I am constantly scared my heart is going to stop, please help.

Hannah, palpitation can represent as an unnatural awareness of the heart. your focus stimulates your anxiety which releases chemicals into the blood that causes ectopic beat behavior.

you are now so focused on if it's beating correctly or not, when you cant feel it (the normal as we should rarely be able to feel our own heartbeats) you worry what it is up to...

skipped beats (ectopics) are caused by anxiety. I was fitted with a 3 day heart monitor and the results were completely scuppered by anxiety causing 12% ectopics. I'm basically had to do it again when I calmed down enough, and the results were night and day.

you need to stop self monitoring. stop allowing palpitations to scare you and start to think of it as an annoyance.

blame your anxiety always.

"oh those again, I wish my damn anxiety would go away"

start treating any symptoms as an annoyance and you'll gain power over them. whilst you allow the symptoms to frighten you about a heart condition, you'll be stuck.

take care. stop worrying and work on becoming annoyed by the situation from today..

I'm not much help as I've only just started trying to work through my issues but I could have written your post myself, I know exactly how you feel and just wanted to let you know you are not alone. I have the same heart based anxiety, am obsessed with checking my pulse. Have you tried CBT or any therapy yet? I am waiting for my first assessment appointment and am looking forward to learning some tools to deal with this awful condition.

Hannah, I’m sorry you were worried about this. As a former nurse I can tell you that your heart is not going to suddenly stop.

your heartbeat is an automatic process in the body and any amount of anxiety Will not make it stop. rapid heartbeats, Skipped heartbeats and slight pauses between heartbeats are very common with anxiety. you need to work on your reaction to that so that you don’t make it feel worse for yourself. go on YouTube and look for some mindfulness breathing exercises that will lower your heart rate and you will feel better. There are also hundreds of great meditations on there for anxiety. I do like the ones that Lauren Ostrowski has on there. One of them is called it’s OK. Very soothing. proper breathing is the key to lowering the heart rate. You are safe! You’re going to be OK! Over thinking this will just make it worse for nothing. Do you things that make you relax your mind whether it’s take a nice bath, going on a nature walk, being with friends and laughing and smiling etc. anything that helps. positive Mental attitude is the most important thing to have !when I get skipped heartbeats or any anxiety symptoms, I just keep going about my day and sometimes I even laugh it off. Eventually it goes away. I even go and do my 2 mile walks because I am determined not to let fear and anxiety run my life. You can do this! Be relentless and a fighter for yourself! get some counseling if you feel you need to talk to somebody because they can help you manage all of this. Take care ❤

Hannah, your health challenge sounds remarkably similar to mine of 55 years ago when my panic disorder symptoms began. I, too, felt as if each heart beat could be my last. Panic disorder was poorly understood then, and I complicated my situation by completely internalizing my fears, not even telling my parents. Well more than two billion beats later, my ole' heart is still working pretty well, and I'm confident you'll one day be able to tell a similar story. Please always try to remember that a healthy heart tolerates this stuff exceedingly well.

I strongly encourage you to seek treatment for your panic/anxiety. Cognitive therapy, exercise, medications, and more should be available to you, and could greatly improve your quality of life. I wish the very best for you, and I'm optimistic that better times are coming soon for you. Take care

Holy crap I'm 17 too but I'm a male and I relate to almost every single aspect to this!!! I just had to comment because this is exactly what I've been experiencing, these past 2 months have been hell for me, I've become a severe hypochondriac, constant heart palpitations, and random 1-2 second pauses and it's been giving me so much anxiety I'm afraid to leave the house for fear of my heart stopping randomly. I keep thinking that I'm just going to randomly die in my sleep one of these nights and its terrifying. Ur not alone. I'm going to get a dr appt soon and like yours, my parents dont seem to take me too seriously about this, thinking its all my anxiety. Which may be true but I dont think I can get peace of mind until I get told directly by a health professional. Also a few days ago I started taking this thing called L-Theanine, which you can pretty much find anywhere ,basically it's a natural supplement, (not a drug/perscription and has no side effects ) that basically will calm and relax your mind, for me it hasn't completely gotten rid of my weird heart stuff but sometimes it tones me down and relaxes me so I'm not always worrying and thinking about it! And so i can get a better sleep so I'm not always up until 3-4am researching my symptoms and panicking!

Hi Hannah,

Most of us in this forum have been through your situation. I had moments where it will never stop but it takes time and it is controllable. I've had anxiety for about 3 years now and my journey has been tough. I've read books, videos, seen doctors who make it worse. But for me the best help was myself. I got myself into this habit and I will get myself out. I know its hard but you got to stop focusing on every issue with you. Start eliminating each problem one by one ignore it reprogram your brain and change the same negative thought you have everyday. Its hard I know but this has worked for me. I've come to a point where I can manage and control it. Anxiety will never go away but you can control it just like another emotion. I had to reprogram my mind to ignore every darn issue with my body. I was sick of it. My issues took away 3 years away from my family and I will not allow that anymore. There comes a point where you have to reach into your soul and push whatever your feeling aside and live a normal life like before. Never give up!

take care,

Hi Hannah, I am sorry to hear about your situation it sounds like the same thing I used to have. I was anxious and had rapid heart rate since I was in my teens. I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism at 32 years old after a slow insidious decline. When I was admitted to ICU (Thyroid Storm) I had a resting heart rate of 120 bpm fluctuating higher and atrial fibrilation and heart skipping beats. I would recommend getting your thyroid checked. I also suffered from depression in addition to the Hyperthyroidism and remained on antidepressants after having my thyroid ablated. Do your hands shake? Is your Systolic BP number spread higher than diastolic should be? Do you feel hot? Best of luck Hannah.

Hello Hannah, well firstly when you went to hospital did they do all the routine tests, blood, EKG, vital signs etc? And i take it all was well? I have sufferered with aniexty for many years (im 35 now) they started when i was about 13 or 14 and i must say my parents were not overly supportive once the hospital established i was not dying. Its still very hard not to panic even when the doctor is telling you everything is fine. As many ppl on here say though you must trust in the tests otherwise whats the point of having them. With regard to the feeling your own pulse/heartbeat- try to distract yourself with a game like solitaire on your phone or a crossword. Pick something thats a bit mundane for best results i find. Also go for a walk and get a bit of fresh air, the more energy you burn off the less is left over for worrying. If you are still concerned something is wrong and it will help put your mind at ease make an appointment with your GP and talk it over with them. They can send you for further tests and/or prescibe medication. Hope things get better.

Hi Hannah,

You're not alone. I'm having exactly what you are experiencing. It has been going on for 2 months. It happens everyday makes me so miserable. I know it all about anxiety but still hard to accept it.