Cardiac anxiety

Ben1983 · ‎03-02-2020

G'Day all, just looking for advice on cardiac anxiety from those who have suffered and pulled through to the other side. I have had all the test to rule out any issues with my heart that includes multiple blood and test ecgs, holster monitor, echocardiogram and a Cardiac computed tomography Angiography all in which came back normal. So all that should be enough for me to feel reassured that my heart is perfectly fine, but for some reason it doesn't. I'm still anxious that there is an issue with my heart to the point that I am constantly checking my pulse to look for any signs that my thaughts are correct. And when I do find something that seems off I'm constantly seeking reassurance from my Dr to tell me other wise. I even tried to request an exercise stress test, however my Dr said there was no need as I have already had the gold standard of testing and every thing is fine. I have also had other physical symptoms and at the beginning it added in the anxiety, however I am starting to except the physical symptoms for what they are from anxiety and not from my heart. How do I truly get over this as it is impacting my life and tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Frosty66 · ‎03-02-2020

Hi Ben

I am so sorry you are suffering this awful health anxiety. I too am going through exactly the same. If you have had all of those comprehensive tests that were negative you have to believe the medical professionals. In the last year I was convinced that I had throat cancer, tonsil cancer, tongue cancer. I paid $550 for an MRI which showed nothing and have seen numerous doctors and an oral surgeon who have all given me the all clear.

I was ok for a while then I lost my beloved dog early December due to lymphoma. Since then I have been horribly depressed and just last Tuesday woke up with pain between my shoulder blades and in my chest. I went to the doctor and she listened to my chest and back with a stethoscope; checked my blood pressure....all was ok. I am totally convinced I have lung or liver or pancreatic cancer as the aches come and go and are pretty much constant. Tomorrow I am having a chest xray and I am so terrified at the thought of what they will find that I have bought a bottle of wine to drink tonight; I have a child and have to keep all my anxiety and fear from him.

Anyway this isn't about me it is about you. I am just trying to say that if everything has been cleared then you are fine. Doctors do not want to risk being sued for negligence! However; by the same token I am just like you as it took months and lots of money for me to be reassured that (at that stage) I did not have cancer. I have always had a phobia about cancer and the stupidest most appalling thing about it all is that I have smoked and drank a lot over the years due to my severe depression and anxiety! So if I do have cancer it is my own stupid fault!

Whilst I was undergoing the dramas last year with the MRI etc I did actually get some tablets that I took whenever the massive panic took over. I can't say what they are of course as that is not allowed on this forum. I also took very long walks on the beach and went to the places where dogs can be off leash as dogs are my absolute love in life and they always make me feel better. I also watched comedies and tried to laugh at stuff. I did write a journal also; simply writing my fears somehow was cathartic.

Are you going to seek counselling or the like for your anxiety? I have just started a mental health plan and am just awaiting the report from the psychiatrist to reach my GP who can then decide what medication to put me on.

Please try to relax and seek great reassurance that your tests were clear.

x

44Max44 · ‎03-02-2020

Hi Ben,

I was unlucky enough to have this type of health anxiety a couple of months ago. I was keeping constant attention on how fast my heart was beating, how hard it was beating, whether or not the beats were regular or irregular, and all the type of stuff. I was so confident that something was wrong with my heart that every single day all I could focus on was my heart.

I tried exercising because exercise keeps your heart healthy, but exercise was just met with heart palpitations which just further made me think that there was something wrong with my heart.

Something that helped me was building up confidence for my heart. I gradually started doing more and more exercise every day, in my case riding my bike. I would go for a bike ride and then get back home and notice that my heart was beating super fast with no problems and no heart palpitations.
After a while I just stopped worrying about my heart, I thought "if it can handle these intense bike rides without a problem then I don't need to be worrying about my heart when I'm sitting at home, or at all for that matter".

Also, a side note is that when I went into exercise EXPECTING to get heart palpitations, I would. As soon as I built up enough confidence with my heart and stopped expecting to run into problems, the problems stopped. No heart palpitations, no other symptoms.

If my experiences with health anxiety have taught me anything, it's that there is no limit to what you can trick yourself into feeling or experiencing... you'd think a mental health problem like anxiety would only affect you mentally, but there are a lot of physical effects anxiety can make you experience, and heart palpitations are one of the most common symptoms.

If you haven't already tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy I'd 100% recommend it. The techniques I learned from that have helped me so much since I started doing them, not just with my health anxiety but with everyday life too.

All the best.