Hi everyone!
I just was wondering if anyone read the article on here called "Link Between Panic Attacks
and Heart Problems?" One of my biggest fears, as probably among a lot of you do, is if I have a heart problem. I'm only 28 years old. Well, this article is saying there is a higher chance of getting a heart problem if you have panic attacks in younger people under 50. Yet, in the books and the cd's, it's saying there are no long-term effects on your body from panic attacks. I'm confused and even more scared! Can anyone understand this correctly? I'm sorry if I've scared anyone else by bringing this up. I just want to know we are receiving the correct information.
xoxo!
Article on this website scared me!
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Guest
Hi Jenny,
Let me say, I am not a medical professional, and I did go and read a couple of the articles your referred to, which I probably shouldn't have done myself.
What I took away from them, and I read the huge medical one, which a lot of the terminology I don't know, and a couple of others that were just main stream media pick ups on the study, is that there was some type of heart incidents, or disease shown in connection with people with newly on set symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, more so in the under 50 age group. Although if you read the study itself it also has statements of caution that there are a lot of factors that should be taken in to account, such as obesity, other disease, smoking etc..., that could alter the so called statistics.
Don't worry too much about it. Obviously stress is a contributing factor to lots of disease, and lots of people have stress, not just us who feel it more so with our anxiety, or panic attacks.
I have struggled with anxiety and panic attacks throughout my life, and ran to the doctor and hospital many times in the midst of a panic attack, had all the blood work..ekg's etc...and every time everything has been normal, and guess what, I would immediately go back to normal too.
I am currently doing the program for the second time after my anxiety and panic attacks came back somewhat. The information, and skills it provides you do work...as I was free from any problems with no medicine for a long time. Its my opinion it was me who fell back in to old ways of thinking, and in turn expected the old symptoms to come back...and they did. However when they did again I went through all the tests with the doctor...ekgs..blood...bla bla bla, and again everything still ok. Even a trip to the ER once cause I thought maybe they would really check me out cause its an ER and will look for anything life threatening. All ok, there again. They gave me an ativan, and said to not worry so much.
My point is this. Every single doctor, and therapist I have talked to say there is "Absolutely no way Anxiety / Panic Attack causes Heart Attack, Stroke, or any other sudden death Event"! I feel your pain, as I often have worried too that i cant trust their information, but at some point we just have to "Trust" they know what they are doing, and get on living our lives.
We all get sick, and will have stuff happen to us in our life times here on earth, with or without anxiety and panic attacks. So I guess I would just say...Don't worry too much LOL.
You are ok, and this scary thought will pass Jenny.
Michael
Let me say, I am not a medical professional, and I did go and read a couple of the articles your referred to, which I probably shouldn't have done myself.
What I took away from them, and I read the huge medical one, which a lot of the terminology I don't know, and a couple of others that were just main stream media pick ups on the study, is that there was some type of heart incidents, or disease shown in connection with people with newly on set symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, more so in the under 50 age group. Although if you read the study itself it also has statements of caution that there are a lot of factors that should be taken in to account, such as obesity, other disease, smoking etc..., that could alter the so called statistics.
Don't worry too much about it. Obviously stress is a contributing factor to lots of disease, and lots of people have stress, not just us who feel it more so with our anxiety, or panic attacks.
I have struggled with anxiety and panic attacks throughout my life, and ran to the doctor and hospital many times in the midst of a panic attack, had all the blood work..ekg's etc...and every time everything has been normal, and guess what, I would immediately go back to normal too.
I am currently doing the program for the second time after my anxiety and panic attacks came back somewhat. The information, and skills it provides you do work...as I was free from any problems with no medicine for a long time. Its my opinion it was me who fell back in to old ways of thinking, and in turn expected the old symptoms to come back...and they did. However when they did again I went through all the tests with the doctor...ekgs..blood...bla bla bla, and again everything still ok. Even a trip to the ER once cause I thought maybe they would really check me out cause its an ER and will look for anything life threatening. All ok, there again. They gave me an ativan, and said to not worry so much.
My point is this. Every single doctor, and therapist I have talked to say there is "Absolutely no way Anxiety / Panic Attack causes Heart Attack, Stroke, or any other sudden death Event"! I feel your pain, as I often have worried too that i cant trust their information, but at some point we just have to "Trust" they know what they are doing, and get on living our lives.
We all get sick, and will have stuff happen to us in our life times here on earth, with or without anxiety and panic attacks. So I guess I would just say...Don't worry too much LOL.
You are ok, and this scary thought will pass Jenny.
Michael
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Guest
Hi Michael,
Sorry! I hope it didn't scare you too. I was just really scared and needed some reassurance yesterday! (Bad anxiety moment and definitely no positive self-talk there).
It's true that when it comes to these articles, the statistics are not always stated. The articles aren't being clear and we really can't worry about them. I guess I have a hard time with that and is probably why I'm on my second round of the program too.
I truly believe in this program and feel some of the benefits from it already! Its great! I do trust they're doing the right thing by us, I just got extremely scared by that article and especially to read it on this website! I put so much trust in StressCenter, I thought this article MUST be true since they put it up. Ya Know! But that's not always the case and I have to understand that. I've already calmed down about it and just needed it to pass yesterday since I was already feeling panicky because of my symptoms. They were mimicking heart problems as they always do for me, but more intense yesterday and then I came across this article. But "I'm over it!" (Something I say out loud to myself when I'm stressing about something.)
Thank you for your reassurance and kind words. That's all I really needed. I hope you are doing well and this program is helping you through the tough times.
Best of Luck,
Jenny
Sorry! I hope it didn't scare you too. I was just really scared and needed some reassurance yesterday! (Bad anxiety moment and definitely no positive self-talk there).
It's true that when it comes to these articles, the statistics are not always stated. The articles aren't being clear and we really can't worry about them. I guess I have a hard time with that and is probably why I'm on my second round of the program too.
I truly believe in this program and feel some of the benefits from it already! Its great! I do trust they're doing the right thing by us, I just got extremely scared by that article and especially to read it on this website! I put so much trust in StressCenter, I thought this article MUST be true since they put it up. Ya Know! But that's not always the case and I have to understand that. I've already calmed down about it and just needed it to pass yesterday since I was already feeling panicky because of my symptoms. They were mimicking heart problems as they always do for me, but more intense yesterday and then I came across this article. But "I'm over it!" (Something I say out loud to myself when I'm stressing about something.)
Thank you for your reassurance and kind words. That's all I really needed. I hope you are doing well and this program is helping you through the tough times.
Best of Luck,
Jenny
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Guest
Hi Jenny I try to not google too much either, because it is amazing what information you can find on the web. I feel that long term stress does weaken your heart. I was diagnosed with heart disease and I do have anxiety. I do not know if the two coincide with eachother. I feel maybe the best thing you can do is to make an appointment with your doctor. It could never hurt In the meantime Jenny, I will say a prayer for you. Hang in there and try to do your best today to not think too much into the article <3
I try to not google too much either, because it is amazing what information you can find on the web. I feel that long term stress does weaken your heart. I was diagnosed with heart disease and I do have anxiety. I do not know if the two coincide with eachother. I feel maybe the best thing you can do is to make an appointment with your doctor. It could never hurt In the meantime Jenny, I will say a prayer for you. Hang in there and try to do your best today to not think too much into the article <3-
Guest
Hi Jenny,
I'm not a medical expert either, but here's a few things that have helped me deal with conflicting information like that and avert anxiety because of the news.
First of all, anxiety is a result of your "fight or flight" system. Your fight or flight system was given to all human beings to protect them from harm:). So, the system used to protect yourself from danger isn't made to kill you. Adrenaline pumping through your body is supposed to help you outrun a bear so it's not going to give you a heart problem:). That helps me so much to know that.
Secondly, Yes, sometimes you hear stories of people having heart issues in times of stress
like after an earthquake, Hurricane Katrina,e tc.. However, the heart is already diseased by some other problem. For example, the person doesn't have a healthy heart, and then the adrenaline kicks in and the heart couldn't handle it. I'm talking about someone with a congenital heart defect or someone who has many risk factors such as age, health, etc. So, it wasn't the anxiety that killed them. They had underlining heart problems to begin with, and eventually something was going to bring it out, whether it was shoveling the driveway or undergoing something physically stressful. It wasn't shoveling the driveway that caused the problem.
Thirdly, I am not an expert to be able to tell you what your health status is. However, I will say that 28 year old women aren't prime candidates for heart disease because usually their pre-menopausal hormones protect them. If you are a woman before the age of menopause, your estrogen really protects you from heart disease. Also, as a twenty eight year old, it is highly unlikely that you have an undiagnosed congenital heart problem. There are some that go undetected but they usually are found out by the early twenties. Also, if you've made it to twenty eight with no problems, then it is highly unlikely that an undetected congenital heart problem would kill you. It's always best just to have the tests which are no biggie because it helps you to be able to talk to yourself when you are anxious and not because something is really wrong. I'm 34 now, and I had my tests at 26. The doctor said that I could be tested once, and that was it, and that was enough for me. Everything was fine.
A fourth point to note is that I am now much more weary of the medical community. I'm not saying not to get information, but the truth of the matter is that medical information changes so rapidly. I mean, should we take our vitamins or not? It's constantly changing and confusing. Now, when I come across information I ask myself if believing the information will help me. For example, I really don't think what you came across was true, but will it help you? Probably not. If the information is going to help you change your life style to lower your risk factors then that would help. Really what you can control is your diet, exercise, and living a healthy life of moderation:). If this information makes you think that every panic attack will kill you or me, then how will that help us? The information is creating fear, and I really don't believe it holds up to scrutiny, so in this case it won't help you or probably any of us on here, so we really can just ignore it. We're trying to alleviate our anxiety, not create more:).
Finally, I want to make another note about public health information. Public health information is often advertised in a way that uses fear. Public health information often highlights tidbits of information in a way that gets info. across to individuals in an alarming and shocking way. It's meant to use fear to get certain individuals who normally don't care about their health or health issues to care. Rarely do public health information commercials on television list all of the facts. For example, they have these heart commercials where I live, and they have all of these common people who are obviously somewhat overweight and at least middle aged say, "I don't know if I'm at risk for heart disease." These are people who have at least one risk factor who aren't getting regular exercise, etc. They don't say whether the woman on the television is menopausal, a smoker, on birth control, or not, etc. The point is that these commercials are for people who don't pay attention to their health at all, and they are trying to get their attention. I even usually will turn off a commercial that lists all of the symptoms of heart disease, because I know them, and I know that those symptoms are my anxiety. There's more information needed to determine that those symptoms are definitely heart issues, and that can't be ascertained by a commercial:).
The truth of the matter is that human beings really can take a licking and keep on ticking. I just hate it when it's portrayed as if every little germ we come into contact with or every little ache in our body is something that's going to kill us. If you run to your doctor thinking the way these public health commercials want you to think, the doctor will probably roll his eyes at you or act surprised that you are over reacting. It's not fun to live that way, and I know you know that, and you can't get the entire truth from these commercials.
All we can do is take care of ourselves with the best information we can access. Having anxiety is not fun, but I just highly doubt that it kills you even if this article hinted at that. I think there's more to it.
Take care,
luvpiggy
I'm not a medical expert either, but here's a few things that have helped me deal with conflicting information like that and avert anxiety because of the news.
First of all, anxiety is a result of your "fight or flight" system. Your fight or flight system was given to all human beings to protect them from harm:). So, the system used to protect yourself from danger isn't made to kill you. Adrenaline pumping through your body is supposed to help you outrun a bear so it's not going to give you a heart problem:). That helps me so much to know that.
Secondly, Yes, sometimes you hear stories of people having heart issues in times of stress
like after an earthquake, Hurricane Katrina,e tc.. However, the heart is already diseased by some other problem. For example, the person doesn't have a healthy heart, and then the adrenaline kicks in and the heart couldn't handle it. I'm talking about someone with a congenital heart defect or someone who has many risk factors such as age, health, etc. So, it wasn't the anxiety that killed them. They had underlining heart problems to begin with, and eventually something was going to bring it out, whether it was shoveling the driveway or undergoing something physically stressful. It wasn't shoveling the driveway that caused the problem.
Thirdly, I am not an expert to be able to tell you what your health status is. However, I will say that 28 year old women aren't prime candidates for heart disease because usually their pre-menopausal hormones protect them. If you are a woman before the age of menopause, your estrogen really protects you from heart disease. Also, as a twenty eight year old, it is highly unlikely that you have an undiagnosed congenital heart problem. There are some that go undetected but they usually are found out by the early twenties. Also, if you've made it to twenty eight with no problems, then it is highly unlikely that an undetected congenital heart problem would kill you. It's always best just to have the tests which are no biggie because it helps you to be able to talk to yourself when you are anxious and not because something is really wrong. I'm 34 now, and I had my tests at 26. The doctor said that I could be tested once, and that was it, and that was enough for me. Everything was fine.
A fourth point to note is that I am now much more weary of the medical community. I'm not saying not to get information, but the truth of the matter is that medical information changes so rapidly. I mean, should we take our vitamins or not? It's constantly changing and confusing. Now, when I come across information I ask myself if believing the information will help me. For example, I really don't think what you came across was true, but will it help you? Probably not. If the information is going to help you change your life style to lower your risk factors then that would help. Really what you can control is your diet, exercise, and living a healthy life of moderation:). If this information makes you think that every panic attack will kill you or me, then how will that help us? The information is creating fear, and I really don't believe it holds up to scrutiny, so in this case it won't help you or probably any of us on here, so we really can just ignore it. We're trying to alleviate our anxiety, not create more:).
Finally, I want to make another note about public health information. Public health information is often advertised in a way that uses fear. Public health information often highlights tidbits of information in a way that gets info. across to individuals in an alarming and shocking way. It's meant to use fear to get certain individuals who normally don't care about their health or health issues to care. Rarely do public health information commercials on television list all of the facts. For example, they have these heart commercials where I live, and they have all of these common people who are obviously somewhat overweight and at least middle aged say, "I don't know if I'm at risk for heart disease." These are people who have at least one risk factor who aren't getting regular exercise, etc. They don't say whether the woman on the television is menopausal, a smoker, on birth control, or not, etc. The point is that these commercials are for people who don't pay attention to their health at all, and they are trying to get their attention. I even usually will turn off a commercial that lists all of the symptoms of heart disease, because I know them, and I know that those symptoms are my anxiety. There's more information needed to determine that those symptoms are definitely heart issues, and that can't be ascertained by a commercial:).
The truth of the matter is that human beings really can take a licking and keep on ticking. I just hate it when it's portrayed as if every little germ we come into contact with or every little ache in our body is something that's going to kill us. If you run to your doctor thinking the way these public health commercials want you to think, the doctor will probably roll his eyes at you or act surprised that you are over reacting. It's not fun to live that way, and I know you know that, and you can't get the entire truth from these commercials.
All we can do is take care of ourselves with the best information we can access. Having anxiety is not fun, but I just highly doubt that it kills you even if this article hinted at that. I think there's more to it.
Take care,
luvpiggy