You're sitting calmly, and suddenly your heart starts racing. You feel every beat in your throat, extra beats appear, your heart "stumbles." Your first thought: "Heart attack!" You rush to a cardiologist, get an ECG, Holter... and everything comes back perfect. The doctor says, "It's anxiety." But you genuinely feel that pain!
Why Does Your Heart Go Wild? The Adrenaline Mechanism
In a threatening (stressful) situation, your adrenal glands release adrenaline into your bloodstream. It acts on beta-adrenergic receptors in the heart, causing:
- Increased heart rate (tachycardia) – to pump blood faster to the muscles.
- Increased force of contraction – hence the feeling of your heart "pounding."
The problem is that nowadays, the "threat" might be an email from your boss, and you're just sitting in your armchair. Your heart is working at full throttle, but the blood isn't being used by your muscles. This causes discomfort and anxiety, which... releases even more adrenaline. Welcome to the cardiophobia loop.
Scientific Sources:
- Harvard Health Publishing: "Anxiety and heart disease: A complex connection".
- McCraty, R., et al. "The coherent heart: Heart-brain interactions, psychophysiological coherence, and the emergence of system-wide order".
