Hello guys.
First of all, I'm a 17 year old male, and for the past 3 years or so I've suffered with very bad anxiety.
My problem now is that I sometimes get a fast heartbeat. The heartbeat can go up to about 120BPM and it usually happens when I've walked down/clirabed up some stairs, but it can happen for just no reason, but usually when I'm worrying about something.
I get panic attacks quite alot, I worry about ANYTHING health related, so you could say that I am a hypochondriac.
I've also been getting a sensation of not getting enough air, but this has happened to me ever since I started to understand what anxiety is, I also feel dizzy when my heart starts to beat faster than usual.
When I'm not anxious, my resting heart rate can be anything from 72-84. Admittedly I am not healthy, I haven't done any proper exercise for about 2 years now and I think that I'm over weight.
Ok, so I went to my doctor about these fast heart rates about a month back, and he said it was anxiety, he wanted to give me some beta blockers but I told him I didn't want to take them because I get REALLY anxious about side effects medication can give. So, he scheduled an ECG, I went for the ECG and the results came back and it showed that my heart was beating fast.
I have a question, I was anxious when I had the ECG and my heart was beating fast, would this show up on the ECG? Or does the ECG know when your body is under stress?
So my doctor scheduled me an appointment for another ECG at cardiac unit, he said he did this 'just to be safe'. He knew I was very very anxious about the whole situation.
My question is, if I get the sensation of not getting enough air, fast heart rates now and then and dizziness, could this be a sign that I have a major problem with my heart? I get palpitations sometimes too.
I have also developed a nasty habit of checking my pulse every 2 or so minutes. Yes, it really is as tedious as you think, it drives me up the wall.
So, what do you think this could be guys? Could anxiety normally cause your heart to beat faster, dizziness and have a not enough air sensation?
Thank you very much for reading.