Heart Disease and Heart Attack Forum - High heart rate and trouble breathing

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Q: High heart rate and trouble breathing

asked by: DoctorQuestion on April 3rd, 2009

I started a very stressful job in August of 2008.About 2 weeks later I was hospitalized with a high heart rate 200 and breathing problems. Since then I have been hospitalized 2 more times same thing. I have had a heart cath that came back clean, echo looked good, I did have a higher heart rate during cath and a cath induced coronary spasm.Per my ekg's I was diagnosed with left bund branch blockage, with no signs of heart problems.I'm on cardizem, and xanax as needed.I still have trouble breathing and my chest always hurts.Can anxiety cause left bundle?My cardios think it's possible severe panic attacks causing my heart to go in to that bockage.Will I die at any moment from it?Is cardizem or procardia a better medicine for that? Thanks in advance

Replies(1)

Dr. Goce Aleksovski , MD

replied on April 4th, 2009

Heart Disease and Heart Attack Answer A6246

Panic attacks might cause heart problems, but usually after several panic attacks. The stress that accompanies the panic attacks causes tachycardia and overwork of the heart. This might eventually cause ischemic damage to the heart muscle including the cells that are responsible for spreading the contraction impulse through the heart muscle. This is diagnosed as some type of block (left bundle branch block is one of the types of heart block).
Single first panic attack usually can not cause more serious heart damage, heart attack or stroke.
Both Cardizem (generic name: diltiazem) and Procardia (generic name: nifedipine) belong to the calcium channel blockers group of medications, and thus have similar effect.

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