Does It Sound Like Afib Or Anxiety?

Posted on Sun, 17 May 2020

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

Sun, 17 May 2020 Answered on

3 days ago Last reviewed on

Question : Hello I am a 32 year old male. In February 2019, I had an echocardiogram due to PACs. I was told it was ok but to cut back ok caffeine and put on atenolol for anxiety and borderline high BP. All has been well since but last week I had palpitations. I haven%E2%80%99t had caffeine but was under a lot of stress that day. It felt like I had a normal pulse followed by 3 quick beats that were a little weaker than the original beat. Then it was followed by a normal pulse. This lasted for about an hour and was more noticeable when I paid attention to it. I also felt palpitations in my throat/neck area. No other symptoms. I took my pulse and it was 75. I have terrible anxiety and read a lot on google so now I am freaking out that it%E2%80%99s afib. It hasn%E2%80%99t happened since. Does it sound like afib or anxiety?

Answered by Dr. Bhanu Partap (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Mostly anxiety

Detailed Answer:
Hello

After going through the medical query raised by you I can understand your concern for your health and I would like to tell you that first of all you need to stop thinking about anything wrong and relax yourself as anxiety and stress along with excessive intake of caffeine or smoking is a very common cause of faster heart rates leading to palpitations in young individuals.

Most likely it’s because of your anxiety and not AF however things can’t be left on chance so it’s advisable that you should personally consult your doctor and get a Holter monitoring test done to rule out any underlying rhythm abnormality.

Kind Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana