Table of contents:
- Heart palpitations followed by shortness of breath and anxiety, what are the signs?
- 1. Anxiety disorders (anxiety disorder)
- 2. Heart attack
- 3. Panic attack (panic attack)
Feelings of anxiety are normal when you are in danger. However, if anxiety appears accompanied by symptoms of shortness of breath and palpitations, you should immediately see a doctor. Because there are several diseases that cause shortness of breath, anxiety, and heart palpitations. What are the underlying diseases? Check out the following reviews.
Heart palpitations followed by shortness of breath and anxiety, what are the signs?
1. Anxiety disorders (anxiety disorder)
Anxiety is the feeling of nervousness or worry that arises when someone experiences a threat or danger. These feelings usually occur naturally as the body reacts to stress. This can help a person to be more alert and take quick action to act.
However, if anxiety appears suddenly (for example, not in a stressful situation) and is difficult to control so that it interferes with daily life, then this condition indicates an anxiety disorder.
There are various symptoms when anxiety disorders occur, such as the appearance of panic, fear, restlessness, accompanied by cold sweat and tingling in the hands or feet. This condition can cause the patient to experience shortness of breath and heart palpitations or a sensation that is felt when the heart is beating very strongly or irregularly. Heart palpitations can sometimes cause pain in the chest and can last for a few seconds or a few minutes.
Reporting from WebMD, the exact cause of this anxiety disorder is not known. However, this condition occurs like other forms of mental illness, namely changes in the brain and pressure in the environment. Symptoms of this condition can be reduced with antidepressant drugs and therapy with a psychiatrist or psychologist.
2. Heart attack
The heart muscle needs oxygen-rich blood and the coronary arteries to supply it. However, when the arteries are blocked by plaque that is formed due to fat, protein, inflammatory cells or blood clots, this causes the arteries to become narrow and blood does not flow normally.
When the plaque actually blocks blood circulation, the heart muscle becomes deprived of oxygen, leading to the death of the heart muscle cells. This condition causes permanent damage and is known as a heart attack.
Heart attack symptoms vary widely and each person can experience different symptoms. These include discomfort in the chest (pain on the left), shortness of breath, anxiety, dizziness, sweating, and heavy heart palpitations. These symptoms can last for 30 minutes or more. Patients must receive prompt treatment to reduce the amount of damage to the heart muscle and increase the chances of survival.
3. Panic attack (panic attack)
This condition arises when a sudden feeling of terror strikes the patient without warning. This can happen at any time, even while sleeping. A person who has this condition experiences panic and fear that is worse than the actual situation.
Some of the symptoms that include feeling weak, dizzy, tingling, sweating, or even chills. Chest pain, palpitations, difficulty breathing, and loss of self-control are also frequent characteristics. Usually these symptoms last for more than 10 minutes, although other symptoms may last longer.
The cause of these panic attacks is not known with certainty, but most of them are prone to occur due to changes in lifestyle pressures. People suffering from panic disorder are more likely to have depression, have attempted suicide, abuse alcohol and drugs. Fortunately, this condition can be treated with sedating anticonvulsant drugs and psychological therapy.
These three diseases have almost the same symptoms and are often considered a heart attack in some people who feel it. For that, if the aforementioned symptoms occur, you will need several medical tests. This is done so that the doctor can provide an accurate diagnosis of the causes of shortness of breath, anxiety, and a palpable heart. Of course you will also get the appropriate treatment.