Heart Pounding

Happens to me buddy... All day every day... I can always feel it in my head and that is the worst...

James

When I lay down to go to sleep it takes awhile to finally fall asleep. I can hear my heart pounding in my inner ear. It really bothers me!!

Its an unatural pounding thats been going on for several months now. It happens mostly at night, however there are a few episodes where I might be doing something in the middle of the day and out of the blue my heart will start to race.

Freaked out I went to an emergency room swearing I was about to have a heart attack. They kept assuring me I was fine while they gave me an ekg? And also took blood. They found no evidence of a heart problem and told me I should see a cardiologist.

I haven't taken that step, most of my nights are spent laying in bed watching tv or playing on the computer trying to tire myself out.

I push a rolling chair on the boardwalk in atlantic city so I get alot of exercise almost daily. I'm 32 years old, male with a history of athletics and sports participation. I know the feeling of having my heart want to jump out of my chest after chasing a ball up and down the field. Thats why I get really spooked when I get a similar feeling while i'm just laying down.

I have been under alot of stress. My girlfriend keeps getting pregnant. Lol I have 3 kids like outta nowhere in a period of like 3 years. Stress. I wonder if its the woman thats causing me this pain. If she is just sucking the life outta me and draining my will to live. Just kidding. (but wondering)

i don't know. I do have a casual history of "light" drug use. I mean I don't seek out pot or other drugs, however when its been offered to me i've been known to take the occasional hit. I mention this because there were a few isolated occasions when I was smoking with a people that I just for no reason just freaked out. My heart would start racing and i'd be pretty sure I was about to die for whatever reason.

I don't have a prolonged history of alcohol use, but i've been drunk a few times. I don't smoke cigs, but i've bought a pack or two (in 32 years)

my point is why does it feel like i'm dying. I keep thinking about it and checking my pulse constantly. I hate this feeling

Wow. It's nice to see that there are others out there like me. I also get the pounding heart. Pretty scary. I hope its my anxiety causing it. Lately it's been good, though.
I'm constantly monitoring my heart and taking my pulse. I've become obsessed with it. Its worse at the gym. I can't work out like I used to because my heart seems to beat harder than usual, and I sometimes get dizzy at the gym too. I might just be really aware of it now, and everything's normal, but I still fear there's something wrong.
I had blood work and everything was fine there, and monday i'm having an ekg. I hope that checks out too. Of course, being the way I am, even if everything checks out, i'll worry that the doctors missed something.

hi there it could be anxiety

My heart pounds away whenever I get anxious, which is most of the time these days. It just thrashes away and I can't think straight or focus on what's going on.

Yup, I used to have this. It was just after I graduated from uni, and again when I was relocating to London with work. I used to get a pounding heart at random times, but also palptations like a flutter or missed beat. I went for a ECG at the Dr's and they said everything looked fine so I tried my best to ignore it, and now it's much much better. I still get the odd missed beat or flutter when I'm tired but now I know it's just stress so find it much easier to ignore it.

This is actually something that I've gotten through, though it took a couple of years. Just like some of you, it started with a racing heartbeat (I thought). That started the anxiety about my heart. I was obsessed with checking my pulse and such, and eventually went into a panic attack that sent me to the emergency room. I was told everything looked normal and to see a cardiologist. I saw a cardiologist and was told I'm fine.

The good thing is that through all of this I learned what the normal behavior of my heart is and how my actions can change what it does. Here are some tips:

1) Your breathing controls your heart rate. If you breath in, it beats faster. If you breath out, it slows down. Don't expect a constant heart rate, because *that's* abnormal.

2) Palpitations are when you can feel your heart beating. It's normal to become aware of it every now and then, and you'll probably notice that it only happens when something draws your attention to your heart.

3) When you feel your heart skip a beat, it feels like it's going to stop. You get a little lightheaded and that can easily scare you. But you can jump start your heart back into the normal routine by forcing yourself to make a good cough.

4) By all means take your pulse. Learn how your heart normally works. After weeks or months of normal operation, you'll realize that everything is okay and you'll also be confident that you can notice when something not normal happens. That feeling of control is key to getting through it.

5) When your heart beats fast, you feel faint, but you won't pass out. You only pass out when your heart beats too slowly, not when it beats too fast.

6) When your heart beats too slow and you feel faint, lie down so that the slower beats move more blood to your brain. This only happens to me when I hurt myself and the pain slows down my heart (your body does this to get you prone so that blood can circulate more easily).

I don't worry about my heart anymore, so it's possible to get through the fear. I hope that makes you guys feel better.