Always Anxious? A Warning from the Heart: Anxiety Disorder and the Pulse

Many people frequently report feeling chest tightness and palpitations. Facing demanding routines and uncertain circumstances, our bodies express anxiety in physiological terms. Just as the Donguibogam identified fright and fear through the heart and pulse, modern medicine explains the relationship between anxiety and heart activity through the autonomic nervous system and the brain-heart axis. The body maintains an involuntary regulatory system known as the autonomic nervous system. This system is largely divided into two branches: the sympathetic nerve, which manages acute crisis responses, and the parasympathetic nerve, which directs rest and recovery. They function much like the accelerator and brakes of a vehicle, working in balance to regulate physiological functions. Under chronic anxiety or ongoing stress, the body consistently misinterprets its environment as an ongoing crisis. This triggers sympathetic hyperactivity, keeping the accelerator engaged. When the sympathetic nerve remains elevated, the heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, muscles tighten, and respiration turns shallow and rapid. Palpitations felt during these periods are direct signals sent to the heart by this overactive sympathetic response. This aligns closely with the description in the Donguibogam where the pulse becomes large and fast due to sudden fright, indicating that the heart is expending surplus energy and sounding an alert. Furthermore, the brain and the heart maintain continuous communication along the brain-heart axis. When emotion-processing regions such as the amygdala or prefrontal cortex register anxiety, these signals travel through the brainstem and directly alter cardiac function via the autonomic nervous system. Concurrently, endocrine system secretions, including the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, influence heartbeat rate and vascular constriction, altering pulse characteristics. Persistent anxiety leads to continued secretion of these hormones, placing chronic strain on the heart and producing a pattern resembling the fearful pulse, where beats feel small and rapid. The heart essentially mirrors the ongoing distress signaled by the brain. Today, autonomic nervous system balance can be objectively evaluated using heart rate variability. Heart rate variability measures the micro-fluctuations in time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. Lower variability frequently correlates with heightened levels of stress or anxiety. A healthy autonomic nervous system displays flexible, varied intervals between beats, whereas a system under sustained stress tends to exhibit rigid, uniform timing. Reduced heart rate variability indicates that the body has become less adaptable to internal and external changes. Ultimately, palpitations and an unsettled pulse are not merely indications of isolated heart distress. They represent a systemic SOS signal across the brain, the autonomic nervous system, and emotional regulatory circuits, showing that the mind and body are under significant strain. Acknowledging this signal and addressing its root causes is an essential first step toward restoring physical and mental equilibrium.