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Could Anxiety, Panic Attacks About Being Diagnosed With An Irregular Heart Beat Several Years Ago Be A Serious Cause For Concern?
Question: Good Morning Dr. Rynne!
I just had a question relating to irregular heartbeat and palpitation symptoms. I am 39 and have always known since entering the military 15 years ago that I had an irregular heartbeat but it was shown to be no issue. With that background, when I got out of the military a couple of years ago, I have had some strong anxiety/stress symptoms and panic attacks a couple of times that seem rooted in adrenaline rushes triggered by environmental factors. The panic attacks came with a fear that something was wrong with my heart. I went to the ER once a few years ago and I was fine. But recently I have had more occasions where I would feel off a bit in terms of the irregular heartbeat and a fluttering and feeling of not being as stable internally. I have had no pain or shortness of breath and often forget about when I get engaged in other activities, but it has still worried me enough because I feel a little shakier inside with these seemingly more frequent experiences of I guess heart palpatations. Just wanted to see what you might recommend. It is true that this ramped up after I was sick a bit and also have not gotten as much sleep and I'm definitely juggling a lot with work and home life now too. Thank you for your thoughts and recommendations. I feel like maybe if there are some lifestyle things I could adjust or help I should seek, I am curious for thoughts on this. Thanks again! Douglas XXXXXXX
I just had a question relating to irregular heartbeat and palpitation symptoms. I am 39 and have always known since entering the military 15 years ago that I had an irregular heartbeat but it was shown to be no issue. With that background, when I got out of the military a couple of years ago, I have had some strong anxiety/stress symptoms and panic attacks a couple of times that seem rooted in adrenaline rushes triggered by environmental factors. The panic attacks came with a fear that something was wrong with my heart. I went to the ER once a few years ago and I was fine. But recently I have had more occasions where I would feel off a bit in terms of the irregular heartbeat and a fluttering and feeling of not being as stable internally. I have had no pain or shortness of breath and often forget about when I get engaged in other activities, but it has still worried me enough because I feel a little shakier inside with these seemingly more frequent experiences of I guess heart palpatations. Just wanted to see what you might recommend. It is true that this ramped up after I was sick a bit and also have not gotten as much sleep and I'm definitely juggling a lot with work and home life now too. Thank you for your thoughts and recommendations. I feel like maybe if there are some lifestyle things I could adjust or help I should seek, I am curious for thoughts on this. Thanks again! Douglas XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I passed carefully through your question and would explain that your symptoms could be related to anxiety.
But, before coming into this conclusion, I would recommend performing some tests to investigate for other possible causes ( like cardiac arrhythmia, electrolytes imbalances, chronic anemia, thyroid gland dysfunction) which can mimic this clinical situation.
For this reason I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests:
- a resting ECG and cardiac ultrasound
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time
- complete blood count for anaemia
- blood electrolytes
- thyroid hormone levels.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above tests.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr.Iliri
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I passed carefully through your question and would explain that your symptoms could be related to anxiety.
But, before coming into this conclusion, I would recommend performing some tests to investigate for other possible causes ( like cardiac arrhythmia, electrolytes imbalances, chronic anemia, thyroid gland dysfunction) which can mimic this clinical situation.
For this reason I would recommend consulting with your attending physician and performing some tests:
- a resting ECG and cardiac ultrasound
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time
- complete blood count for anaemia
- blood electrolytes
- thyroid hormone levels.
You should discuss with your doctor on the above tests.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr.Iliri
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
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