Ask a doctor on the topic of Internal medicine

Sudden heart palpitations, stumbling, anxiety, and psyche.

January 13, 2015 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Maybe first a little about me:

I have been a very sensitive and anxious person since birth and have always needed a lot of help from my parents to not completely fail mentally. I have always had many mental problems and as a small child I would scream because of everything that scared me. I do a lot of sports and have also competed in the German handball championships. (competitive sports)

Now to the current situation:

I am under a lot of stress (due to exams), am deeply in love at the same time, and now almost see everything as a burden. I have never had any physical problems, but on November 5th, before going to bed, I experienced strong heart palpitations and frequent heart flutters. The strange thing was that I didn't feel dizzy or sick, just nothing. I was fine overall, except that my heart rate was high and irregular. I immediately went to my father, who felt my pulse and said it was slightly elevated, but not drastically. I felt like it was 300. (Panic attack?) The next day, I went to the doctor. There, I had an ECG, blood tests, everything was fine. The same thing on Monday. Again, everything was fine, except that my blood pressure was too high. I was then referred to a psychiatrist and general practitioner, who checked me physically again and then gave me calming pills. Since then, I have resumed normal sports activities, but I am constantly in a state of anxiety and can't find peace. Sport has become a burden for me. I am terrified that I suddenly have something wrong with my heart. What is happening to me? All the doctors say it's okay, but I don't feel that way at all. I am just filled with fear and it completely rules my life and destroys me. Can you tell me what this heart palpitations or fluttering could be? I felt it very strongly, couldn't feel my pulse anymore, it was so fast in my opinion, but not in my father's opinion. I would just like to hide in a corner and rest. I am completely exhausted and just can't take it anymore. Today, after 3 months, I had this heart palpitation again for 2 minutes in class, after which I left, but as I said, I don't feel sick, I just have a very irregular pulse, but it doesn't make me feel bad. So, I have had 2 such incidents in total, I am so unsure and have no joy in life at all.

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good evening,

It seems like you are developing a fear of heart problems, and that is of course not good.

First of all: It is not at all possible to have a heart rate of 300 without passing out; that would require ventricular fibrillation, which can be fatal. Even a heart rate of over 200 can cause serious difficulties, which you can also rule out.

Perhaps you should consider doing a stress EKG and really push yourself during the test; then follow up with a 24-hour EKG. If both results are normal, malignant arrhythmias are not to be expected (because they would show signs even before). It is likely to be harmless tachycardias that then lead to anxiety; or anxiety attacks that accelerate the heart rate.

In addition to the fear of heart problems, there is also suspicion of anxiety-depression. Please make sure to speak with a skilled neurologist to establish a diagnosis and determine a meaningful therapy plan.

All the best!

Sincerely, Dr. Höllering