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pannic attack or heart prob ??
hi all, iam 46yrs had cardiomyopthy all my life its been controled by meds inderal 60mgs a day, well my doc changed my meds lastyear to tropel 50mgs a day since then i had my first in 20yrs i started meds when i was 20 , panic attack or heart defib ? i got short of breath sweating real bad blacking out allmost while driving...so i tell my doc she says put in a defib ok its in now 3 months i get my attack again i get shocked at 188 BPM GO BACK TO THE DOCS THEY RAISE IT TO 200 BPM, with pacing at 50 BPM they dont know if it was a panic attack or my heart so , my ? is do i have a defib for no reason take it out fgo back on my old meds....
thanks...happy holidays to alll
10 Comments
I am compelled to comment
by Larry1t - 2007-12-12 08:12:11
No.
What will show up is tachycardia, but its' etiology may not be apparent.
I have Panic Disorder, DSMIIIR 300.01, and have had it for TWENTY YEARS. Tachycardia has always been a part of panic disorder for _me_. Along with all the other symptoms that are attributed to Panic.
Recently, I was diagnosed with Ventricular Tachycardia, and have had an ICD/PM installed because this is considered a lethal arrythmia.
When I have tachycardia (felt as a rapid pulse at my wrist), I cannot tell if it is caused by *breakthrough anxiety* or if it is a V-tach episode. All I can tell is that ATP (anti-tachycardia pacing) kicks in and brings the BPM back to normal in the matter of a few short minutes.
Whether this tach is caused by PD and appears as part of a "limited symptom attack," or is V-tach, can't be distinguised without having an EKG machine attached to me when the event occurs.
If my ICD/PM is logging ATP waveforms, it will display at my next interrogation.
The bottom line for me, is no matter the cause of the tachycardia, the PM part of the ICD/PM takes control of it without drugs, and gets me back to normal very quickly. In the past I would have to take extra Xanax to do that. Now with this device, I just relax and let the machine do the work.
Sometimes my limited symptom attacks (breakthrough anxiety that gets past my Paxil) shows up as sweating, breathlessness. I *might* take 1 mg Alprazolam to pull me out of it, although I have the ICD/PM, because the ICD/PM only addresses the cardiac component of a Panic Attack, and not the other bothersome symptoms.
Hope this helps Original Poster
Lg
thanks
by Aztec - 2007-12-25 12:12:04
thanks guys it sounds just like what iam having anxiety, please tell me whats a good med i can ask my doc for that might help me with the panic or anxiety part of this ....
thanks
chris
thanks again
by Aztec - 2007-12-30 03:12:42
Hi everyone , thanks for the help i went in to the hospital last to have the ablation surgury well it worked great , no more attacks since and the doc gave me xanax just incase i need it 0.25 mgs i took one i fell asleep...lol but since rthen my bpm are good no more palaatations i m doing good GOD healed me .... at least in that area haha ... i still have the icd just for extra protection ... thanks again happy new year to all...
Chris
Reply to Aztec
by Larry1t - 2007-12-30 06:12:39
Paroxetine HCL
a.k.a. Paxil
depending on severity of symptoms, start at 20mg/day
possibly supplement with xanax 1mg as needed for *breakthrough* anxiety.
I'm on Paroxetine HCL 40mg/day
1mg Alprazolam every 8 hours
Works for me.
Lg
This sounds like me...
by gmnordy - 2007-12-31 12:12:10
I have had my pacemaker for 4 years now. Some problems off and on with supraventricular tachycardia in the past, didnt really bother me and I was only pacing 2 percent atrial and 16 percent ventricle. Now this was my last check up 6 months ago.
We moved back to Ohio to be near family. In the past 8 months I have had a lot of episodes where I feel like my pacemaker is "kicking in", at least that is what I always thought, until now. Two weeks ago went for pacer interrogation, tech said I was in Mobitz II heart block (which is what I got pacer for-high degree heart block), and v-tach. Doctors office said come in for tests, this is in two weeks. I do have moderate anxiety and panic episodes, so my v tach may be from that. Guess it doesnt matter because v tach is pretty serious esp if it turns into ventricular fibrillation. Have had a lot of loud hard thumping fluttering going on in my chest, with periods of dizziness, feeling faint, face goes pale, lips blue (according to husband), and feel very fatigued. Usually I will take a beta blocker to "convert" or Xanax to relax. Both work relatively well, but I am having these episodes every single day. I cannot work anymore because I have to lay down at least twice a day, and the more chest flutters, the more anxious I get and it is just a mad circle and chain of events.
Larry, if you and I could chat sometime, your case sounds like mine. The tech said I might have to get an ICD, which scares me to death, because, now dont pass out everyone, I HAVE NO INSURANCE. When we moved, my husband got a job with insurance and then that company went out of business, and we could not afford the cobra. So dont know what will happen to me if I need a very expensive operation. It seems I am not eligible for any kind of Medicaid. My whole situation is a mess right now. Not good for the heart condition and not good for the anxiety.
Oh yeah
by gmnordy - 2007-12-31 12:12:47
And I am now 100 percent dependent on my pacemaker. This has increased from hardly using it 6 months ago to the total dependency.
Debbi
For gmnordy aka Debbi
by Larry1t - 2008-01-02 05:01:39
Please forgive my absence. I only drop in to this group now and then.
By all means, let me tell you that I =also= have a lot of chest fluttering when I lie down to sleep. When that happens, I feel my pulse at my wrist, and notice *missed* heartbeats, and sometimes, double beats.
Double beats means, one from the heart, one from the pacemaker. Each in rapid succession. Last night I was waiting for the BIG BANG (ICD) but it never came. I guess the ATP (anti-tachycardia pacing) in my Medtronic Virtuoso got things under control. But I was up for a long time in bed with my fingers on my wrist, just waiting to be blown out of my socks.
So...I have the ICD/PM because of my Vtach. I have sustained Vtach, as shown on a rhythm strip in hopital radiotelemetry. 36 in a row at times, at least on the one I saw. Then Nurse said, after implant, that the ATP stopped my Vtach after 3 heartbeats. With no ICD firing, just pacing.
Well I couldn't have been happier until last night, when I stayed up so long my arms hurt from feeling my pulse. But I woke up this morning feeling fair to midling. I am still a little short of breath from time to time though, but cure that with a deep breath as needed.
So...was it Panic? or was it Vtach? Important to know, because if Panic, then I take 1 or 2 milligrams Xanax, and that takes care of arrhythmia problem. If Vtach, no meds necessary, except maybe I will sneak in 25 mg of Lopressor (actually generic metoprolol). Or, like I did last night, I might do nothing but take my blood pressure and see what my pulse is. But even though the numbers looked OK, that didn't change the fact that my heartbeats were unstable and all over the map.
Anyhow, my implant solved the problem and made it go away all by itself. I was too tired to get out of bed to get any medications...this was about 3 a.m. like it is now. Just too tired, or in sleep paralysis.
Now, here is my email address and I want you to contact me.
Lawrence_Glickman@comcast.net
That will get my attention if you mention ICD in your subject space.
You are now 100% dependent on your pacemaker, but you think you might need an ICD. Yes, if you have Vtach you MUST have an ICD. You have to have it. No question. In fact, in the meantime, you can take Amiodarone or some other drugs, but my cardiologist says they have awful side effects and are not as good as the ICD/PM.
So rather than do nothing at the moment, get on some kind of drug for arrhythmia until you can get an ICD/PM implant. Better that than nothing. And keep taking your beta blocker as that helps stabilize arrhythmias with fewest side effects.
If you were insured, I would make you get admitted to Hospital for implant tomorrow morning (this morning). I have to figure out how you can get Medicare, because since early 2007, Medicare NOW pays for ICD/PM implants. We need to get you on medicare. You need to contact an attorney who specializes in Social Security Disability Benefits, but the problem is, it still takes 18 MONTHS before you can get Medicare after you go on disability, and at this rate, we don't know if you have 18 months !!!
Dear God. Listen to Debbi's problem and HELP HER!
In the meantime, while G-d is trying to figure out a workaround, contact me at my email address. I check there a few times a day. Remember I am in the Central Time Zone in the USA as I live in South Chicago.
Lg
thanks everyone
by Aztec - 2008-02-01 08:02:14
well i got all better i hope ...lol... my doc gave me xanax and rasied my inderal mgs (beta blocker) i had a cath ablation and feel much better, between God and my doctors iam doing much better....thank you all for caring ...God Bless
Chris
Will my 3rd time be the charm ???
by CARL_MANLEY - 2010-08-03 05:08:55
Because I was diagnosed with heart failure I have a Pacemaker/ICD implanted in my chest I have been turned down by Social Security Disability twice so far the last time being my appeal. I was told by my lawyer that since I can't appeal an appeal I would have to get a new disability case for this same medical condition. I'm mad that the social security people turned me down even after my cardiologist said that I will no longer be able to work anymore. in January 2009 my ejection fraction was 15% and it's still pretty much about the same I'm affraid that they will be turning me down again for my 3rd time once I get a hearing from this new disability case I just opened. the government is really making it hard on people I paid into the system for years because I started working at an early age and now that i'm 45 and disabled I can't get the money that's entitled to me and that's not fair I have no idea what I'm going to do after this 3rd hearing (The new case) I can't work and my doctor has forbid me to work so I'm depressed because it seems like I'm getting no help on this end and I'm at my wits end and I'm also going thru dire straights (financially) right now when I get mad or upset it gets hard for me to breathe because of my CHF so i'm trying to relax while writing this !!!!!
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by molywoo3 - 2007-12-11 08:12:46
if you have an icd and it has been intterogated, it will show up if it was heart related. joe.