Nervous Scare

Coincidence

by piglet22 - 2024-08-12 06:12:02

I woke up today with an erratic pulse.

Periods of fast, periods of low heart rate, fluttering sensation.

What to do?

Have the ectopics returned? Did I take the medication?

The oximeter was all over the place and the BP monitor gave normal BP but higher than normal heart rate. That rules out forgetting medication as forgetting Bisoprolol sends BP high.

Have done a manual upload of data via the bedside monitor.

Yes it's scary.

It was very hot yesterday and dehydration is a possibility.

I will be keeping an eye on things. It's hard to know what to do. No point in calling GP. UTC could do ECG. Ultimately it might have to be the hospital.

Quite twitchy at the moment as battery is heading low and replacement due.

diet and coincidence

by Tex61 - 2024-08-12 12:35:45

My diet is outstanding overall, my health (with this huge exception) is great.   

Spoke to my EP office a while ago.  Said a few skipped beats is pretty much the norm for most humans and it wasnt significant enough to trigger so don't worry too much.  

On the coffee, It's not been a problem for hte last 5 mo.  But who knows.   

And @piglet22, ironically the day before I was at the beach in Galveston for a few hours from 3-5pm.   Found out later, we were under a heat advisory.  So maybe that played into it.   suddenly woke up from a deep sleep as well.  

I hope you get the care you need today.  

I have an MRI of my heart scheduled for the 27th, along with EP visit and plumber vist all same day.   Will get another Echo and stress test shortly thereafter.  

 

Heat

by piglet22 - 2024-08-12 12:45:14

It is exceptionally hot here by UK standards.

It got so hot indoors that the room thermostat did an overheat alarm which is 25 degrees C and more.

In the roof space, could have hit over 60 degrees.

Things seem to have settled down now but last year, this beat skipping went on for about 6 months during which I had several blackouts.

Just a thought

by piglet22 - 2024-08-12 15:20:04

The heat could be upsetting electrolytes. You are losing sodium through sweating and diluting what's left by taking in extra fluids.

My father who served in North Africa WW2 used to say it was a punishable offence not to take the daily salt tablets.

I guess ideally you would take isotonic fluids to make up for lost fluids.

Aren't sodium and potassium important in heart rhythm?

And Tex, you aren't toast yet.

Just a case of adapting to the new regime.

Gatarode zero

by Tex61 - 2024-08-12 19:25:41

I drink a lot of Gatorade Zero.    I've been a workout fiend since 2018.    Wife says that's why my "heart is broke" but I've lost a ton of weight, added a lot of muscle, and I workout in my driveway in central Texas.   Blazing summer heat with stupid high humidity so I hydrate and I get my electrolytes.  
 
two days ago I consumed 2 beers over 2 hours and no water.   Might have been that.  
 

thanks for the replies 

Hi and welcome!

by Lavender - 2024-08-12 20:50:07

You sound healthy in mind and body! 
I don't do coffee. It bothers my stomach and makes my heart racy. 
I don't do alcohol either anymore.

However what you experienced sounds like PVCs. We can have them but they're considered benign as long as you don't get an abundance of them. 

We all need more water after getting our pacemaker.  😉

PVCs

by piglet22 - 2024-08-13 04:53:46

As Lavender mentioned, PVCs (ectopics) are a cause of pauses and skipped beats with pacemakers.

It's a timing issue.

I'm quite certain that my episode was a direct result of ectopics brought on by the stress of the hot weather. It's too much of a coincidence that the hottest day of the year was yesterday and the day before.

Your device might record PVCs so worth a mention at your next appointment.

I don't want to sound alarmist, but sustained ectopics can be serious and lead to sudden loss of consciousness.

If you start to get pre-syncope symptoms like dizziness or low blood pressure, then it's time to take action and get advice.

It's ironic that that the very device you have to correct rhythm problems can instigate others, but such is the complexity of the hearts functioning.

Don't worry, you aren't on your own, enjoy yourself and take care.

Electrolytes and PVCs

by PaceCahr - 2024-08-13 15:57:22

Electrolytes:   YEAH!  I've been adjusting (medication changes) and trying to return to normal activities, and the heat will just floor me.  I'll get to the point where I've had enough plain water that it starts tasting funny. For previous autoimmune issues and gut health, I totally quit sugar (and cannot tolerate any of the fake sugars) so I'm cautious with sports drinks, and typically go to something like V8 and fruit juices for electrolytes.

Do not forget Magnesium!  

Especially if you're sweating a lot (whether for activity or unwellness) Electrolytes really want to be balanced.  Salt is the biggie, potassium is what the sports drinks were going for, but magnesium and calcium are also really important to maintain their proper balance.  So many of us are probably hugely deficient in magnesium in the diet.  If you crave chocolate insanely - it's probably your body needing more magnesium. I was like that, then once my doc had me start supplementing with magnesium citrate, I could eat and enjoy some chocolate without trying to shovel the whole bag in my face.  

In May, I was prepping for a colonoscopy (before PM). Those liquid preps are heavily filled with magnesium. And - that's all you're allowed to have - nothing else but water.  And oh- boy, at a certain point in the prep - the imbalance of electrolytes really cranked up my PVCs! 

And Boy Howdy those PVCs can be scary!

 I was being woken up middle of the night with my BP jumping up, and what felt like a bag of kittens in my chest struggling to get out. I could count my pulse by just feeling where they were hitting, as well as in my head & ears. 

Long before I became a member of the club:  2+ years of being told by a cardio-doc that they were beneign, and were only a problem if I got dizzy or they were more than 1/3 of my heartbeats....across hours, not minutes. 

Interestingly - I noticed that the intensity and frequency seemed to have a relationship to a couple of things: overly large meals, and monthly hormone swings. I was advised to talk to my gynecologist about that. 

I joined the club this last May, and on my last device check, it recorded a LOT of PVCs across the weeks, so it's on there. I do get waves of them that are very recognizeable, and again - seem to be most intense when I've overdone it with a big meal. I suspect a vagas nerve link, but none of the doc I've mentioned this to are interested in discussing, they just point to someone else.  :eyeroll: 

I do recommend daily food & symptom journalling if you are interested in figuing out your triggers. I've been doing it for over a decade now, trying to track food sensitivities - related to leaky gut. With Food sensitivities - the symptoms often can take 3 days to appear  so "What did I eat 3 days ago that was new?" was needed. 

But just the practice of writing down (recording) what you're eating can help make sure that you're actually getting the proper hydration and nutrition you think you're getting. 

I know it really is helping me with medication changes and mapping my adverse reactions to the combo of activity/food/medications each day - just in case it's not a meds. 

Tex61: 

I do get some funky heartbeats after my morning coffee and breakfast. But they also start about 1/2 hour after I take my morning meds. I get a version of the same thing when I take an evening dose. These are not PVCs, and they look very different to me on the pulse oximeter.  

At my last device check, I asked for a complete report of everything seen, and they nicely gave me a big pile pile of papers. I went through those reports and compared them to when I noted in my journal that I had scary symptom - and was able to line up a couple of events. One in particular - prompted me to push an interrogation after waffling about doing so, for an hour or two. The interrogation was logged, and about 3 hours before that - there was an event that was logged, but nothing concerning. This helps me calibrate my response to those scary times when you're listening to your heart ...  beat? Come baaaack...  Whew!  

Scare

by skigrl3 - 2024-08-17 21:53:26

Had something similar one night. It woke me up and I thought it may have been a dream. But thrn it happened again. I told my cardiologist at next appt. All was well upon check up and they thought it might have been a routine biotronik reset of my pm at 3am, in lieu of other symptoms. Its been about 4 months has not happened again. Good luck, hope you feel better.