My Heart is Racing — Am I Having a Heart Attack Anxiety vs Cardiac Emergency

Before we start, if you're having sudden onset chest pain that radiates into your left arm or up into your jaw, put this down now, phone for ambulance. Your heart is pounding. It came out to nowhere, a sudden surge, your pulse in your throat, your chest feeling tight, your mind immediately jumping to the worst. Is this it? Is something wrong with my heart?

Stay with me. I'm going to explain what's happening to your body right now, and I'm doing this both as a clinical hypnotherapist and a former frontline paramedic who is attended real cardiac emergencies. By the end of this ten minutes you'll know the difference, and more importantly, your nervous system will know too. Welcome. This is calming anxiety. I'm Martin Hewlett, clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic. I'm here every single day with a free ten minute session to help you understand what's happening inside your body and give it permission to let go. If this is your first time here, do subscribe now. There are over 2,300 episodes in the library, every one of them free. And today's racing heart has brought you here. Then I want you to know, you're exactly where you need to be.

First things, let's slow this down. Not because something is wrong, but because your body is currently running a program it no longer needs. Find somewhere comfy where you can sit or lie down upright but not rigid. Let your hands rest open on your lap. And if it feels safe, close your eyes. We'll breathe together now. We'll breathe in for three, holding at the top for two, being aware of the moment and then out slowly through the mouth for five. The extended out breath is your signal to your body that the emergency is over and it Can rest ready with me in 2 3 hold 2 out 2 3 4 5 again in two three hold 2 out 2 3 4 5 2 out 2 3 4 5 6 one more time ready in 2 3 hold 2 out 2 3 4 5 good did you feel that?

the slight softening in your chest that is your parasympathetic nervous system beginning to respond you did that your breath did that let's go a little deeper now i want to tell you something that took me years in the back of an ambulance to fully understand a racing heart on its own is not an emergency i have sat beside people in genuine cardiac emergencies i have read a real heart attack on a monitor and i've also sat beside people who were utterly convinced they were dying whose hearts were pounding whose chests were tight whose arms felt strange and who were medically completely fine their nervous systems had simply triggered a alarm that had no fire behind it and i've been that person too here is what anxiety does to your heart it triggers the release of adrenaline the same chemical that prepares you to run from a threat or a fight for your life adrenaline tells the heart to be faster it tells the blood vessels to tighten it tells your lungs to pull in more air every single symptom that feels like a heart attack the racing pulps the tight chest the tingling in the hands the sense of dread every one of those is also the signature of your anxiety response doing exactly what it is designed to do within your imagination now i want you to picture a control room it could be any kind of control room perhaps one from a film with screens and panels and rows of dials this is the emergency monitoring system of your nervous system a few minutes ago one of those alarm panels lit up it said danger detected and immediately instantly the system responded heart rate up breathing rate up full alert but now i want you to watch those screens watch as the incoming data begins to change the breathing is slowing the exhale is lengthening the vagus nerve is receiving the signal and one by one the alert panels are beginning to stand down not because you force them not because you thought of feeling but because your body received accurate information you are safe and it is responding accordingly watch the heart rate dial on those screens slowly steadily returning towards its resting state not all at once just gently the way of ripples settles after a stone has been thrown in the rings expand outwards and then the surface becomes still again you are the still water underneath the response underneath the alarm you are always this safe present here now let these words settle inside you say them quietly inside my heart is strong and it is working exactly as it should a racing heart is not proof of danger it is proof that i am alive and responding i know the difference between anxiety and emergency anxiety does not require a rescue i trust my body to regulate i trust my breath to lead me home i am safe in this moment this moment is the only one that requires my presence and within this moment of peace here are your three caring tips one take your resting heart rate on a calm morning not in a moment anxiety simply count your pulks for 30 seconds then double it write it down when anxiety spikes your heart rate knowing your baseline gives you a reference point to use the physiological side in the moment your heart rate begins to race try this the double inhale through the nose a full breath in then the short sharp top up sip right at the top followed by a long slow out breath through the mouth and three change your physical position anxiety thrives when we freeze the moment you feel a racing heart stand up slowly place your feet flat on the floor feel the ground beneath you and take three slow steps moving your body it says if i were in real danger i would not walk calmly now begin to bring your awareness gently back into the room wiggle your fingers and toes notice the weight of your body wherever you are sitting or lying take one last deep big breath and then as you exhale stretch the arms out you know something now that anxiety didn't want you to know a racing heart is a response not a diagnosis your body is not failing it is doing what bodies do as i said at the start if you're new please do subscribe give it a thumbs up or get just leave me a review and please do share this on your social media calming anxiety is just me martin solo no backing no big following just a man who is once broken trying to help another song find their full potential take care my friend let's reconnect tomorrow smile often and to your beautiful self be kind