Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..?
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Mike, Chem. E. '0
#1 / 6
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 Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..? Hi, I'm a 20-year old male, with a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder
(not taking any medication), which has recently caused me to become almost
constantly worried about various aspects of my heartbeat. So, just to
reassure me, could someone please answer these questions:
1. Occasionally, moreso during the evening or nighttime, my heart will
have an extra beat, after which there will be a short pause (1.5 times as
long as the normal pause between beats), and then normal function returns.
It's never happened more than one time every three minutes, but it
definitely is an hourly occurence. Is this a cause for concern...?
2. I have an extremely fast metabolism, and can pretty much eat whatever I
want and remain at my "set-point" weight of 140 lbs. I'm 6 feet tall, so
I'm pretty slim, and I've wondered if due to my fast metabolism, if my
heart will "give out" earlier than normal. All males in my family have
lived to their late 70s, on average (not bad, I guess), and family has no
history of heart disease... So, basically, due thin people's hearts
"expire" faster from overwork...?
3. Lastly, I was wondering if this was normal. Occasionally, my resting
heart rate can reach about 90 bpm. Before bed last night, however, I timed
it at 57 bpm. Is such a wide variation normal..? And what should my max.
heart rate be during a decent exercise? I've measured it at close to 180
bpm in the past...
Thanks in advance for any responses :-)
-= Mike =-
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| Wed, 12 Dec 2001 03:00:00 GMT |
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Alvena Ferreir
#2 / 6
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Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..?
Quote: > I'm a 20-year old male, with a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder > (not taking any medication), which has recently caused me to become almost > constantly worried about various aspects of my heartbeat. So, just to > reassure me, could someone please answer these questions: > 1. Occasionally, moreso during the evening or nighttime, my heart will
> have an extra beat, after which there will be a short pause (1.5 times as
> long as the normal pause between beats), and then normal function returns.
> It's never happened more than one time every three minutes, but it
> definitely is an hourly occurence. Is this a cause for concern...?
Nothing to worry about, we all have those beats, some of us just don't feel them. Quote: > 2. I have an extremely fast metabolism, and can pretty much eat whatever I
> want and remain at my "set-point" weight of 140 lbs. I'm 6 feet tall, so
> I'm pretty slim, and I've wondered if due to my fast metabolism, if my
> heart will "give out" earlier than normal. All males in my family have
> lived to their late 70s, on average (not bad, I guess), and family has no
> history of heart disease... So, basically, due thin people's hearts
> "expire" faster from overwork...?
Your "fast" metabolism and psychological disorder may be contributing to your extra heartbeats, however it will not wear your heart out quicker. In fact, being thin is an asset. May I inquire whether you have had any testing to rule out metabolic problems as a source of your thinness and psychological disorder? things like hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma, stuff like that? If you have not had a good metabolic workup, you should definitely have one. Quote: > 3. Lastly, I was wondering if this was normal. Occasionally, my resting
> heart rate can reach about 90 bpm. Before bed last night, however, I timed
> it at 57 bpm. Is such a wide variation normal..? And what should my max.
> heart rate be during a decent exercise? I've measured it at close to 180
> bpm in the past...
If you have problems with anxiety, then it is likely that this may increase your heartbeat significantly. A heart rate between 50 and 100 is considered normal, and we all have our differences at any given time and on any given day, due to stress, meals, tiredness, etc. I would not worry about this. I would, however, want a medical checkup for metabolic problems if I had
not had one recently.
alvena
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| Wed, 12 Dec 2001 03:00:00 GMT |
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HeartHobbyi
#3 / 6
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Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..? What you have described is totally 'normal.' There is nothing more ironic in life that this situation, where YOU are CAUSING the palpitations because of ANXIETY and THEN you are getting UPSET about it!! ANXIETY -> PALP -> ANXIETY -> PALP, like a dog chasing its tail!
But of course I have no idea if your heart is normal, it probably is.
You ought to have an EKG done ($40 US?), to see if there are any
abnormalities. Then you can have the doctor tell you it's nothing to
worry about.
On Sat, 26 Jun 1999 16:45:22 -0400, "Mike, Chem. E. '01"
Quote:
>Hi, >I'm a 20-year old male, with a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder
>(not taking any medication), which has recently caused me to become almost
>constantly worried about various aspects of my heartbeat. So, just to
>reassure me, could someone please answer these questions:
>1. Occasionally, moreso during the evening or nighttime, my heart will
>have an extra beat, after which there will be a short pause (1.5 times as
>long as the normal pause between beats), and then normal function returns.
>It's never happened more than one time every three minutes, but it
>definitely is an hourly occurence. Is this a cause for concern...?
>2. I have an extremely fast metabolism, and can pretty much eat whatever I
>want and remain at my "set-point" weight of 140 lbs. I'm 6 feet tall, so
>I'm pretty slim, and I've wondered if due to my fast metabolism, if my
>heart will "give out" earlier than normal. All males in my family have
>lived to their late 70s, on average (not bad, I guess), and family has no
>history of heart disease... So, basically, due thin people's hearts
>"expire" faster from overwork...?
>3. Lastly, I was wondering if this was normal. Occasionally, my resting
>heart rate can reach about 90 bpm. Before bed last night, however, I timed
>it at 57 bpm. Is such a wide variation normal..? And what should my max.
>heart rate be during a decent exercise? I've measured it at close to 180
>bpm in the past...
>Thanks in advance for any responses :-)
>-= Mike =-
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| Thu, 13 Dec 2001 03:00:00 GMT |
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Mike, Chem. E. '0
#4 / 6
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Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..? Quote:
> Your "fast" metabolism and psychological disorder may be contributing to
> your extra heartbeats, however it will not wear your heart out quicker.
> In fact, being thin is an asset. May I inquire whether you have had any
> testing to rule out metabolic problems as a source of your thinness and
> psychological disorder? things like hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma,
> stuff like that? If you have not had a good metabolic workup, you
> should definitely have one.
I've not had a metabolic check-up recently, but... for what it's worth, when I was born, the Doc said I'd be very thin when older. And I've had regular annual "check-up" exams, nothing out-of-the-ordinary detected... Just a skinny beanpole.. ;) Thanks for the reply, BTW.. -= Mike =-
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| Thu, 13 Dec 2001 03:00:00 GMT |
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Alvena Ferreir
#5 / 6
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Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..? Quote:
> > Your "fast" metabolism and psychological disorder may be contributing to
> > your extra heartbeats, however it will not wear your heart out quicker.
> > In fact, being thin is an asset. May I inquire whether you have had any
> > testing to rule out metabolic problems as a source of your thinness and
> > psychological disorder? things like hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma,
> > stuff like that? If you have not had a good metabolic workup, you
> > should definitely have one.
> I've not had a metabolic check-up recently, but... for what it's worth,
> when I was born, the Doc said I'd be very thin when older. And I've had
> regular annual "check-up" exams, nothing out-of-the-ordinary detected...
> Just a skinny beanpole.. ;)
What you really need is some specific testing for metabolic problems. A full thyroid workup (just a series of {*filter*} tests, nothing bad) would be nice, at least, also some renal/adrenal testing (maybe {*filter*} and urine test). Anytime someone has a "fast metabolism" combined with psychological disturbances, a metabolic cause should be ruled out before proceeding with routine psychological treatments. If you have endocrine abnormalities, this can really{*filter*}with your mind's ability to function properly and normally. By the way, I don't know where your doc got that profound info, birth
size says nothing about {*filter*} size/body build. I wouldn't put much
faith in that, IMHO.
alvena
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| Thu, 13 Dec 2001 03:00:00 GMT |
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Ida Ker
#6 / 6
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Hypochondriac Heart Concerns..? Mike, I am not a nurse- just a cardiology technician but I thought I'd add my two cents because I also suffer from OCD and can certainly identify with your concerns. Since you mentioned you are of thin build, I recommend a thorough physical exam- in addition to checking your thyroid, etc, your doctor can also listen for a murmur and possibly order follow-up tests such as an echocardiogram or holter monitor (to see how often you are having those irregular heartbeats). Lots of people have occasional irregular heart beats (doesn't mean something is wrong with you) but thin people seem to have a higher incidence of mitral valve prolapse. My sister and I are very thin and we suffer from this- we have PVC's and our heart beats sometimes go up to 140 bpm and it scares the {*filter*}out of you. (this is not life threatening- more annoying than anything.) It turned out I was having SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) which is just a fancy name for a fast heart beat. I was actually happy to get this diagnosis though- I thought I was having anxiety attacks and couldn't figure out what I was anxious about! Good luck Ida
Quote: > Hi, > I'm a 20-year old male, with a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder
> (not taking any medication), which has recently caused me to become almost
> constantly worried about various aspects of my heartbeat. So, just to
> reassure me, could someone please answer these questions:
> 1. Occasionally, moreso during the evening or nighttime, my heart will
> have an extra beat, after which there will be a short pause (1.5 times as
> long as the normal pause between beats), and then normal function returns.
> It's never happened more than one time every three minutes, but it
> definitely is an hourly occurence. Is this a cause for concern...?
> 2. I have an extremely fast metabolism, and can pretty much eat whatever I
> want and remain at my "set-point" weight of 140 lbs. I'm 6 feet tall, so
> I'm pretty slim, and I've wondered if due to my fast metabolism, if my
> heart will "give out" earlier than normal. All males in my family have
> lived to their late 70s, on average (not bad, I guess), and family has no
> history of heart disease... So, basically, due thin people's hearts
> "expire" faster from overwork...?
> 3. Lastly, I was wondering if this was normal. Occasionally, my resting
> heart rate can reach about 90 bpm. Before bed last night, however, I timed
> it at 57 bpm. Is such a wide variation normal..? And what should my max.
> heart rate be during a decent exercise? I've measured it at close to 180
> bpm in the past...
> Thanks in advance for any responses :-)
> -= Mike =-
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| Sun, 16 Dec 2001 03:00:00 GMT |
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