Cardiophobia

What is cardiophobia?

Cardiophobia is a specific phobia in which you have an intense fear of heart problems, particularly heart attacks. You may experience chest pains, heart palpitations and other physical sensations and misinterpret them as being signs of heart disease, when in reality, they’re symptoms of anxiety.

Fear is a part of life. But a phobia is an intense and often overwhelming fear of a specific object or situation. The level of fear with a phobia doesn’t match the actual danger presented.

If you have cardiophobia, you focus your attention on your heart when experiencing stress. The focus is so intense that you feel like you’re experiencing a real heart problem despite medical tests that state you aren’t. You may seek continuous reassurance, visit your healthcare provider’s office often and avoid activities that you think will trigger your symptoms.

The effects of cardiophobia can have a significant impact on your quality of life and lead to persistent anxiety about your heart health.

How common is cardiophobia?

Researchers don’t know the exact number of people who have cardiophobia. But one study found that about 30% of people who saw a cardiologist for a new visit had symptoms of noncardiac chest pain due to anxiety, depression or another psychiatric condition. In the same study, cardiophobia accounted for 2% to 5% of all emergency department visits.

What are the symptoms of cardiophobia?

The DSM-5, what providers use to diagnose psychiatric illnesses, classifies cardiophobia as a specific phobia. Specific phobias can cause panic attacks — sudden episodes of anxiety with intense physical symptoms, and cardiophobia shares the same types of symptoms as someone having a panic attack.

Cardiophobia symptoms may include:

• Chest pain or tightness.
• Dizziness.
• Excessive sweating.
• Feeling faint/fainting.
• Heart palpitations.
• Numbness.
• Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia).
• Shaking and trembling.
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea).

How do you know if you’re having a heart attack vs. a panic attack?

The only way to tell if you’re having a heart attack or a panic attack is with medical testing. If you think you may be experiencing a heart attack, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. But if you have a history of worrying about your heart, and medical testing has ruled out heart problems, you may want to talk to your healthcare provider about the likelihood that you have cardiophobia.

What causes cardiophobia?

Phobias occur when your brain takes fear and anxiety to an extreme level. Often, anxiety can be helpful and even protect you — it tells you that something’s wrong or dangerous. This is your “fight or flight” response. But sometimes, this response occurs when it shouldn’t, or occurs in an unnecessarily intense way, leading to the development of a phobia. Researchers don’t know exactly why this happens in certain people. But several factors may contribute to cardiophobia. These include:

• Traumatic experiences: If you or someone you know has experienced a real heart-related problem like a heart attack, you may be more likely to develop cardiophobia.
• Genetics: Cardiophobia is more likely to happen in people who’ve had a relative with the condition.
• Informational transmission: You can develop cardiophobia because you see or hear about it repeatedly.
• Learned fears: If you learn about cardiophobia from others, you may develop the condition as a result.

What are the complications of cardiophobia?

Cardiophobia can have long-term effects on your physical and mental health, especially when you encounter triggers often. Physical health conditions that frequently occur alongside cardiophobia or may get worse because of your symptoms include:

• Balance problems/dizziness.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Degenerative brain disorders, like frontotemporal dementia.
• Heart disease.
• Parkinson’s disease.

People with cardiophobia are also at a higher risk of developing certain mental health conditions, including:

• Bipolar disorder.
• Depressive disorders.
• Other anxiety disorders.
• Personality disorders.
• Substance use disorders (SUD).

How do I know if I have cardiophobia?

It can be difficult to diagnose cardiophobia at first because your primary care provider (PCP) may refer you to cardiologist for heart testing. But frequent visits to your provider for heart-related symptoms in the absence of any medical issues may signal that you have a condition like cardiophobia. Your primary care provider may refer you to a mental health provider, like a psychologist or psychiatrist, for further evaluation.

The psychologist or psychiatrist will ask you about your symptoms. They may have you fill out a questionnaire to better understand what you’re experiencing. The answers to these questions can help them determine if you fit the criteria for a cardiophobia diagnosis. According to the DSM-5, these criteria include:

• Strong fear or anxiety that you’re going to have a heart attack.
• Avoidance of certain situations or triggers.
• Intense fear or anxiety when you don’t avoid situations and triggers.
• The fear or anxiety is much more severe than the situation or trigger should cause.
• The fear or anxiety due to certain situations or triggers lasts for at least six months.
• The fear or anxiety disrupts or impacts other areas of your life, including work or school.
• Your symptoms can’t be better explained by another condition (like a real heart condition).

How do I get rid of cardiophobia?

Cardiophobia treatment involves the use of the same strategies and techniques as other phobia treatments. Your healthcare provider may recommend psychotherapy, medications or a combination of both. Your recommended treatment will depend on how severe your symptoms are, your lifestyle and your preferences.

Psychotherapy

Mental health therapy (psychotherapy) can help you adjust the way you think and the behaviors surrounding your fear. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common kinds of therapy. With time, CBT (or other types of therapy) can help you cope with your fear and anxiety.

Exposure therapy

There are two main kinds of exposure therapy:

• Systematic desensitization (graded exposure): This type of exposure therapy gradually exposes you to parts of triggers over time. Your healthcare provider will help you slowly work through parts of your fears from the least to the most troubling. This also helps adjust your thinking and behaviors.
• Flooding: Flooding is similar, but the technique exposes you to your triggers all at once, not slowly over time. This can help you adjust to your triggers and learn to manage your anxiety.

Medication

Sometimes, medication is the best way to help you manage your phobia symptoms. Your healthcare provider may recommend antidepressants or anxiety medications. Many different types of medications can help with phobia symptoms, and your provider can help explain your options to you. They’ll also explain any possible side effects and complications that you may experience

Can cardiophobia be prevented?

There’s no way to prevent cardiophobia from occurring. That’s because fear is something that we all experience differently. What affects one person won’t affect another in the same way. There’s no known way to reduce your risk of developing cardiophobia.

What can I expect if I have cardiophobia?

Cardiophobia can have a major impact on your mental health and well-being. Over time, untreated cardiophobia can cause you to severely limit your life if you’re constantly avoiding your triggers. The condition can also affect many different aspects of your physical health.

Outlook for cardiophobia

The outlook for cardiophobia is best when you receive prompt treatment. Without treatment, your condition could have a large impact on your physical and mental health. Cardiophobia affects the way you live your life. Treatment for your condition can make a big difference.

How do I take care of myself if I have cardiophobia?

If you think you may have cardiophobia, there are ways you can help take care of yourself:

• Get help: As soon as you notice cardiophobia symptoms disrupting your life, reach out to your healthcare provider. The sooner you seek help, the sooner you can be on the road to recovery.
• Listen to your healthcare provider: Follow your provider’s treatment recommendations, whether that be therapy, medication or a combination of the two.
• Lifestyle changes: Many factors affect your mental health. It may help to do some physical activity every day, eat nutritious foods, get enough sleep and avoid alcohol and recreational drugs.

When should I go to the ER?

Cardiophobia can increase your risk of mental health conditions like depression. If you’re having any thoughts about harming yourself or suicide, you should seek immediate help. In the United States, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This service provides confidential, 24-hour support to anyone experiencing a suicidal crisis.