FEAR OF CARDIAC ARREST

[Harrysmum]

Hey, I’m a 24yo

i suffer from panic attacks and have so since I was 15, I have been on medication since I was 18, fast forward 6 years they have lost there effectiveness, I have severe panic attacks, scared of getting the flu and dieing, but my main issue is FEAR OF CARDIAC ARREST! I have upped my dose  last week, This fear has only been about for around 5 months, I hardly leave my house because of the fear of collapsing and dieing! I won’t go out unless I have my partner with me, he can’t leave me home either because I’ll freak out, he’s my safety net at the moment 🙄

ive been to the hospital for my panic attacks obviously & they did blood tests and a EKG and said it was all perfectly normal, I know deep within that it’s highly unlikely for me to have a cardiac arrest, but this fear just takes over, and my best friend google (yes I know, I shouldn’t) doesn’t help with more information on cardiac arrests other then, “it happens at any age, anywhere and to anyone, even the healthy young ones” like obviously, BUT how often!? How often does a 24yo with low blood pressure, low cholesterol, a smoker, no known heart related issues in my family history in Australia? Rare right? Yes. But HOW RARE?! Rare as in 2/3 a week? 1 a year? It’s a constant thought all day everyday 😭 I’m exhausted! I’m emotionally & psychically drained.

Also I do see two different psychologists, none seem to be helping me with this. They just tell me everything I already know really..

Thanks for reading guys!!! ❤️❤️

Looking forward to all your replied & help 🤗🤗🤗

[jess334]

Hi Harrysmum,

Welcome to the forums.

There are so many people here who suffer from health anxiety. It is so difficult to let go of those thoughts.

Well done for seeking help. Can I ask what type of therapy they are going through with you? I had one psychologist who would just ask how my week was and talk at me. They didn't help me much at all. Now I am working through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and I find it really helpful.

If you want to talk to a few more health anxious people, try this long running thread. 😊

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/anxiety/health-anxiety-my-living-nightmare

Kind thoughts, Jess

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Harrysmum,

Thank you for your post and for sharing what's going on with you. I'm sorry that you're struggling with this fear; it sounds like it's totally taking over your life right now.

You mentioned that you're seeing two psychologists but they're telling everything you know - can you tell us what they're telling you or what they are working with you on? The last thing that I'd like to do is just repeat everything you've been told! So hopefully by understanding that we can give you something different or some different advice/support that you don't have already.

In the meantime, I'll attempt to find out how rare it is for young people and see if that helps 🙂

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Harrysmum,

To your question now - yes, very rare.

For every 100,000 cardiac arrests in people, around 1 young person has a (completely sudden and unexpected) cardiac arrest. For that unfortunate person, 56% percent of the time it will be an already known heart condition. 4% of the time it will be because of a different condition or other known reason (like respiratory, trauma or drowning). For the other 40% percent of the time, there is no known cause. Given that you have no heart condition, that makes it .05:100,000.

To put that 100,000 in perspective, that's about the population of Darwin (Northern Territory) or Bendigo (in Victoria), and given you don't have any underlying conditions, that puts you at 1 in 200,000 - which is about the entire population of Hobart (Tasmania).

While I know first hand how difficult health anxiety can be, I hope that by reading this it can help to put things into perspective about how rare this really is.

Hope this helps,