1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Anxiety Disorders

Heart palpitations...or something more serious?

Posted , 8 users are following.

lilygee
lilygee

I've had heart palpitations for 2 months now. I went to my GP, gave me an EKG and blood tests, all came back clear. Even my blood pressure was good. They gave me some ibuprofen pills for the pain/palpitations but I never really took them because I wasn't sure how they'd help my palpitations...I thought they would've subsided by now since my GP agreed they were anxiety related. Now, I feel like they're getting worse. My heart seems to skip beats, beat fast, I can't even lay on my left side anymore because of it. I ocassionally have a sore kind of tight feeling that makes me want to massage the left side of my chest for it to subside. I sometimes feel like I can hear the thump thump thump-thump when my heart skips a beat or kind of "trips" over its regular beat. It's kind of freaking me out now because I feel like it can be something more now. Is this really anxiety? And if so, how can I stop it? Because the pain I sometimes feel stops me from doing everyday things and activities. It's not a severe pain, but it's definitely uncomfortable and scary. im sure it is my anxiety, but how else can I fix it other than the "pain pills" they gave me? 

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • danielle93445
    danielle93445 lilygee

    Posted

    Hi same symptoms, I have even shortness of breath and it causes me to cough. Just relax, if you can handle it dont rely on meds. Go on therapy.

    Youll be ok soon just like me

    • lilygee
      lilygee danielle93445

      Posted

      Yes I also suffer from shortness of breath along with my palpitations. I feel so weak because of it and the fear of it is inevitably holding me back from enjoy everyday things. I have been thinking of talking to a counselor lately as well because I'm not getting any better...

  • icecool
    icecool lilygee

    Posted

    Hi Deep breathing exercises are very useful for this.
    • lilygee
      lilygee icecool

      Posted

      I've checked a couple on YouTube and they don't seem to help me...I feel like I'm doing it wrong. And even breathing normally comes hard to me now

  • mac58
    mac58 lilygee

    Posted

    It's getting worse because you don't believe it's anxiety, so it's playing on your mind.

    I agree that ibuprofen won't help.

    You've had lots of tests so you know that there is nothing wrong with your heart.

    • lilygee
      lilygee mac58

      Posted

      Yeah, I know I'm physically fine. But mentally, it's starting to affect my body. My heartbeat is really starting to freak me out despite knowing for sure it's anxiety. Idk what to do anymore and I don't want to go back to the docs only for them to give me more pills and tell me to "relax" and "calm down" when I can't 

  • Aspinan
    Aspinan lilygee

    Posted

    Hi lilygee, yes the palpitation sensation is symptomatic of anxiety, believe it or not but your heart dies the actually skip a beat it just feels that way and you will probably only notice it when your feeling anxious, it's just a sensation.

    The anxiety response is a natural reaction to perceived danger and all the symptoms are harmless as its the bodies way of keeping us alive so nothing that happens such as the thump thump thump is going to harm us it's a physiological symptom of anxiety, the heart speeds up and pumps harder which gives us the skipping sensation abd is there to pump the blood supply to our muscles as quickly as possible to prepare us for fight or flight and in doing that our chest muscles tighten up to be ready for action, It feels uncomfortable and can scare us if we don't know why it's happening but it's totally benign. 

    Neil 

    • Aspinan
      Aspinan

      Posted

      Heart dies is predictive text meant to say doesn't. 

    • lilygee
      lilygee Aspinan

      Posted

      Thank you Aspinan,

      The thing is, it's soo uncomfortable and painful at times. I know it's anxiety. I know my heart isn't stopping. But I'm tired of having to breathe through it or clench my chest and constantly "grounding myself" back to reality. It sucks, and I'm sure many of us have felt this irrational fear with no obvious trigger before. But it's been months now and it's just getting worse and worse. I can't seem to find a way to cope with it I suppose. I keep trying to see a counselor about it but my anxiety seems to block that as well...but I really am trying and getting closer too. Especially since these symptoms are affecting my life 

    • jen1978
      jen1978 lilygee

      Posted

      Hi

      The problem with anxiety is that it becomes a vicious circle. Everybody has palpitations or skipped heartbeats. Its normal. The problem with anxiety sufferers is that we will have a palpitation, panic, which makes us go into fight or flight mode thus our bodies produce adrenaline which makes our heart beat faster and we have more palpitations...and so the cycle begins!

    • lilygee
      lilygee jen1978

      Posted

      Do you have any advice for those adrenaline spikes? Because my heart is definitely in fight or flight mode as it feels like it's going 100 mph all the time for noo reason at all 

  • adrionna45708
    adrionna45708 lilygee

    Posted

    I've recently gone to a therapist, and the advice that she gave me was to sit on the edge of the chair, and breathe in a deep as you can (filling your stomach with air), then slowly let it out when you have palpitations. Also, when you feel bad, exercising will help boost your mood. I have tried deep breathing, and it seems to help, but I'm afraid to exercise, especially while having palpitations, so I haven't tried it. Maybe these two things may help you. I recommend you go to a psychotherapist and figure out what may help you. Your GP only knows a little about what you're going through, the therapist will be able to help you more.

  • melanie_11602
    melanie_11602 lilygee

    Posted

    Hello, ive experienced the same thing as you about 2 years ago. I seen a cardiologist thinking that i had heart problems. im only 23.. lol.. but he ran a whole bunch of tests on me and everything came back perfectly normal. After the doc telling me i was ok that sort of calmed me down and the palpitations eventually faded away. they are very scary but just remind yourself you had tests done and your health is fine. i know its hard to stay calm when you have anxiety but you need to try your best. just keep reminding yourself that you are ok. anxiety can cause both physical and mental symptoms. you will be fine..
    • lilygee
      lilygee melanie_11602

      Posted

      Im also 23 and have to constantly remind myself that the symptoms I'm feeling are NOT a heart attack lol. Thank you for your kind words. I know nothing is wrong with me, but my mind/anxiety is telling me otherwise. I hope I get better soon as well, i was for a short while but anxiety never fails to sneak back up on me again 

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.