Resolved question:
Can there be any damage to the heart after a sudden shock? I had a sudden shock (Fright) on tuesday, and i've felt uncomfortable ever since. It's currently 2am and I'm unable to sleep.
I typed up some helpful information earlier, I can paste it here for you to read:
Tuesday 21st October
Around 5:00PM - 6:00PM
Sudden fright/shock.
Felt my heart bounce inside my chest. felt like quite a hard hit.
No pain, no sweating, no numbness.
Subtle dull ache in heart ever since. Sometimes very mild burning sensation in heart (caused by moving around).
Resting helps depending on what angle i'm sitting or lying.
mild vision dizzyness when looking around
overall mild body discomfort/weakness - no actual pain
heart rate seems normal (around 65 bpm)
I'm not on any medication, there are no related family illnesses.
Thanks for your time.
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Family Physician-GP
Hello,
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com
I understand your concern.
Yes fright shock can lead to mild heart disturbances, depends entirely on the intensity of the shock.
Most commonly it causes arrhythmias, where the rhythm of the heart is disturbed, can also happen secondary to generalized anxiety or panic, and patient can develop chest pain, pounding of heart, palpitations and hypertension. However that is not possible beyond 24 hours. So possibly since you had pounding, you may have developed arrhythmia , momentarily. But since you have normal HR now, there is nothing to worry.
Panic or such sudden shocks can also trigger GERD, leading to burning sensation in the heart and mild chest pain.
May i ask what was the cause of the sudden fright shock?
Also try the following medicine, with adequate rest and no further panic,
Cap. Omeprazole 20 mg once daily before breakfast for 5 days.
The pain should resolve after taking the medicine.
At any point if you develop pounding of heart again, or any palpitations, you need to get an ECG, to be on the safer side.
Hope this was helpful,
Regards.
Hello, thank you for your fast reply.
Yes, The cause for the fright/shock was from a scary video game. I had the headphones up a little louder than usual.
I tried sleeping about an hour ago. I was only able to stay asleep for a little while. I think my heart occationally flutters which is keeping me awake. It's a bit difficult to describe, but i just feel uncomfortable. again, no pain.
I should also mention that i suffer from anxiety. Social anxiety mostly. However, I'm finding that i am trying to be relaxed, but my heart seems unrelaxed.
Thanks again, this is the first time using this website, and i'm very pleased with the results.
Hello,
I am glad my reply was helpful.
Most of your symptoms are due to anxiety. And it is such a dicey situation. There are so many medicines available to relieve anxiety, however you're too young for it and i don't want to suggest any for you.
Th good thing is that you accept you do panic, and hence it will help you to overcome it sooner than later. A lot of patients suffer from anxiety, and to a large extent, start believing that what they have is something serious and not because of anxiety. Even if it is social anxiety it can be overcome. Especially in your case, the headphones must have accentuated the entire system by manifolds and hence the impact was strong.
Anxiety can lead to serious health issues later on such as hypertension, increased chances of heart diease, insomnia, e.t.c
You will need some time to recover from the fright shock, however once you do, you won;t have this heart issue anymore. You just need to relax, may be try some calming techniques like listening to mellow music, and slowly the after effects will disappear.
I will still advise you to take Omeprazole as i advised.
Hope i was helpful,
Regards.