Severe anxiety that showed abnormal EKG

I am 35y/o male with anxiety and panic attacks. In recent months it has gotten pretty tough. about 12 months ago my young wife was diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease. Currently she is not doing well and her condition is moving very rapidly - hospice is here at my house. We also have three young kids under the age of 4. It has been a complete shock to us all.

Needless to say it has been nuts.

I suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks. Afraid to walk in the mall, sometimes worried while driving, etc. My heart beats like crazy and get the feeling as though I am going to pass out. The doc gave me some xanax to use as needed.

In the meantime I have also had BP readings in the neighborhood of 130-140/85-90. Ironically everytime I go to the docs office it shoots through the roof. The last time I was there it read 160/100 with a HR of 110. The funny thing about it was that exactly one hour before that meeting I was at home I took my BP and it was 129/85 - I took a pic of it to show my doc... Obviously the traffic and driving anxiety got me up there.

The doc decided to do an EKG on me.... unfortunately, it came back ABNORMAL. Here is what it says:

Sinus Tachycardia
-Incomplete right bundle branch block and right axis-possible right ventricular hypertrophy.

He said he wants to do an ECO but said not to worry about it too much. Said I should be fine.

Though he did put me on Bystolic betablocker to help with my BP.

Unfortunately, I have been in one massive anxiety attack since then. I constantly fear the heart attack. In fact, here recently I feel like i am getting quick heart palpitations and sometimes run out of breath. But I cant figure if that is just my panic and anxiety kicking in on me.

Can anyone shed some light on that reading and I am worry for nothing? Any help would be appreciated!

nickvlad99

Welcome to HealingWell ! I cannot begin to understand the gravity of dealing with your wife's Lou Gehrig's Disease. This is a distressing time for you and your family and my heart and prayers go out to you. Your post brings tears to my eyes. My MIL is in the Hospice program now but she is 85 years old and though we love her dearly we understand her body has worn out so we support her and care for her. One of our sons died at the age of 21 - I understand the grief of losing someone in their prime.

I believe you are doing all within your power to care for you wife . It is also a time for you to care for yourself.

First let me address the high BP. Many people have higher BP when they are at the Dr's office, that is often referred to as the white coat syndrome. Our anxiety kicks up when we hear things like our "EKG is abnormal".


When we experience excessive stress—whether from internal worry or external circumstance—a bodily reaction is triggered, called the "fight or flight" response. The fight or flight response causes our heartrate and blood pressure to increase.
The evidence is overwhelming that there is a cumulative buildup of stress hormones when our body is in the "fight or flight" mode. If not properly metabolized over time, excessive stress can lead to disorders of our autonomic nervous system (causing headache, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure and the like) and disorders of our hormonal and immune systems (creating susceptibility to infection, chronic fatigue, depression, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and allergies.)
I do bleieve you have high BP and the medication your physician has started you on will help. Try not to dwell on your BP as that will just add to your stress. When I was first dx with high BP I went right out and bought my own BP cuff............yup I kept on checking my BP until one day I decided to heck with it and threw the dang thing out. I am not recommending you throw anything out just let go of the worry and trust in your Dr.
As for your heart - big breath and know that the Echo of your heart will identify any serious problem if it exists. If your Dr. felt you had a serious problem he would have sent you directly to the Cardiologist.
Taking care of a loved one who is dying makes us think of our own mortality which is normal.
I feel like much of what is going on with you is anxiety (high anxiety). If this is seriously unpleasant and disruptive for you, I would encourage you to talk to someone about it. You could just be of an introspective and theoretical nature, or you could actually benefit from therapy and/or meds, and none of us can really say one way or the other what would make you feel more comfortable.
I've learned in my own case that such thoughts, especially persistent and intrusive ones, mean something's not OK and I need to get it looked at. That may or may not be the case for you.
Please know it is OK to seek help for yourself and also I hope you keep on talking here as it helps release some of your anxiety by sharing your problems with others. You have made new friends today and know we will be here for you.
Healing prayers,
Kitt