Fear of cardiovascular disease and a heart attack.

[Kosta]

It might be pretty exhausting, while one thinks all the time about it. When becomes worse, one will have an illusion that the heart does not work normally. Probably because of the fear a heart may start to beat little faster and stronger. So one will often check the heart, putting hands on his breast and measuring the blood pressure. Occasionally, one will speak with other people, presenting his problem as a real one. But his family and close friends will realize after some time that he is little more paranoid about his health condition. The worst part of this type of hypochondria is that it often leads to panic attacks, which can be very unpleasant, while one might think that he starts losing his mind. So I want to ask, do you have similar experiences, or do you know someone who has had them?

 

[sidney]

Luckily, high blood and cardiovascular diseases don't run through our family, so I or anyone close to me in my immediate family doesn't suffer from anxieties related to it. I guess it can be pretty crazy for someone who suffers from it, since they have to watch what they eat. My cousin does that now, since she got it from my uncle, who has high blood pressure.

 

[MellowCat]

I haven't had this fear, however it does sound to me like something that could be helped by seeing a doctor or therapist. Is this your particular issue? You don't indicate whether you are talking about you or simply presenting a topic of conversation.


If this is you, I would definitely recommend talking to a health care professional. At the very least, you can get tests done to assure you that, logically, you may not have any risk in those areas. However, what you are probably really going to need after that is some therapy to help you deal with the illogical fears, because those may very well remain in spite of any test results. A phobia is, after all, not necessarily a logical thing.


I hope that you are able to see a doctor and/or therapist about it. It sounds like it is interfering with your life, and while you want assurance/empathy from friends and family, they don't really understand. A healthcare professional may be able to do what they can't.

 

[lexinonomous]

This sounds very similar to the way that I think. I know that my have hypochondria when it comes to my heart and how fast it's beating. I obsess over the idea of having a heart attack. One of the best and worst things I've ever done was buy a fitbit. It has helped me maintain my exercise and really keep track of my health, but it also allows me to monitor my heart rate. I am constantly checking my heart rate and obsessing over the fluctuations. My heart rate will constantly change- especially when I'm keeping an eye on it. It leads me to stop concentrating on my breathing and I will go into full on panic attacks. I will be entirely convinced that I am going to die.


I understand this fear all too well. My heart goes out to anyone that is dealing with this. It's not a fun time at all.

 

[kgord]

High blood pressure runs in my family. Cancer runs in the family as well, and Alzheimers. I am pretty sure that either heart disease, cancer or Alzheimeirs will kill me, however, I don't spend time thinking about it. I am sometimes conscious of any pain in my left arm, or heart palpitations I may have, as I think maybe it is heart disease. I do think that I may have it. However, doing your best to keep blood pressure and cholesterol under control is something that you can do. I think keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol where it should be will do a lot to alleviate fears of possible heart attack.

 

[AlysBunny]

In some ways, a racing heart beat and high blood pressure can become self-fulfilling prophecies. I notice the fast beat and get anxious about it, which floods my body with chemicals that speed it up more. Under stress, low blood pressure increases. Mental symptoms and issues can create real physiological changes in some cases. If tests have been done, I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to stay correctly hydrated and learn to meditate or learn to do things to make you stop thinking about your breathing and heart rate. If you can get your attention focused on something, anything at all, other than that, they'll shift back to whatever normal for you is as long as you're healthy overall.

 

[thecorinthian]

I'm always scared of this since I have a weak heart (I grew up as a blue baby) and sometimes my heart would literally skip a beat or my chest tenses up. My mother thinks it's nothing and it's just me being paranoid as blue babies grow up fine according to my doctor but there are just those days when I feel weak and dizzy as though I'm rising up for air that makes me anxious.

 

[Sue]

I do worry about this since my Dad passes away in his sleep. I worry that it will happen to me. Every night that I go to bed I fear my heart will stop in the night and I will never wake up. For a while after it happened I had a lot of anxiety when it came time to go to bed. Now I can sleep but I still have that thought every time I crawl into bed at night. It is a fear of mine and always will be.

 

[SirJoe]

It's unavoidable, they are constantly making health scares that we have gotten to a point that we don't even know what we can eat anymore. I used to let it get to me, but with the passing of the time a realized that if we lead healthy lives with a well balanced diet, we shouldn't have any feart. A good thing to do is have regular check ups. Medicine has advanced so much that if caught early on it can easily be solved.

 

[kelden]

The heart is working non-stop, this arouse both concerns and fascination, since you know someday It will worn out and stop working, like anything in this world. Good thing that cardio exercises exist to keep your heart strong and pumping a steady stream of blood across ur body. To improve overall cardio, American Heart Association suggests at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise (or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity). Thirty minutes a day, five times a week is an easy goal to remember, like go jogging for more than 15 minutes and moderate walking to finish. But even with exercise a cardiac arrest may happen, due to a genetic heritage problem. Nature knows how to screw us to keep mortality on.

 

[djordjem87]

I am 29 and I am a very healthy person. I tend to worry about several things and with, for me at least, a good reason. My father is quite the opposite of me. He has diabetes, high blood pressure, he had a heart attack and actually several more problems on that list. Most of these things were not inherited but he got sick after in his life. Some other men from his side of family died young but they all had problems with alcohol and my father doesn't drink. I worry that I would have these problems simply because he has them. I really try to live a good and healthy life. I try to live as stress free as possible. My heart sometimes is very nervous but that is usually from anxiety and stress. I do not have high blood pressure and I am a vegetarian partly because of that fear and partly because I love animals too much to eat them.

 

[Ashley0323]

Yes, this is something I fear. When I was young, maybe 12, I lost my grandpa very unexpectedly at the age of 48, two days after christmas to a heart attack. I didnt have a father in my life and he was the male role model I looked up to, and I was the favorite (only) grandchild and I spent many hours with him daily. I still struggle over his loss, even as an adult . Now that I have my own kids, I fear putting them though the pain of losing a parent due to an unexpected heart attack.

 

[DesmondX]

This has lead to more than half of my major panic attacks. Every time I see my doctor he assures me that I am in great shape and being 25 the odds of having some type of heart problem are next to none. But I can't seem to get it through my head. When my anxiety is at bay, I look back and can't help but feel silly. But the very moment I feel anything slightly off, I am thrown into a whirlwind of worry.


Many months ago my fear of a heart attack led to the worst panic attack of my life so far. I kept checking my pulse, and although everything was normal I decided to call 911. Even though they recognized that I was fine and walked me through deep breath exercises, in that state I was unable to be persuaded into believing that I wasn't dying and was taken to the hospital. It was the scariest and most embarrassing moment ever. As terrible as it was, the experience has seemed to help me. It is easier for me to stay grounded and convince myself that what I'm experiencing isn't the real thing. Hopefully, someday it will go away for good.

 

[mkhl]

I suffer from this. Both of my grandfathers have cardiovascular disease and one of them died. My uncles and aunts have it and they say it's hereditary so I will get it. Every small uncommon sensation on my chest I get anxious. I was recently diagnosed with hypertension and I can't stop thinking about. My doctor told me to stop worrying but somehow i can't.

 

[CeliVega]

It started at one night a few months ago for me. Till this day I am still not very sure what "triggered" the uneasy feeling on my chest area. Maybe I was exceptionally angry that day? Maybe I am doing something that caused my body to constantly deliver blood to my heart during that day? At that night, when I lied down on my bed, I can felt my heartthrob very, very loud and clear. This has never happened before. And I just shrugged it off. I had a very unpleasant sleep that night, and when I woke up, I noticed my heart was still beating absurdly fast. I got very, very scared during that time.


"Am I going to have a heart attack if this keep going on?" Then I tried doing some deep breathing, inhaling for ten seconds, and exhaling for ten seconds, which continued for about half and hour. Luckily this got my heartbeat under control. Ever since that day I have always have this fear of waking up with a fast beating heart, or not waking up at all. I am worried that this anxiety might actually worsen my body condition. It might only be a one time thing, but what if your constant worrying makes it into a real disease?


I might schedule an appointment with a doctor soon to have my body check.

 

[Dybbuk Jones]

When I was in my 20s, I gained a lot of weight and because of the extra strain I would get chest pains until I stabilized. It was a year when my metabolism slowed down and I just went from dangerously skinny (150 pounds) to 215 pounds which is overweight and might even be obese by BMI standards. I've gained weight since then (I am now at 250 and I work out and yet still can't seem to lose it) but it's never been so bad as to have chest pains.


My uncle died of arrythmia which happened when he just woke up in the middle of the night with chest pains. By the time the ambulance found his house he was dead.

 

[fuzyon]

Fortunately I don't have any incidents of heart attacks in my family (that I share blood with) so I'm pretty safe in that regard, but you never know when they can "hit". I've always comforted myself by saying that if it happens there's nothing I can do about it and if I die due to a heart attack I wouldn't feel too much, so I guess it's one of the calmest ways to die.

 

[misszerable]

My mother died of stroke at the age of 35 and she was quite physically fit so I had a very negative experience with cardiovascular diseases. I used to work in a highly stressful accounting job that required me to render long hours of overtime. One day, I felt some tightening in my chest and I thought that I must be having a heart attack. I rested and relaxed myself for a while and the sensation was gone. I took that as a warning to slow down. The stress was too much that I also experienced prolonged bleeding during my period. I had to quit that job and find myself a less stressful one.

 

[GrubbyRose]

The way I look at it, as long as you get a regular checkups where the doctor checks your heart and you eat healthy, you have done all you can. Medical treatment is getting better every day, and you have a good chance of surviving a heart attack. My boss survived 2, because of emergency room care.

 

[LoyalServant]

My first experience with a full-scale panic attack occurred after taking marijuana! It wasn't my first time taking it, but it was my first time being exposed to strangers on the bus.


I was absolutely terrified and kept thinking I was going to die. I had severe chest pains and my hands became all sweaty, in my mind I was convinced I was having a heart attack. I kept thinking over and over how far help was, how long it would take the ambulance to arrive and how far it would have to drive to the hospital. Not to mention the embarrassment of having to stop the bus with all the other passengers inside. I remember this feeling even though it happened years ago.


Unfortunately, the weeks following my bad trip were not any better. It was as though marijuana had triggered something in my brain. I would have random panic attacks during the day. When I was in the subway I remember thinking about everyone looking at me and judging me as though I was completely different. The same terrible ''heart attack'' feeling would arise and spiral me out of control with disconcerting thoughts.


Over the years I have read a lot about panic attacks which helps me recognise them. I would have to say that the frequency and the intensity they have has servery diminished. There is hope!