Been dealing with anxiety for a number of years but always manageable and was even prescribed propranolol which I never saw any benefit from.

Now for the past couple of months after a family members sudden passing I have had severe cardio phobia which has halted my life, I’m having panic attacks near daily and the stress can cause discomfort in my chest and arms which only makes things worse, at the end of the day I am 99% sure there is nothing wrong with my heart  but the 1% is very loud. I was recently prescribed 40mg propranolol the same medication I was prescribed before, this time for my physical symptoms, I was wary to take them as they are primarily a heart medication and with my cardio phobia anything that affects my heart even in a positive way gives me severe anxiety, I bit the bullet and took one when I was feeling anxious but the constant thought that my heart was being affected by the medication sent me down a panic spiral and I have been scared to take them since.

Anyone else with cardio phobia or health anxiety experienced anything similar? I want to take the meds as I think they will help a lot but I can’t get over the fear of taking them.

Thanks