seen to by the hospital and doctors, you have been sorted/treated, with meds. The rest is upto you, you have to stay alive for the sake of your family and kids. Minor twinges can be expected as your body changes take place along with the effects of the meds, this is to be expected! We hearties have to dutily live with this extra burden now. Keep track of your BP, HR etc in a diary as this will help you control your progress.
Thank you for sharing your story and I will take on board your advice, thanks again 😁
Just wanted to forworn you about the "big shift". After my stents and getting up and about-back to work, I was back cutting the grass as usual. Since then I have had several changes (continued work throughout) and this year I have no motivation to cut the grass!
Some Cardiac Rehab teams have a counsellor. You could see if your team had one, even if some time has passed.
I had a left coronary stent 6 years ago and wasted over a year of my life worrying and fretting about the what ifs, why me, and all the usual anxieties that come when we are confronted with our own immortalities. I since had a 2nd stent after 4 years which my cardiologist said was seen in the first instance but was not then serious enough to stent. Anyway I stopped worrying about it when I realised it was really out of my hands anyway which surprised me as I have always had anxiety. Guess what nothing happened, I still do my walks, work on my hobbies and I live life exactly like I always did! so apart from making sure I take my meds and keeping up my medical appointments nothing has really changed unless I allow my mind to tell me it has. I really believe if you look back over the 3 years since this event the only real difference is in your mindset and I know if you adapt a so what attitude that you can regain your life as it was prior to this event. I wish you all the best and if you need help please go out and find it.
This appears to be a form of health anxiety which can wear you down and some with it have benefited from undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy. Ask your GP if he/she agrees that it would be very worthwhile for you to undergo such therapy.
Thank you for your reply😁
well Its definitely not silly!
I think you should not hesitate to speak to your GP.
Better to get some sound advise early on if anything is causing concern, than waiting until it becomes a bigger problem. I am sure the GP thinks this way also🙂
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