Anxiety or actual Heart problems?

So the other week I was having trouble sleeping, the problem was that on the first night I was threating about my health and got to breathing that was quite laborious, I couldn't sleep for hours, then when I was finally about to sleep..... you know that stage where you're like in the middle of awake and asleep...... everytime I got there i would feel like a shock/sharp pain in my heart area, which immediately woke me up and I was very aware................ from then for a few seconds i would worry thinking to myself just wtf is happening, and I was thinking whether or not it would be worth going to hospital, thinking maybe it was a heart attack or something.

anyway it shook me up but then after a few seconds of being woken up by it i was okay, so i go back to sleep again, same thing happens, repeat it about 8 times until i finally get to sleep. When i'm finally asleep i'm fine, i sleep like a log, even when i wake up to go get a drink or go to the toilet i can go back to sleep and go to sleep right away

this happened for a few days, with never any problems in the day time, apart from some very mild feeling in the left chest and under my left armpit, which i think i caused just from worrying about what was happening at night, so i was probably much more aware of my heart than i should be

but like i said it happened for maybe 4 days, the 1st and 2nd being really bad, the 3rd being meh and the 4th night barely registering

then it stopped so i ignored it and put it to the back of my mind, then yesterday out of the blue i'm lying in bed and get an almighty shock/shooping sensation in my heart, which scares me half to death, but it's very very brief just as it was before, just like 1 zap and it's gone. But i was wathcing tv while that happened, and i got to sleep okay when i wanted to, without any problems. It feels really serious and scary for a few moments after it happens, but then i'm always okay again.

today my left armpit is a little bit painful to touch(i'd probably register it about a 2 from 1-10) and my heart feels a bit meh, nothing serious but a very mild sense of something not being right, because i'm aware of it. Perhaps because im anxious of it from last night and worrying again?

i had anxiety and depression problems a few years ago. I think maybe i've got it again, but last time I had it I never had these problems, I never had even a mild panic attack, or any shocks to my heart or any real physical manifestations of anxiety except for pain in the abdomen caused by stress (which felt more like muscle cramps from memory)

I think its anxiety so I might go to the doctors to get some citalopram subscriptions again to see if that helps(it helped with my general anxiety/depression before), but what do you think? anyone experienced anything like these symptoms?

its weird to me that they come when i'm settling down for the night and lying in bed, and not when i'm doing exercise or being active. Makes me think that maybe it's not a legit heart problem and is caused by overthinking/worrying in the evening? I have to say i'm one of those people that goes to bed and has an overactive brain, i can sit there with thoughts racing for hours, which seems to maybe be why the problems are then, and not in the day when my mind is preoccupied with other things

responses would be great,

reply to post by JailTales
It might just be anxiety (presenting symptoms I'm not familiar with...) - but you should definitely get checked out to be safe. Any advice received here, even if it might be good, will not be as good as actually getting checked out to make sure you're OK.

Originally posted by PeterWiggin
reply to post by JailTales

 

It might just be anxiety (presenting symptoms I'm not familiar with...) - but you should definitely get checked out to be safe. Any advice received here, even if it might be good, will not be as good as actually getting checked out to make sure you're OK.

Oh I'm definitely going to get it checked now it's returned, i'm going to go to the doctor to see what they say, and my mum is a nurse so believe me i wouldn't hear the end of it if i ignored it

but when it first stopped i just put it down to being overstressed from work and drinking excessive amounts of caffeine or something, because i was fine for 2 weeks until last night it came out of nowhere again

and i know what ats is like so i certainly wouldn't believe what i read here, because i know most here would be against citalopram even though it worked wonders for me years ago

While I agree seeing a doctor is a good idea just to be sure.

I wanted to also share with you my similar experiences. I have never had the armpit thing you were talking about, but for years I have been plagued with the same feeling you described while trying to fall asleep. Basically I would describe it as a feeling of anxiety like if someone just scared you. running from around the beginning of your strenum up to you your heart area. Once you wake up from it you don't feel it anymore and it's almost like nothing happened. It occurs almost immeadiately upon drifting to sleep. It is a form of anxiety that is caused by the fact that your brain is still aware when your body goes to sleep. Therefore you are suddenly awakened in fear because your brain thinks something is wrong. I can't think of the exact name, but I have suffered from it for years.

Skipped beats and fluttering of the heart are common in everyone. It could have been a coincidence, or because of your nerves being up while worrying about your heart. It can also be a sign of something more serious with your heart but the majority of the time there is nothing wrong. I suffer from frequent skipped beats known as PVC from a heart murmur that I have called Mitral Valve Prolapse. It is benign and annoying. It is also linked to anxiety and panic, migraines, and numerous other conditions.

I would say check with your doctor, but honestly I think you will be fine as I can relate to a lot of your thread personally.

If your symptoms are only when you are at rest, it very well may be anxiety, but it is best to get your heart checked out anyway just to be sure. Heart problems tend to manifest more during activity.

I had the same issues, going to sleep was a dreadful experience. Also had the chest pains, etc. I went and had a full heart workup, and they said, other than a heart murmur, everything was fine.

I do have problems with panic disorder, and find that when I am busy, it isn't as bad, but when I'm trying to settle down and relax, my brain goes haywire and won't let me rest. I have also nodded off only to wake up in a panic. It seems to be getting worse as I get older....Perhaps because I have slowed down and think things through more, and take things more seriously.

In any case, feel better soon!

doctors are over rated, you should just make a thread about it on a conspiracy website.

Originally posted by Phantom28804
While I agree seeing a doctor is a good idea just to be sure.

I wanted to also share with you my similar experiences. I have never had the armpit thing you were talking about, but for years I have been plagued with the same feeling you described while trying to fall asleep. Basically I would describe it as a feeling of anxiety like if someone just scared you. running from around the beginning of your strenum up to you your heart area. Once you wake up from it you don't feel it anymore and it's almost like nothing happened. It occurs almost immeadiately upon drifting to sleep. It is a form of anxiety that is caused by the fact that your brain is still aware when your body goes to sleep. Therefore you are suddenly awakened in fear because your brain thinks something is wrong. I can't think of the exact name, but I have suffered from it for years.

Skipped beats and fluttering of the heart are common in everyone. It could have been a coincidence, or because of your nerves being up while worrying about your heart. It can also be a sign of something more serious with your heart but the majority of the time there is nothing wrong. I suffer from frequent skipped beats known as PVC from a heart murmur that I have called Mitral Valve Prolapse. It is benign and annoying. It is also linked to anxiety and panic, migraines, and numerous other conditions.

I would say check with your doctor, but honestly I think you will be fine as I can relate to a lot of your thread personally.

Thanks for the response, you're right it feels like that, but with more focus on the heart, i'm not even sure if there's anything actually wrong though because it always seems to happen when i'm tired and going to sleep as you describe. Even when it happened last night i have a suspicion i was drifting off to sleep, though i can't say for definite, but i can't say if i was awake either, i think i might have just been nodding off when i got the "zap"

i think it could be that, with having anxiety before and the way that you describe it, because that sounds eerily similar and it also makes sense to me as i know i've got an over active mind. but you never know, maybe it's that combined with an actual heart problem! Mitral Valve Prolapse came up a few times when i was searching keywords for what i have, by the way, so i'll have to mention that to the doctor in chat too.

i also heard from a friend i asked and they seemed to think this thing while trying to get to sleep is something to do with your body trying to dump adrenaline or something. the way they described it is that you're basically in fight or flight mode even though nothing is happening, and that's what it does feel like apart from the heart zap. It's kind of like when i go to bed i've got adrenaline energy which shouldn't be there, just with the sharp/electric sensation being around the heart i'm wondering if it could be 2 things

it might be worth noting that when i got these problems the other week i was upside down sleeping wise and doing stints of 24 hours being awake, so extremely tired with irregular sleeping patterns. If it is this problem, and it's all conjecture until I see a doctor, i wonder what effects those sort of sleeping patterns have played? I was also up late yesterday, I watched tv until very early(about 4 am)

PS. the armpit thing could just be coincidental, but worth mentioning jjust incase

Originally posted by lacrimosa
doctors are over rated, you should just make a thread about it on a conspiracy website.

Well it's 11pm in the UK, I'm not going to call out a doctor, i've got a nurse in the room next to me, if it's my house is as good a place as any to be. Until then I have to wait for my doctors appointment like everybody else

Be on the safe side and consult a doctor.
Waiting for the appointment is worth it.
We should never ignore the difference small changes can make.

It happened against last night, though it wasn't as frightening, as it was on the right side of my chest this time, which was assuring in an odd sort of way

I have suffered the same symptoms for quite a few years..

Sleep apnoea (stopping breathing when asleep), heart palpitations (this in most cases is just an ectopic heart beat bought on by alcohol or caffeine... This will keep you awake and when you get to that point of falling asleep, will cause a palpitation that will wake you up.. Its not life threatening.. Everybody has them but if you are in an anxious frame of mind and are concentrating on your heartbeats obsessively you will become more aware of them, and the fear of them will make more!)

Are you overweight? Do you smoke? Do you eat meals late at night or at regular times? Do you drink plenty of water and enough exercise? All of those things when resolved will stop the symptoms.. Overnight in my case..

But still get an ECG from your doctor to be safe..

Originally posted by EvanB
I have suffered the same symptoms for quite a few years..

Sleep apnoea (stopping breathing when asleep), heart palpitations (this in most cases is just an ectopic heart beat bought on by alcohol or caffeine... This will keep you awake and when you get to that point of falling asleep, will cause a palpitation that will wake you up.. Its not life threatening.. Everybody has them but if you are in an anxious frame of mind and are concentrating on your heartbeats obsessively you will become more aware of them, and the fear of them will make more!)

Are you overweight? Do you smoke? Do you eat meals late at night or at regular times? Do you drink plenty of water and enough exercise? All of those things when resolved will stop the symptoms.. Overnight in my case..

But still get an ECG from your doctor to be safe..

Overweight - tick
Smoke - tick
Eat meals late at night - tick
Lack of exercise - tick

Looking at the other symptoms of sleep apnea don't really sound like me though, I can easily sleep 10-12 hours and I'm not fatigued in the day time, I also don't snore

I guess I'll have to have a few trips to the doctors to work out what this is with all the possible diagnosis's

reply to post by JailTales


you should not be in an internet forum discussing this with us. you should be talking to a doctor.

Do you people not listen? I can't just go storming in to the doctors, I have to wait for my appointment on Monday

it's not hollywood where you can just kick the door down and demand to see a doctor, it doesn't work like that

As it happens, I share this exact phenomenon. It also happens that I was born with a congenital heart defect and I have PTSD - panic and anxiety attacks - so I've got this one totally covered.

A doctor will tell you to have a sleep study done to be sure. But an easier fix, in the interim, is to ask your doctor to prescribe you an antianxiety agent - just ask for a prescription for one pill just to see how it works for you and most doctors will happily do so - then take it about an hour before bedtime. If the symptoms abate or disappear then it is most likely stress and you'll have a way of controlling the problems until you can have a proper sleep study performed.

And yeah, I feel for you because waking up that way from the half asleep state is absolutely terrifying. Especially when it keeps happening over and over and over and over again, all night long.

Best of luck!

~Heff

Went to the doctor, he must be an ATS member of sorts, he wouldn't give me any medication.

They checked my blood and my hearts and seemed to think they were fine, and told me to eat less sugar, try to exercise more in the day and get into a proper sleeping routine rather than getting up and going to bed whenever

so they think it's energy/anxiety related but that i might be able to fix it by burning off energy in the day and listening to music or something when i go to sleep, to cut out overthinking

So I'll see if that works and go back in 3 weeks. I feel it could work because my sleeping is way eratic and i don't get enough exercise, if you knew my sleeping pattern you would

Nice doctor, ATS would like her.

reply to post by JailTales


Sounds like a possible magnesium deficiency.... Anxiety, Depression, Poor Blood Pressure...

I was having similar issues. Here's a post I created on this subject:
Why A Magnesium Deficiency Will Quickly KILL You