Hello Micki,
Welcome to HealingWell.
I have found the support, validation and encouragement that I receive here, to be so helpful and healing. I hope and trust that will be your experience as a member of the HW family.
Many people experience heart palpitations during an anxiety attack. This pounding of your heartbeat can cause you to feel as if you are having a heart attack or as if you are going to die. The good news is that heart palpitations are often not serious and do not signal a health concern. The bad news is they do make you feel frightened and distressed. I understand how you feel.
If you are experiencing heart palpitations along with additional symptoms, such as dizziness, fainting, chest pain or shortness or breath, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Developing strategies for coping with heart palpitations, before they occur, can help to minimize the stress associated with them. Sometimes, when you begin to have heart palpitations, worry about having a heart attack increases your anxiety. When you add additional stress to an anxiety attack, you intensify the symptoms of the anxiety attack rather than decreasing symptoms. Accept your heart palpitations and try to change your focus to something else, such as your breathing. As you focus switches, your heartbeat will slowly return to normal.
I hope you will hear from other members who have identified ways to decrease their anxiety over the heart palpitations.
Again a warm welcome to HW and do stick with us.
Kitt