Man, that sounds frightening, i have those terrible feelings too. I went in for some minor surgery and the pre-op nurse took my bp, it was sky high, and it felt like the nurse's were waiting for me to explode. They were not going to do the surgery, i told them of my phobia and they gave me valium, then i relaxed and then i was normal. they asked me how i felt, of course i was ok at that point, being a wise *** i told the nurse that i felt so relaxed that i wouldn't care if they put the bp cuff around my neck. Thanks, take care!