To go to A & E?

[AlwaysAnxiousAnnie]

For some.time.now I've had major anxiety about my heart due to an episode last year of very bad heart palpitations, lasted hours and was so scary. It was like my heart was so out of rhythm. I went to A and E and they said it's anxiety, I've had numerous ECG, I've had a 24 hr heart monitor. They said they found nothing of concern just ectopic beats and and atrial thud. Apparently this is no cause for concern. So I was discharged from cardiology. I regularly have heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, breathlessness. Again it's anxiety apparently. Alas, I have developed this cardiac anxiety.
Anyway, tonight after studying up after dinner, my heart out of no where just started beating so hard and so fast in my chest. It felt like it was going to explode. Straight away I panicked, and then tried to calm myself down. I've so ce managed to calm myself but I heart beat feels all over the place. No pain or anything else. Its new Year's Eve and A&E will be busy. My DH is not very happy with me telling me not to go because it's all in my head. I've convinced myself.i won't see morning or at the very least my heart is about to give up very soon. Now I'm in this spiral of death anxiety of I could drop dead and be dead by this next time year and no one is believing me about my heart problem...am I being unreasonable to want to go to A & E and get checked out or ring 111 at th very least.. or am I just being dramatic, an anxious mess. The more I'm panicking the worst it's getting but I wasn't panicking when it first started this evening.

Hi OP, I had exactly this problem. Its really debilitating and I'd feel so worn out for hours afterwards. Felt like I was having a mini hesry attack. Had lots of tests. Nothing wrong. Doctor said to cut out caffeine. And it's stopped. On the odd occasion I do have a few caffeine drinks, it comes back

Do you mean 5mg?

Yes sorry 5

You’ve posted about this before and people told you to sort your ferritin/iron levels out because they are very very low. Have you done that? I assume not.

You’ve had tests already. What other tests do you want?

I cut out caffeine a long time ago, I also don't drink anything other than water.

Would highly recommend looking up CherelleThinks on YouTube. I also suffer from severe health anxiety, and she's the only person I've found posting so publicly about it. She has loads of videos including ones about cardio phobia. Her Instagram is great too. When I've been in a spiral about a particular topic, I've found it really calming to watch her stuff.

She has talked a lot about how many times she's rushed off to A&E in a panic attack about a health issue. Watch a few of her videos first, before deciding that you should go x

I am taking ferrous sulphate iron supplement that I brought from pharmacy in regards to my ferratin even though my GP told me it was not needed.

How fast is it going? I have a benign condition called SVT where it goes very fast all of a sudden and will suddenly go back to normal, but sometimes lasts hours. Is there any way you can measure the bpm?

Have you been tested for PoTS?

My pleasure hun, if you have the diazepam just try one - put trust in hubby to watch over you and I promise you will have a lovely evening and not have to feel like this. I cried taking it the first time incase my heart stopped or I got addicted or died in my sleep and honestly it was the best thing I ever did. I then cried the next day of happiness and told hubby it was a miracle drug!

I don’t take them often at all (not at all in pregnancy) but previously it would only be if I had those urges to go to a&e.

I’m sorry to hear about your CIN 3, if you do get an anxiety before the procedure I’m sure they can offer you some sedative - although I know sedation can be more scary (I once had a colonoscopy with just gas and air as I was scared of sedation lmao) Sending you love and healing ❤️‍🩹

Women are so often done wrong by the NHS and I think that’s what causes these issues. A&E are often too busy to deal with anxiety but I was so lucky that doctor took a moment with me and calmed me down and gave me the diazepam, god knows how many more times I would’ve wound up there terrified (wasting their time too!) without her x

It takes months to get to a decent level so you won’t see the results yet.

Oh OP I feel for you, I’ve had exactly the same for years, and had years of people telling me it’s anxiety and me not wanting to believe them.
its anxiety (for me at least). And since I’ve accepted that and managed the anxiety (and reduced alcohol especially with sulphate in, and reduced caffeine) I’m so much better.

even if something has been missed, you’d need a cardiologist to find something the other medics haven’t found. And I can guarantee you there’ll be no cardiologists in or on-call tonight, or indeed in work at all until Tuesday morning in your local/DGH hospital (unless you live near a maaaaaassive teaching hospital or specialist cardiac centre, wherein the latter you would need a referral from the former anyway). So you’re best taking some of the advice from pp, including cold water, relaxing thoughts/film, distraction (play a game?), take your prescribed meds and go back to gp on Tuesday.

hope that helps and all the best x

I try to count the beats but sometimes I just can't keep up. It does come.very sudden and then it takes off, it's more of a gradual return to normal. I have a pulsoxemeter but my DH takes th batteries out and hides them else I will sit in here all night fretting with it.

No it's never been suspected.bevwuse th yve always said it's anxiety.

You have literally been prescribed a medication that will reduce your heart rate, and you haven’t taken it. What else exactly are you wanting them to do? If you won’t take the drugs you have been advised to take, then how else do you think they can help you??

Also apols if I’ve repeated things/not read updates past page 2!

@Catsonskis OP has already seen a cardiologist, been investigated, and discharged.

The NHS can’t afford to investigate people over and over again for the same problem, especially when they haven’t even tried the treatment they were given!

OP if anxiety makes it worse it is anxiety.

What happens is this; you are now hyper aware of any off beats or thuds. You had one, you panicked, your heart then began racing due to panic.

I’m not saying it is PoTS but we had a whole year of being told it was anxiety for dd (and us being adamant it wasn’t) before we got a PoTS diagnosis. Worth considering, it’s easy to rule out at home with a pulse oximeter.

Anxiety attacks often do come from nowhere like this. Mine often did. I'd wake up randomly having anxiety attacks as well as during the day when I wasn't aware of feeling anxious before.
Take the medication.

please dont go to A&E. Do take your medication that has been prescribed for you.

Ok well it might be worth just taking it once so you can record it and tell your GP. If it's 160 plus then you might be looking at atrial fibrillation, SVT or another type of tachycardia (often nothing to worry about). I would ask for the monitor again but do it for longer, 24 hours is often not long enough to pick anything up.

I would check your pulse rate, practice deep breathing (hold the breath after breathing in) and try to forget about it. I really feel you though as I suffer from health anxiety and it’s so difficult to then trust your body and instinct.

I understand it's frustrating about me not taking the meds. Hell, I'm frustrated with my self. I know it sounds odd but my anxiety just will not let me. My brain just will not let me.ske these tablets through intense fear that I will be they one in a million that hearts slows down too much and dies. My DH isn't very supportive and I only post a lot on MN because I'm very isolated. Socially isolated and isolated in general.