Are Palpitations And Increased Heart Rate Symptoms Of Panic Attack?

Posted on Wed, 16 Sep 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 Answered on

Wed, 7 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Can a panic attack start with a fluttery heart/irregular heartbeat? This happened to me the other day out of the blue, and i started getting shaky, and felt my breathing getting a little faster because the fluttering made me nervous. I had to try and calm down and not think about it much since i was talking to a coworker at the time. It subsided after a few minutes. Sometimes the fluttery feelings will go on for awhile. This has only happened to me a handful of times, and it's new and makes me feel uneasy. I have had Chest Ct scan with contrast, echocardiogram, EKGS, chest X-rays, blood work and all come back normal. However, i fear doctors are missing something because they aren't catching it when it is feeling fluttery. Any insight is appreciated

Answered by Dr. Alok Sinha (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
You may go for 24 hours ambulatory ECG recording.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to HCM.
Thanks for asking your health related query at this site.

Although a panic attack may start with palpitations and increased heart rate (fluttering), it is always wise to get continuous ECG recording done at least once to rule out ventricular ectopics. There is a small machine that can be attached to body and it may record heart electrical activity continuously. It may help doctors to have record of all the day and night. You may also point them at what time you felt fluttering, so as to make them more focused on those recordings.
You may also get your thyroid profile done.

If everything is fine from cardiac side, you may be prescribed a drug of SSRI group to treat these panic attacks. Hope you understand.
Take care
All the best.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D