Heart failure or anxiety ? Posted: 08-26-08 15:27pm
Back in March I had a feeling of flutters
in my chest.. I was scared out of my mind
thinking I was going to have a heart
attack.. Went to sleep and woke up, and
felt my heart beating throughout my body..
It still happens, until this day.
I flew home the next day, got an EKG, 24
hr holter monitor, chest xray and Twave
test done.. everything was good.
I've been suffering from a bounding pulse
in my abdomen, wrist, forehead, top of my
hand, ETC.. many times, when I'm sitting
in a chair, my heart beat will rock me
slightly back and forth. Now all of the
sudden my finger nail beds are turning
purple over the past couple weeks.
Last month I went to my doctor for an
echo, he told me I have very mild Mitral
Valve Regurg. and that it's nothing to
worry about.
I'm fearing heart failure... But have
heard that this can be stress related
because of me focusing on my heart and
thinking about it all the time.. Yet when
I take a xanax, the bounding pulse is
still there, and has been there since
march.. Shouldn't that note some kind of
cardiac failure?
I've also been experiencing chest pains,
on and off.. Right under my left rib cage
and sometimes in the middle of my chest
that feels worse when i cough or take a
deep breath.. the pain is localized tho,
and is not crushing or very painful for
that matter.. I'm just aware that it
doesn't feel right... I'm only 21, and
have no family history of heart disease..
but I did get sick back in february, for
about a week, for the first time in
years.. But echo's and all tests revealed
no endocarditis and I have no fever or
anything.. I've been tested for STD's and
nothing. My hands go numb often.. as do
my feet. Also all my veins seem to be
more visible, although not protruding.. I
can see blue under my skin everywhere..
places I've never seen veins before.
Anxiety and stress can't possibly be
causing these symptoms.. And my doctor
thinks I've had MVR my whole life.. but
i've never had any of these symptoms..
I'm looking for any advice possible.
and what are the first signs and symptoms
of heart failure.. and if not heart
failure what could this possibly be????
Also if this an acute case caused by some
virus or something, is there a way to heal
it besides transplantation??
I've been under a lot of anxiety since
february... Is there any way possible that
all of my symptoms are caused by anxiety??
Or is this definately cardiac related??
|
kfkohio
Moderator
Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 177 Location: Columbus, OH USA
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 10-31-08 09:20am
Are your cardiac problems still occurring?
I realize it has been a while since you
posted. It is hard to tell what the
problem might be from a description. Have
you gone back to the doctor? I can give
you this website with lots of great
information on heart failure, maybe it
will be helpful to you: http://www.
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartfailure.html<
/a>
I've been to plenty of doctors.. most
recently I went to a cardiologist.
He listened to my heart, told me he can't
hear any MVR, and says my heart sounds
great.. He also said there's no sounds in
my lungs, and that my nails can't possibly
be turning purple from lack of blood
supply because my pulse is so strong. He
also said my valves are normally formed
(he looked at the echo pictures) so i've
had no endocarditis or anything of the
sort.
I'm still having the bounding pulse and
palpitations (sensation of feeling my
heartbeat).. He's convinced it's anxiety
and may seem to believe that I'm depressed
as well.. Every test that i've ever had
done has come back completely normal.
I've had SEVERAL blood tests done..
everything comes back normal every time.
I've stopped working out completely and
have been eating like crap.. I've gained
20 pounds since august.. I'm only 22, and
was compulsively working out before this.
I've played football since I was 13 and
have recently stopped because of all of
this..
I still believe doctors are missing
something.. I have frequent headaches,
limbs constantly falling asleep, i get
tired at weird times of the day, and my
hair and skin seems to be extremely dry
all the time... My body temperature is
97.3 constantly, when prior it was always
98.7.. I've had my thyroid checked plenty
of times, everybody says it's good. IDK if
I should see an endocronologist for it
just to be safe.
IDK what to do- My cardiologist is a damn
good one too... My GP diagnosed me with
the MVR when he saw the echo- my
Cardiologist says it's not present and/or
not significant enough for him to
hear/see.. and even so it doesn't cause a
bounding pulse..
I think i've had every blood test in the
book done- nothing has come back
abnormal.
|
kfkohio
Moderator
Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 177 Location: Columbus, OH USA
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 11-03-08 13:58pm
Well, hopefully all of the normal test
results will put your mind to rest a bit.
Have you tried any treatments for
anxiety/depression since the physical
symptoms seem to not indicate any
problems?
