Heart Palpitations

[Traveller73]

Been a while since Ive been on here. My Anxiety subsided for a few years, I got a good way to manage it (Distraction and relaxation mostly). But gee its always an undercurrent under the surface. You always need to be on top of it.

Last few weeks been having heart palpitations. They began after getting a medical check. It all came back fine. But the result is my anxiety is back. Had a few stressful things this week.

Had other anxiety symptims before, but its funny the symptoms change (never had these before). Been to Dr and he said anxiety. Also- the anxiety preceeds the palpitations.

Distraction works, but when i sit around they (sometimes come back).

Any others like this?

[Here_I_am]

Hey hey,

So heart palpitations are definitely an unpleasant experience!

I find I get them when I feel under threat; my anxiety cranks right up and I get a nice little jolt of adrenaline followed by some weird heart palpitations and stomach somersaults.

The concerning part about them is that they come on without reason, which can easily make us feel like our heart is the problem. In most cases, it's our anxiety kicking in telling us we're under threat which gives us a healthy dose of adrenaline we don't need which then kicks our heart into gear without any obvious reason.

I can appreciate that it is a yucky feeling. Hopefully it's not causing you too much grief. 🙂

[LaurieD]

Hi traveller73 🙂
I don't know your age or gender but as a woman who began having different experiences of anxiety and heart palpitations in the last few years, it was perimenopause. If this is a possibility for you it's worth a blood test for hormone levels and a general checkup of your endocrine system. I found it all particularly terrifying, frankly, so I hope you have relief very soon.

All the best

Laurie

[Guest_6743]

Yes I know all about heart palpitations. I suffer chronic anxiety, getting worse as I get older. Medication does little. I also have the overwhelming fear that accompanies it. Nothing like being multi skilled!

[Step_Twelve]

Hi Traveller73,
I feel I can relate to your experience, as one of my symptoms is VEBs or Ventricular Ectopic Beats. These make my heart feel like it's 'fluttering' and not beating properly.

I also know how alarming it can be when a brand-new symptom suddenly present itself! I've seen many posts on these forums where people report having a new symptom, and the lack of familiarity causes their anxiety to go into overdrive. All that positive self-talk and recognising it as a symptom of anxiety goes out the window.

But you've been prudent and gotten a professional diagnosis, and it also sounds like you have some pretty reliable mental techniques to handle panic when it builds up. From here on, you will be able to recognise these palpitations whenever they occur as just another manifestation of an anxious mind. I can't understate how much this helps me with my various physical symptoms, especially VEBs. I simply tell myself that I've done all I can to ensure my heart is healthy and I have no reason to believe the uncomfortable feeling in my chest is harmful. I let it pass and then I'm fine. Always fine.

Take care, and all the best.