When the Fear of Your Heart Starts Controlling Your Life.
You might find that an ordinary physical feeling – such as a normal heartbeat, palpitation or small sensation in your chest – seems to signal that something serious is happening.
This condition, known as cardiophobia, is a form of heart-focused health anxiety. You continually fear having a problem with your heart, possibly leading to a heart attack or becoming a potentially life-threatening issue.
Cycle:
Sensation → Fear → Anxiety → Increased body sensations → More fear
What is Cardiophobia?
People with cardiophobia have an intense or persistent fear relating to their heart and its ability to suffer from serious illness. It can be one manifestation of a condition known clinically as health (or illness-related) anxiety.
A person experiencing heart-focused health anxiety may find themselves constantly thinking about suffering from a heart attack. They might feel anxious that they haven’t told their GP all their symptoms, or that a harmless sensation means their heart is giving out.
The fears often start either when the person has had an alarming experience of a body sensation, such as palpitations, or after a personal health scare. It’s a period of stress, getting ill or hearing scary information related to health.
How Severe Can Cardiophobia Become?
THE IMPACT CAN VARY FROM PERSON TO PERSON
Everyone’s experience with Cardiophobia is unique. For some, concerns about the heart arise occasionally but do not otherwise disrupt their lives. But for many, heart anxiety becomes a persistent problem impacting their confidence, exercise, sleep, focus, work, relationships, travel and more. Even making it difficult to enjoy daily routines.
Important note:
There isn’t an officially agreed-upon grading system (mild, moderate, severe) for defining how much someone suffers from Cardiophobia.
Levels of Cardiophobia Impact
THE IMPACT CAN VARY FROM PERSON TO PERSON
Mild Impact
You might occasionally feel a little worried about your heart when you notice your palpitations, missed heartbeat or other sensations in your chest. You may quickly reassure yourself by checking your own pulse or asking someone else if they’re okay.
Your normal life goes along as usual. You can manage your daily activities, job and family duties, sleep well, do what you enjoy doing, and be involved with friends and family.
Moderate Impact
This may include regularly checking your pulse or blood pressure, breathing or heartbeat, especially if you have noticed a particular bodily sensation that seems worrying.
You may find yourself avoiding some physical activity because of concerns over having a heart attack. Sleeping may also be affected, and your concentration might suffer if your mental focus continues to be on these physical sensations.
Severe Impact
At its worst, this means you’re afraid of having a heart attack or other serious problems affecting your heart. This can become such an overpowering fear that you spend much of the day monitoring your body’s signals.
You might avoid doing exercise altogether. Some individuals may set up multiple meetings with their doctors because they think that something was overlooked. Others obsessively check their pulse or blood pressure regularly.
You may also experience frequent panic or intense feelings of anxiety related to bodily sensations.