Lately I have been having sever bouts of palpitations/sudden awareness of heartbeat totally out of the blue. I have this fear of impending doom like I'm going to have a heart attack or something. I'm 24 and have never felt this way. I have not seen a GP as I wouldn't know what to say to them I feel like I'm going mad. When I become aware of my heart beat I start to panic and feel like I'm become very dizzy almost like vertigo. I get random stabbing chest pains which last a couple of seconds and go again. I doubt this is anything serious as I believe if it was a real heart attack or something serious I wouldn't be able to pin point the pain and I wouldn't necessarily be aware of my heartbeat due to the crushing/ pain sensation. I feel like I'm going crazy :'(. I get a tingling feeling alongside the dizziness occouring in my face arms and legs. I have had quite a stressful year where a close family member was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. 18 months later she got the all clear after a stressful operation and heavy doses of chemo. I feel relieved and not stressed anymore. I am also finding it very difficult to sleep laying here till almost 5am most nights before nodding off. Does anybody think this could be anxiety or panic attacks or suffer with something similar? Think reassurance may help me to relax a little.