Circulatory collapses, but cardiac MRI was clear?

Ears, nose and throat
1

Hi everyone!

Five days ago, I (22/m) felt like on the verge of passing out multiple times for about half an hour. Extreme dizziness, flickering vision, slurred speech and very weak pulse. I've been feeling quite quite since (especially my hands and feet) and I also have some mild pain in my left chest, but I suspect this is actually a spine-related issue as I had the exact same sensation before.

I haven't experienced a presyncope that severe since, but I felt quite dizzy several times over the last few days, sometimes accompanied by a strange feeling in the gut/heart area. This always came out of the blue and I only panicked afterwards. Naturally, this worried me, so I went to my GP. As some doctor noticed a murmur three months ago, a cardiac MRI was done and it came back clear. I'm also prone to anxiety and panic attacks. Therefore, my GP immediately told me that my heart is perfectly well and that I was simply having a panic attack. At my request, an ECG was done, but this was clear although my resting heart rate is somewhat elevated.

As there is barely anthing better than an MRI, I know I should probably ask my doctor. However, I am convinced with 99% certainty that I wasn't experiencing mere panic attacks, but a real circulatory collapse. A friend who was with me also felt my pulse and confirmed it was weak and I was definitely hypoxic as I was slurring my speech.

Can a benign circulatory collapse be caused by anxiety and stress or should I talk to my GP again? What do you think? Thank you!

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It is unbelievable what a major panic attack and cause. It sounds to me if all your tests were clear that that is exactly what it was. And what you start feeling badly you tend to panic more and release more adrenaline. I get low blood pressure when I feel dizzy attacks to. I think maybe you should try to relax a little and maybe treat the anxiety symptoms. I don't know what other tests you could get all the rest were okay.

3

I actually checked my blood pressure shortly after such an attack and, contrary to my expectation, it was way too high. Perhaps I experienced a drop in BP which incuded a panic attack which, in turn, induced a BP of 180/100. However, I'm slowly accepting the possibility, that my symptoms are solely psychogenic.

To be sure, I went to the ER after suffering a major circulatory collapse/panic attack/whatever it may be. They checked my blood for troponin, made sure I wasn't anemic or hypoxic and did a cardiac echo and assured me that my heart is perfectly healthy.

The dizziness and fatigue haven't improved since and I've also developed a mild nausea and headaches, but I read that a cardiophobia can cause all kinds of symptoms.

If I don't get better until next Monday, I'll ask my GP once again, but I suspect that there is no organic cause for my condition, which is good news. smile