Is Your Pounding Heart A Sign Of Anxiety Or Is It Afib?

You could feel your heart racing or pound arrhythmically and it could be happening due to various reasons. From being excited after getting a piece of good news to feeling nervous due to a job interview, it could be possibly due to anything. People who consume too much coffee or any other thing, which is high in caffeine content, may also experience a phenomenon called 'caffeine jitters'. While you may misconstrue your irregular heartbeats with anxiety, it can sometimes be a serious condition known as atrial fibrillation or AFib.

AFib is a heart rhythm disorder or better known as arrhythmia, in which electrical signals in the heart don’t travel the way they do in a healthy heart. Consider it a miscommunication that results in your heart’s upper two chambers - atria - to beat too quickly. 

Symptoms of AFib include;

● A skipped heartbeat followed by a pound

● Heart palpitations or a fluttering sensation

● Sweating

● Chest pain

● Dizziness

● Fatigue and weakness

 

What’s important to understand is that the symptoms of AFib overlap the symptoms of anxiety, which is why it’s hard to tell if you have anxiety or AFib. 

How to Tell the Difference?

Studies reveal that people with stress or anxiety may develop the condition of AFib or those who already have it may worsen their symptoms. The best course of action, as described by medical professionals, is to keep a check on your heartbeat with the help of a Holter monitor system. It can detect less frequent heartbeat and consequently help you figure out if you have AFib while ruling out the possibility of anxiety. 

If you often have patients with the symptoms of AFiB or anxiety and you face difficulty with the right diagnosis, consider getting a PC-based Holter monitor system to record electrical signals in the heart.