Can someone talk to me?

[walkingwithGod 169]

I had a good day yesterday and today until about 5pm. I got a pain in my chest near my heart and that sent me off wandering... its been on and off panic anxiety since.  The anxiety i have is always focused on my heart. .heart attack, heart failure,  blocked artery ... its been a year and a half since i have had an ekg, ct scan with contrast of my chest, cardiac blood work  (which was all good) but now for some reason, im having a set back i guess and its been on and off anxiety for several weeks now, same thing, , worrying about my heart. .and dying. Is it possible to develop a blocked artery or have heart issues develop within a year and a half? I guess the pain im feeling, well its not pain really more like discomfort and annoying in my chest is anxiety...my heart rate is up a little right now too. .

Somebody please talk to me, needing reassurance please..need to hear some logical reasoning. .thank yall.

[Missy2626 251]

Hi Walkingwithgod.....I'm new here, only been here a few days, and I too suffer from health anxiety.  I can't say enough about how this forum and the wonderful people on it have helped....it's so comforting to be able to reach out to others in the same predicament.

Funny, as I'm sitting here I've got the dreaded heart palpitations going on non-stop, wondering if my heart is just going to start quivering so fast it's going to just conk out.  My latest health fear and obsession lately, though, has been skin c****r, even though I've been fully checked by doctors.

i think that your latest uptick in anxiety is what's causing you too feel the pressure in your chest.  It's always the areas that we obsess over and focus on that our minds can create physical sensations of.  My latest fear was a normal mole (as verified by a dermatologist) that I removed myself using a method I found online...using apple cider vinegar on it until it scabbed and fell off.  I did this more than a year ago and now there's just a pinkish scar slowly fading.  At my latest trip to the Derm I told her what I did and she said the site looked fine.  Unfortunately I had googled and became convinced that by doing what I did I somehow unleashed c****r into my cells or bloodstream....my doctors verified that's not possible.  But guess what?  In my latest horrific health anxiety flare up (still going on) I've developed pain in that same leg.  I had myself convinced it's c****r spreading, even though it completely fits the description of sciatica.  I firmly believe my obsession over that mole removal created the pain in that leg.

Since  your health anxiety is focused on your heart, it makes total sense that at times of high anxiety your mind is simply too focused on that part of your body and causing these sensations you're feeling.  You've been completely checked by the doctors and medical tests just a short time ago, your heart and arteries are all healthy.  We all have little imperfections throughout our bodies, I remember going for an EKG and stress test years ago, showed some valve regurgitations, something or other waves showed up, and a high pulmonary pressure.  I was assured that they are all just normal variations.  Fortunately, my health anxiety isn't focused on my heart, at least not yet lol.

As I'm writing this I'm remembering about two years ago during a stressful time I had constant pressure in my chest, kind of in the middle but also to the heart area.....constant pressure, all day long.  After a visit to my doctor and the EKG which was normal, it was attributed to stress, anxiety, and muscle tightness.  Have you ever heard of costochondritis?   I've had that too, it's simply a type of muscular pain and pressure in your sternum, middle of the rib age area, and it causes that kind of pressure and can mimic a heart attack.  I think it can be exacerbated by stress.

i hope you feel better...living with health anxiety feels like living in a nightmare at times.  Easier said than done, believe me I know, but try to relax and I'm sure your pressure will subside.  Your heart is fine.

[BrokenArrow 52]

Hello. Nice to meet you. I see you commented on my thing, so I figure I will return the favor.

All of our panic manifests into what we are most afraid of. Think about it. If you were afraid of "witches" and you went into a haunted house, your mind is already thinking "Oh my God. there is gonna be witches in here." So your heart rate elevates, your blood pressure elevates, your fight or flight instinct kicks in and you prepare yourself for something you are afraid of. It is the same way in panic. You can actually trick your body into believing that it is having whatever it is that you are afraid of. If you are afraid of heart attacks, you can actually convince yourself you are having on and make your body go through the motions as if you were. It doesn't mean you really are, but in your mind you are. 

I've said before that my mind trigger is stomach issues. I get chest pains sometimes, but they mean nothing to me. I just go "Oh well, it must be some gas from my stomach issues" and then I either ignore it or I have a panic attack about my stomach. Because my fear manifests itself in my stomach because that is what I am most afraid of. 

Whenever you focus on something, you will find something wrong. EVEN if nothing is wrong. What I mean by that is when you poke at something over and over you eventually irritate it. Going back to my stomach issues, I tend to always clench my back or suck in my gut because for whatever reason I think that helps. By the end of the day I feel like I did 10 hours of ab exercises because I am constantly putting strain on my stomach. It is no different with the chest. If you poke at it or constantly fixate on it you will tense up the muscles in the chest and it will cause real pain. Not heart attack pain but pain from strained muscles. 

The mind, as you know, is a VERY powerful thing. Of course your heart rate is up. You are scared. If someone broke into your house with a gun do you think your heart rate would stay perfectly normal? It would skyrocket due to your fear. Just as it is now. 

 

[joy14 11]

Hi,

Just visited this post and I know it was posted long ago but I still wanted to post here in case any of you are still on the site or get the notifications. I am currently dealing with heart fears as well. The anxiety has been so bad lately that I am now into panic mode pretty much each day so the heart pounding and palpitations are present off and on and it is really sending my heart fears into a vicious cycle. Glad to see that someone else can relate because I really need someone to talk to that has dealt with this. I have dealt with this for years off and on but I had been doing so great over the past few years that I wasn't having any issues, although I would still think of my heart and avoided anything strenuous. I have a major fear and I really want this better. I have gone to my therapist some years ago but still never really got over the fear. I panic if I feel it racing or an increased pulse if I am doing things that would send it up. It is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. My heart has been fine - I have had EKGs and bloodwork etc lots of times in the past and even saw a cardiologist but my heart does this when I get extremely anxious! I am so frustrated. I know God will bring me through. I just need some help in the meantime.